Ohlins cart kit/ttx install: Diy?

Nah. I'll just clamp down with a set of steel vice grips on a piece of aluminum, leave witness marks on everything, trash a few Teflon bushings, and call it good.

 

I pulled apart a set of GSXR, I mean gixxer forks with AK20s in them. The "technician" that revalved them used a channel locks on the cartridge when he pulled the compression valve. Of course it was oily so it slipped and scarred the hell out the tube. I mentioned it to the rider, and later in that day I had an angry suspension tuner in our trailer telling me that I shouldn't have shit on him, and that there's nothing wrong with what he did. He said if I knew anything about suspension I'd know that the damage to the outside of the cartridge has no effect on the performance of the fork. Really? No shit. I guess the tire guy should scratch the f#ck out of everyone's wheels then too, you know, because it doesn't affect performance...

 

Motor builds and real suspension work (swapping springs doesn't count as real work) are the two things I don't do. Pay the pros to apply the knowledge they've gained by doing this for years to get yourself a good package. F-ing around and wondering if it's something you did when your bike isn't working right is not worth saving a couple hundred bucks. You also get the support from said professional when your trying to dial in your setup. Win Win.

 

I don't disagree, just lamenting the lack of suspension tuners within reasonable driving distance.

 

What part of the world are you in?

 

Just like anything, once you get into it, it turns out it's not really a black art. You have to follow directions, make homemade tools that aren't crap if you go the homemade route, and do a lot of reading. Its like working on an engine, don't go in there with a couple crappy tools and no knowledge. Do your research, and don't skip any steps that may or may not "seem" like they matter.

The rewards go well beyond saving money, it's getting the job done right and fast (no shipping and no waiting for priority), and knowing what can be changed if it's not working as you like.

For those with a team, a shop, or a friend at a shop, that probably doesn't help. For those of us who don't know anyone personally, don't live near a guy, etc. It can save you weeks of downtime to learn to do it yourself.

But yes, it does depend upon your mechanical apptitude. I suppose I take that for granted. If you think it's alright to grab a fork tube with a set of channel locks or shriek at the thought of accidentally getting some hydraulic fluid on your shoes....back away from the tools, slowly.

 

I have seen some reasonably logical and intelligent people fuck up some shit beyond repair.

As much as your advice seems well intentioned, reality is if you haven't done a bunch of work beforehand practicing your craft, rebuilding a motor or suspension on a 180mph superbike is probably not a good idea considering the consequences. How about crawling before you run.

As far as following every step, I've seen OEM manuals omit steps. Either as a mistake or because they assume you have a certain amount of knowledge to know better.

But I digress.

 

I don't get into heavy motor work at my shop for that exact reason. I stay in my lane. I'm a chassis and suspension guy mostly. Valves and clutches are one thing, but real deal motor work is another. I've pushed enough bikes off of hot pit and looked into the faces of racers that either trusted the wrong guy to do motors or cut a corner themselves or had a builder do it to the point that there is a very, very short list of guys I'd trust with a motor.

The consequences of something going wrong at 170mph and a rider falling down as a result of a failure is something I don't think a lot of engine guys take into consideration fully. The ones doing it right are rather rare, in my opinion. But, then again, I'm not a motor guy.

 

When building my bike over the winter I spent probably a total of 40hrs driving to drop off/pick up my motor and suspension stuff. If I'm going to spend easily twice that in a season driving to and from the track you bet my shit is going to be right.

We revalved my shock after the first ride. Hell no I don't know what shims to install or have the vacuum bleeder necessary to do the work and I probably would've been turning clickers and swapping springs all season chasing a setup I'd never be able to get. The forks weren't installed how they came out of the box either. Following a manual will only get you so far and it maybe up shits creek.

You're buying some nice stuff, why not have it installed professionally and working at its best?

 

I've rebuilt motors, and taken suspension apart, so I can at least handle tools. Having said that, the best reason to use a suspension guy is their knowledge with the product and the ability to work with them while you are at the track trying to overcome handling problems.

The good ones can help you over the phone while you describe what the bike is doing.