I have seen these links for other bikes, but never for the 600RR; forgive my being skeptical, I would think that, knowing how this works, someone would have designed and produced this for our bikes by now - if it was needed. Can someone with some practical knowledge chime in and address why a linear link hasn't been made for the 2007+ 600RR until now?

 

Price? I've had linear links on other bikes and actually looked for one for the 600 but came up empty handed

 

499 cad..right from the website. Seems kinda pricey, but I'm sure the software and fab time was not cheap.

 

Hi everyone,

I am kind of new to the forum as i purchased a 2013 600rr about 2 months ago strictly as a race bike. I race in the Regional RACE series and Canadian Superbike National series.

I just wanted to share something with you that made a huge improvement to my bike.
I heard about linear shock linkages for other bikes but was not able to find one for the CBR. A friend of mine started making ones for the BMW and Ducati and decided to use my bike a a prototype for the CBR.

I had my first weekend on it 2 weekends ago.
What a HUGE difference. The back end felt more stable and i was getting a lot more drive out of corners. No more bounce and not as much slide. I also noticed that i was getting twice as many laps on a tire and it was still in fantastic condition. It took me 2 sessions to figure out the changes i had to make in compression and rebound but after that is was amazing.

Here is a link to the website that has them and my short story:
CBR600RR Linear Suspension Link Project

As to the technical specifics of how it works i am not 100% sure but i know it made me go faster

Nobody has paid me to write this i am just trying to share a great product that is new to the market :grin2:

You can email Etienne or his brother on the website and ask as many questions as you want.

I can try my best to help answer too.

Chris

Sounds interesting. I also wondered why no one made one. That being said I have seen a few 600rr with different looking rear links and wondered what was up with them, perhaps other people/companies have made one but not put it into mass production?


What changes did you make to compression and rebound? Did you have to adjust rear ride height? The graphs on the website lack an explanation, Can you provide any more info on them?


I'm racing in regionals out here in Edmonton and raced in CSBK Pro Sport bike during the Edmonton rounds, definitely struggling with tire wear, any help would be appreciated.

 

Sounds interesting. I also wondered why no one made one. That being said I have seen a few 600rr with different looking rear links and wondered what was up with them, perhaps other people/companies have made one but not put it into mass production?

Vortex and a couple other companies have made lowering links for the 600RR since the beginning. Those just squat the bike down, and (presumably?) don't alter the rise rate.

 

They should sell the geometry so we can make them ourselves haha

 

There's about 15 mins in the machine to make that.

I understand that r&d costs add up and they aren't going to sell many. But they'll sell even fewer at that price

 

Would have liked to see the actual motion ratio figures and a little more explanation behind the graph targets.

 

Here is what i do know. I am getting Etienne to be a user on this site to give you all the info you guys want.

They use the motospec software to configure these parts. Everything that is oem on a bike not just Honda can be far from ideal. The oem link is 14% off from ideal setup. The link does not change the geometry of the bike but provides a smoother progression throughout the shocks travel. The oem link is made ideally for passengers or road conditions.

I had to go 4 clicks more in preload, 2 more in compression and 3 in rebound to account for the new travel and performance of the shock.

Regarding the $499 price, if you are to notice no performance gain but only better tire wear and it was at least 50% better for me, how much is it going to save me in tires. Each race weekend is over $1000 in tires.

 

LOL oh god no. I am much more knowledgeable and faster haha.

 

hahaha. Nice.

 

Fast316 is Jon. Brian is agentorangeRR

 

I told Brian this was being designed a while back and he wanted to hear how it turned out.

 

Hi everyone,
Thought we could explain in a bit more details what our links do to a bike.

First off, it is good to understand that road bikes have to work weather the rider weighs 100lbs or 350lbs… To do this, the bikes usually come fitted with suspension linkages that are progressive. Meaning the more you are about to bottom out, the stiffer the rear suspension becomes.

The CBR600RR is one of the most progressive bikes we have seen. Stock progression is 18%, compared to 15% for the S1000rr, 11% for the R6, 5% for the new R1M, etc.

The link drops the progression ratio down to 8%. Dropping it more was causing clearance issued between the shock and the arm.

