[D03Cobra]

It really depends on your future plans and trackdays. If you plan on riding midpack, pushing it sometimes but not hard core I say racetech is an Ok option and will suit your needs. But if you start getting faster you will need a different rear shock, Penske is the best for American tracks cause of the bumps, I race with racetech internals up front and Penske rear but will be switching to AK-20's for the front.

Remember the golden rule about track riding, always buy the best suspension you can afford. Tires and suspension are the best bang for the buck.

 

[D03Cobra]

Well my bike decided to force the fork upgrade on me. My bike has not moved in over 2 months and is stored in my basement on front and rear stands. I get home a few nights ago and happened to look over at my bike and see a small puddle of fluid under the left fork. My first thought was a water leak in the house until I noticed the left lower fork tube was completely wet. I dropped the front off the stand and pumped it up and down a few times then re-checked the fork. Sure enough there was fluid all around the fork tube.

How can a fork seal go bad from sitting with no weight on the forks? I have already removed the forks and tore apart the leaking fork. Not an easy job trying to follow the service manual. You don't need the special tools to disassemble the forks. I plan on posting a complete write up for rebuilding the 929/954 forks with pictures very soon to make it easier for others who want to rebuild their forks.

The forks really needed to be rebuilt. I would say this is the first time the forks have been apart on my bike. The fluid contained very small pieces of metal from worn bushings. The inner bushing was ok but the outer bushing was very worn. I am waiting on new inner/outer bushings, fork & dust seals and some new .95kg fork springs from Racetech.

All kinds of stuff can make the seals go bad, I had a junebug hit my front fork and it wedged itself under the seal and sliced it up.

But remember, you must change your front fork oil atleast min once a year if just street riding, once you start doing trackdays you will be doing it more often, I change mine every 3rd or 4th trackday but i run the expert group and pushing it. If you ask why is cause fork oil is just that oil, it breaks down and then you have to readjust your suspension to match the new characteristics of the oil. You freshen up your oil cause you want your suspension to work right the way it was setup, which means the oil has to be in good condition.