[jahmic726]

My next...or I should say first upgrade on the trackbike will be to get the suspension sprung for my weight. I'll be throwing a penske shock on the rear, and having the front forks revalved and sprung.

That said, here's a question. Would it make sense to switch to the 05/06 front end since I have the opportunity? I can get the entire front end off of the 05 for around $400, the only additional costs that I'll have to take on are replacing the vortex clipons (I believe they go from 41mm to 43mm)...I can always offset some of the cost by turning around and getting rid of the 03 front end that I take off the bike.

Cost effectiveness aside...my real question is would there be any advantage to rebuilding the 05 forks as opposed to the 03 forks? If the performance will be the same from either one after rebuilding, I probably wont bother with it. If the 05 setup really does perform better, I'll probably consider it since the out-of-pocket cost really wont be much. I know inverted forks and radial mounted brakes are "better"...but is it enough to consider a swap?

 

[Guest]

Unless your pushing the track record or something, you'll probably not know the difference. Chris Veremeulen won the WSS title on the 03 standard forks reworked by WP FWIW.

 

[NewRedRider]

I would only consider the swap if I were exceeding the abilities of the 03-04 forks, which I think have considerable potential. Have you talked to Eric @ GMD or Chad @ Kinetics about this?

 

[jahmic726]

no...I was just curious really...didnt make any definate plans for the swap.

Chad tuned the suspension on the 600rr and did a GREAT job, as always. I took it on the loop I run near my neighborhood a few times, but not on the track yet. While he was working on the suspension I spoke to him about revalving the front and replacing the rear shock, which I plan on doing in the future.

But yea, there's no way that I'm exceeding the ability of the 03 forks. I'm sure once everything is set properly for my weight, I'll be extremely happy with the setup. I just wasnt sure if there was a "night and day" difference in the performance of the 03 and 05 suspension.

thanks for the input.:fiddy:

 

[NewRedRider]

You'll see the night and day difference when you have fresh oil and a suspension tuned for you. Did you talk to him about pricing on revalving the forks? And there always this options for the rear shock which I want.

http://www.tracksideengineering.com//ecommerce/catalog_ms2.2/product_info.php/products_id/23?osCsid=9ab49f65be72e9b27051ddc3796d07bf

http://www.600rr.net/vb/showthread.php?t=46238&page=2&pp=15&highlight=rear+shock+rebuild

 

[jahmic726]

Thanks for the links, I'll definately keep that in mind. I didnt talk to Chad specifically about pricing on the revalve...figured I'd save that til later (which actually has gotta be before this february when he takes off). As for the rear shock, Chad recommended the Penske since it was easier to dial in, the performance is better than stock, and I could match the spring to my weight. I'll definately ask him about the trackside engineering rebuild...if it accomplishes the same thing, I'll go with that as the cheaper alternative.

At 130#, I'm a freakin lightweight. I dont have a problem with the suspension squatting too much...its actually the opposite for me. The suspension is usually stiff to the point that I dont have enough feel, and surface imperfections make the bike unstable...thats the problem I had on my R1 even after it was tuned.

I'm taking the CBR out to Jennings this weekend though, so I'm sure with 2 days of riding I'll get a good idea of what (if anything) I need to do to get the suspension working to my liking.

You'll see the night and day difference when you have fresh oil and a suspension tuned for you. Did you talk to him about pricing on revalving the forks? And there always this options for the rear shock which I want.

http://www.tracksideengineering.com//ecommerce/catalog_ms2.2/product_info.php/products_id/23?osCsid=9ab49f65be72e9b27051ddc3796d07bf

http://www.600rr.net/vb/showthread.php?t=46238&page=2&pp=15&highlight=rear+shock+rebuild

 

[parapuke]

Just FYI the clip ons go from 45 mm 03-04 to 48 mm 05-06. Having raced both the 04 and 05 I would say the difference was noticebable. Just my two cents.

 

[LDROWN]

I would say go for it if the cost isn't going to hurt ya. I think everyone can agree that the inverted forks are going to be better hands down. Who knows, you might get good enough to really need it and if you don't, then atleast you know you have a great setup which will in turn give you more confidence. Win win situation.

 

[jahmic726]

yea...i basically decided that even though I dont need it now, it might be a worthwhile investment in the long run. If I can get them cheap, it seems to make more sense to rebuild the 05s rather than the 03s.

just gonna keep an eye out for an inexpensive 05 front end. I've seen some DEALS on ebay that I just missed out on where it wouldnt cost anything out of my pocket for the upgrade by the time I consider selling my own parts...and Id be able to sell my stuff CHEAP just to get rid of it and still end up with a new front end.