nobleswood

The Traxxion replacement cartridges look tempting. I imagine they are a strong competitor to tha Andreani (sp ?) cartridges. Just measured the forks on my V11, the caps sit 21mm above the triple tree. So having a 20mm extender cap on the proposed Showa forks & dropping the forks down in the triple trees 20 mm will put the centerline of the wheel in the same place as previously with the OEM forks. Showa's USA facility is 15 miles from me. Wonder if they have a back room filled with old stuff they don't sell anymore This is where the emoji of someone with their face in a book studying would go.

A bit of research turned up this from Traxxion Top racers have found the need for Extended Fork Caps for the 2006-2010 Suzuki GSXR 600 and 750. With these special caps, you can lower the forks to increase trail and steering performance an additional 20mm in the triple clamps with out sacrificing any rigidity due to loss of clamping surface. This allows for great flexibility with geometry settings. These Extended Forks Caps are CNC machined from 6061 aircraft quality aluminum and are anodized black. Caps are sold in pairs for $199.95 each. The reason to focus on the Showa's is because it's the same model thats in the Griso. Which I'm opening up to re-valve with Racetech shims There was a reference to Ohlins making a damper rod extension. More research needed.

GuzziMoto, Thanks for the answers to my questions I had been going down the same road about finding forks that are 770 mm and then wondering about fork extenders. Having just found the chart that you posted above, last night Not knowing anything about the extenders, do you need a longer spring & longer rebound damping rod ? As the difference between, say the Showa's is roughly 40 mm

Thanks

Back in 2016 at the Ohio Rally I met Chuck & his Scura. One of the things I liked about his bike was how quiet it was at idle: a whir of gears & the burble from the exhaust. Very different from the rattle & hesitant idle of my V11. Ever since then I've been meaning to change the cam chain tensioner, but stuff got in the way. this holiday however;

That is the question ! What do you accept & what do you feel you can change without altering the bike too much. So I'm trying to find out if some version of the GSXR Showa forks are a straight swap, upgrading to a cartridge fork, the triple trees staying the same. For me the engine is powerful enough, it's the suspension I want to work with. Just asking questions & learning. Phil, you have the GSXR 1000. What year is it ? What's the length of the forks? Would the forks fit the V11 triple trees ? Happy New Year All

I've been looking at the Showa's that were fitted to certain models of GSXR years which are basically the same as the Griso units. Then looking at Racetech components which basically give you the shims & bits to re-valve the forks yourself. So as much as sorting out the forks I'm looking at the education & figuring it out myself idea. It could result in a big mistake but as GuzziMoto said; GSXR parts are plentiful, cheaper than most & there are lots of aftermarket parts out there for backyard tinkerers.

Sp838 & GuzziMoto, Why did you change the triple trees if they have different offsets ? Do the forks not fit the OEM's ? What ended up being the length of your reworked GSXR forks ? Thanks I'm weighing up getting Racetech parts for the originals or upgrading to cartridge forks from a GSXR...

For me in central Ohio the riding season now, is sporadic and I spend more time on maintaining my bikes and also learning, reading , watching videos to understand more of the mechanical systems that make the machines work as they do. One of the places I'm spending a lot of time ( so my wife says ) is Dave Moss tuning. He's on Youtube, FB all over the place. I haven't signed up for the subscription yet, as I want to learn as much as I can from the free stuff before then. So that hopefully I can comprehend the details that he's talking about. A comprehensive collection of free videos from Dave Moss are at; https://davemosstuning.com/free-vidoes/ustream/ The image quality is poor but they are detailed, they explain clearly the subject at hand and , for me, manage to knit together the way the suspension relates to chasis balance, braking, how the bike steers & tire wear. Worth having a look. We, as a collective, talk comfortably about engine specs but when it comes to suspension often the discussion covers which brand of shock or fork we've installed but few details beyond that. Hopefully this can clear the fog of confusion somewhat. Oh yeah, and though he only occasionally mentions it, he's English.

It was unusually above 50* today & sunny, so I used that as an excuse to take the Griso out on an errand. This year I scored a Termignoni muffler and after installing that downloaded a Beetle map specifically for that set up. As I rode around today I was reminded of how smooth the Griso is now. Before there wasn't a stumble at 3k - 4k as on the V11 but the on /off throttle below 4k created quite a lurch which was a pain halfway through a corner. Now that's gone. The overrun when decelerating made the bike sound like a f ing harley. Popping & banging! Now that's gone. So I'm really pleased with Beetle's map. Which makes me want to instal Meinolf's map, for the V11, this coming year & hope for a similar inprovement.

If you get weary chasing unicorns frollicking towards rainbows, have you considered using vinyl wrap carbon fibre wrap on a used seat cowl ?

Hey the bike looks great ! Sh**heads & charlatans come in all shapes, sizes & professions. Glad you are past that & added to your mechanical skills because of it.

Having a suspension guy to help refine & evaluate what you've got & how to fix it is worth quite a lot. As you're in Atlanta going to see what Traxxion Dynamics can do for might get you sorted. I am currently doing something similar, having found a suspension guy, and hope to rebuild the forks with Racetech gold valves this winter.

I have 2 Guzzi's; a late model V11 Sport & a 2013 Griso. Both have similar enough mechanicals that I can understand the servicing & maintenance for each but have different riding characteristics that I find myself saying 'What a great bike ! I need to ride it more !' Whenever I get off either of them

I understood that Meinoff was the V11 guru creating different maps: https://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?/topic/19652-v11-ecu-15rc-vs-15m/#entry214733

Some machines get names cos one pops into my head & it seems to fit. My V11 Sport naked is Scarlet, for obvious reasons . My Sprinter van is Moby, cos it's a huge white whale & moves with the same agility

The wife's birthday is coming up I thought I'd treat her to a V11.

Stewgnu, can you post the link to those replacement cartidges you just installed ? Have you had a chance to try them out properly ? I heard it's been a wet Autumn. Is this the syle of fork cap you have ?

What he said

Glad I asked as I'm pulling the alternator to replace the timing chain tensioner & leaking gasket. So I'm in the general vacinity.

Which connectors are these ? I can't visulise where they are. As the owner of a 2004 with 18500miles I should have a look.

Great pictures Bill !

Try going to Grisoghetto.com & doing a search there