racetech worth the money?

Also, not really trying to be a dick, but I'm pretty sure it was Ohlins shocks and fork caps I saw on the Graves bikes in the pits an hour ago.

 

Its not only you that had problems. It was me... and at least 5 others I know.
There were vice grip jaw marks on my damping rods. Scratches galore all over a mint set of zero mileage fork tubes, preload caps that were marred from ham fisted wrenching.
My one friend's forks were so stiff it felt like they were solid!! A zip tie on the legs showed the things not even using 1/2 the chrome. Racetechs answer over the phone was "They are designed for high speed riding and will soften with use".

This was around 2000/01. I swore them off then!

 

Exact same experience, 2009. Vice grip marks and all.

 

was considering race tech stuff until i talked to metric mike at my last TPM track day.. he's offering a pretty fantastic deal on Penske front and rear. a new shock and front fork re-valve set up for my weight and bike..


let us know what you go with and how it feels!

 

Can you say Thermosman and Ohlins USA?

I couldn't ask for better sevice and advice and feel fortunate that I was referred to him as a rookie. Took me from beginner trackday guy to expert racer. In hindsight, I can say that he never over sold me when he could have and now as a "veteran" I always know that the only thing holding me back is ME! His setups, from valving to geometry for a given tire, have always been confidence inspiring and taken me to the next level quicker than I ever could have imagined.

IMHO there is no substitute for a tuner with the DATABASE he has accumulated over the years working with top AMA teams and Club experts.

"Gold" valves? I don't give a shit what color they are. Complete setup info from a top tuner is where its at.

 

You are right about that they do use ohlins but on the R6 there is a seprate valve on the fork ....somebody help me out here that knows what I am talking about I am pretty sure it is the compression valve. What everone it is the graves guys use the race tech one... I have to here about it all day at the shop from my friend.

 

+1.

I've installed just about every brand of fork kit on a variety of bikes. They can all be made to work well, but they have their own inherent benefits and limitations as far as valving goes.

In the end, find a tuner with a good reputation and trust their recommendations. Great suspension components with no setup and trackside support aren't going to do a rider any good.

Good talking to you. Hit me up when you're ready to pull the trigger.

 

anyone know of a good shop near Central IL? Could be chicago, Indy, STL?

FWIW, I put rachtech gold valved forks on my SV1000 and they were so much nicer than stock.

 

Anybody know what I am talking about on the R6.

 

I don't have personal experience, but I have heard good things about 35motorsports outside of Indianapolis. This thread is an example of what others have said.

http://forums.13x.com/showthread.php?t=249772&highlight=35+motorsports

 

RaceTech and GMD/Atlanta is our choice front and rear. Great performance and customer support! Tdub

 

I'd be genuinely interested to hear what your friend is talking about. I called the Graves guy I met at Laguna and he either didn't know anything about RaceTech valving in their bikes, or didn't want to let on.. certainly seemed like the former however, with the tone of his answer: "Mmm.. no.. we use Ohlins.."

I don't doubt that there are fast guys using RaceTech stuff. Any of the setups can be made to work great if you've got the time and manpower to put into making them work. Valves can be resurfaced, kits can be reshimmed, etc etc. Even the Ohlins carts usually aren't perfect out of the box. What killed RaceTech for me was, like I said before, was the combination of the bad valves, the workmanship evident on the install into my forks, and the service I was shown while I was using them.

 

Are people saying RaceTech is worse than stock? Or just not worth it compared to other options. I'm considering an SV with racetech internals up front (Ohlins rear) and could always swap it out if it would make a big difference.

 

I don't think so Blind fish. I had a set of 675 forks done over the winter at their shop in California, and then they were later checked by someone I trust (Kent at GMD) who said backed up my impression that they were right on. I could feel that the action was better particularly in some of the small quick stuff. Would 1200 buck drop in cartridges be "worth it" compared to revalving the stockers? I doubt it more for people if they are being honest.

 

metricdevil600, put racetech springs and racetech gold valve kit in my 04 gsxr 600. The bike runs great! Never had an issue with my suspension. It really helps that I see him often at the track. He has made many adjustments for me while at the track.

 

I don't think anyone's saying RaceTech stuff is worse than stock (stock stock, not revalved stock). I'm not even saying that. I am saying I wouldn't use their cartridge kit again, however. I would go with a cartridge kit from Ohlins, GP or Traxxion, or even just having a reputable and local tuner revalve your stock bits.

 

So have found a good deal on 20mm ohlins cartridges kit from a member so i will be going that route. Now just need to find a rear ohlins shock to complete the package.

 

The Ohlins 2omm kit is not a cartridge kit. It will revalve your stock cartridges using compression and rebound pistons.

 

And is a fraction of the cost of a true cartridge kit.

A well setup Ohlins 20mm kit is a badass option for the budget minded advanced trackday dude or quick amateur.

From valving and springs to geometry specs for a given tire, Thermosman has the "sweet numbers" you need for COMPLETE bike setup. No black magic or other behind the curtain bullshit. Just a confidence inspiring setup that will help get you where you want to go... sooner rather than finding shit out the hard way by trying to save a buck with xyz "tuner".

 

Race Tech does make some good stuff, but I agree on their service and tech skills to be lacking. Somehow they got my order confused with that of someone else, or so they say, and built my 25mm cartridge kit for someone of different weight and skill set based off of their knowledge, and then did not include the extra shims for reshimming that they claim come with the kit. After having to argue with them for about a week to get those shims so I could get my stuff set-up right, finally got them. Upon pulling the kit apart to reshim things and checking what they say they did per the sheet you get with the kit with what was actually going on in the kit, things were way off. Extended length was different, restrictor stack height was different, and rebound valving was different. Though there were no abnormal tooling marks from building the kit. I still can't figure out how or why my kit got put together the way it did, or why things got shipped to the incorrect address 3 times. Maybe they were built on on a Friday.

I'm lucky enough that I know how to build and tune my own suspension. I'd still buy Race Tech items, but would never trust them to work on my suspension. I've had enough bad luck with people messing up my stuff. This kit was so close to either going back to RT for a refund or to Kent at GMD to completely look them over inch by inch. Ever since fixing their mistakes, absolutely no problems with them.