The motion ration on our link is the same as stock. This means the spring you use does not have to be changed (unless you have the wrong spring rate to start with).
In the graphs that I attached, Red is stock and Black is our link. You can see that the rear wheel force is not as high as stock. Meaning it takes less weight to accomplish full wheel motion.

To see how less progressive it is, look at the shock to wheel ratio. The shock does not get compressed as fast. This also has the effect of giving you a bit more wheel travel.
I would really like to know the geometry of the Vortex lowering plates. Usually, to drop the bike without affecting the geometry, you play with the arm. Playing with the plates dimensions will change the motion ratios and progression of the linkage. And since when does lowering a bike by 1,5 inches make it perform better ?

One more thing I could say is that our link will not change the basic geometry of the bike. Basic stuff like rake, wheelbase, ride height, swing arm angle, anti-squat, etc will not be affected by installing our link. The link’s purpose is really just to soften up the rear suspension through the end of the wheel travel to make the bike perform better. Under power traction is improved so coming out of corners is not only easier but faster. Another big change is with the feedback to the rider in all aspects. The rear wheel is more planted and the bike relies less on the rear tire to act as part of the suspension.

For anything you need contact us at
pihilippe@forsakenmotorsports.com or etienne@forsakenmotorsports.com

Thanks !

 

I think you would have a lot of intrest if it was at a lower price point. I would like one myself but cant justify 400 usd?

 

Like I had mentioned before if you notice no gain in performance but notice better tire wear and longer lasting tires this will pay for itself for me in about 3 track weekends.
I also dropped 1 second on my lap times with this link.

Suspension goodies are usually the most expensive parts.
My fork cartridges were $3k and shock was $1200. Relatively speaking for race parts $400 is cheap.
The faster you go the more it costs.

 

At 499$ it's cheap considering the time invested in making this part. 2 Pro CSBK riders use our linear links on the S1000RR and got front row qualifying with it. I only do track days for now and I use one on my 1098R and it makes all the difference on the track. So from track day riders to pro riders this is proven to make you go faster.

 

Now $320 shipped to the US.. very tempting.

My previous bike was a Triumph 675, which comes with an extreme (~40%) progressive linkage. I never ride with a passenger and was eager to try a (more) linear linkage. The stock setup over large bumps would blow through the initial half of travel, then cross over into the "pain zone" where the effective spring rate really takes off. The first time I rode my 675 ('13 Street Triple R) I hit an unexpected dip/bump in the road and it hit so hard I was sure I'd bottomed out the shock and broken something. Nope, that's how it was supposed to work. This progressive behavior can be tuned around, and the conventional wisdom was to simply run a stiffer spring.. and never use the bottom ~third of the stroke.

I was an early adopter and paid dearly for Dan Kyle's 675 linkage. No one else had published their motion ratios. [They still won't.] Compared to this Forsaken 600RR linkage, the Kyle linkage was designed a bit differently: the wheel/shock motion ratio at the top of the stroke is actually less than stock (shock has more leverage over the wheel), then it crosses the stock curve around mid-stroke. Here's a plot:

Stock 675 linkage (black) vs Kyle (purple)

This meant you would get less rider sag with the new linkage, so you would reduce preload or (better yet) use a softer spring. Either way, the improvement in both ride comfort and traction was remarkable. I felt much more confident getting on the gas earlier and harder on corner exits. And it made for a more comfortable and controlled ride on the street, too. Since then Triumph 675 linear linkages have become much more popular, and cheaper.. as well they should.

Stock 600RR linkage (red) vs Forsaken (black)

The ~18% progressive-ness on the stock 600RR seems relatively sane, and reasonably appropriate for a street bike. But for performance solo riding the only downside to a (more) linear linkage is cost. You do need to make sure you have the right spring rate, but like Etienne said, you don't HAVE to change it unless it was already wrong. In other words, if the spring was much too soft for your weight the linear linkage could cause the suspension to bottom out.

In any case, at around $300 this seems a very worthwhile mod for track/fast canyon riding. Hopefully it catches on and we see further development. I would be interested to see a version more like Dan Kyle's that intersects the stock curve at mid-stroke.. theoretically you could run a softer spring without bottoming, and have more consistent grip/feel throughout the stroke. I'm sure I don't fully understand the implications/limitations. Perhaps Etienne can explain why they designed their linkage that way.