Rednaxs60 wrote:Excellent read and you've done a great job.
Tried replacing the Plate B on my 1200, but was not happy with the play in the clutch stack after it was assembled. Did manage to find a NOS and installed the new damper plate. Good to hear that with some play clutch still works good.
Have race Tech springs and the gold valves installed in the front forks and Progressive non-air shocks in the rear. Pleased with the performance, but need to get a better understanding of how the Race Tech system works. Have the Race Tech book as well.
Firm believer that with a bike of 30 plus years, not only are the safety items such as brakes needing overhauling, the suspension needs to be upgraded with new or an aftermarket setup as this relates to safety as well.
Good to hear that everything you have done has met your expectations. Great looking bike.
Cheers
The clutch actually works very well without the B-plate. I have two good ones. My original and the one that came with the parts I ordered when I broke my pressure plate lol. I just followed the Wingovations method and put in 2 more steel plates.
As far as the gold valves, they take a bit of fiddling to get setup perfectly. Since they only regulate compression dampening and have such a large orifice surface area, they aren't really affected by the weight of the fork oil. I ended up with the blue springs with 4 turns of preload, and that has ended up being perfect for me. The forks compress easily on bumps, but in perfect control. My issue is that the progressive springs are just a tiny bit too stiff. Not bad, but definitely firm. If I were trying to make my Goldwing a track bike, they would be perfect I will likely being switching to Racetech's 1kg springs soon, as they are shorter and allow preload. The progressives are longer and not meant to have preload on them, but with the gold valves and adapters ended up with a decent amount.
BustedKnuckles wrote:Thank you for the comprehensive suspension write-up. I'm focused on my engines state of tune, and ordered some Hagon rear shocks, but have no idea what to do with the front. You provided me with something to consider, and got the conversation started with my bike!
I had debated on what to do with my fronts as well. A fork swap was tempting, but to do it right (in my eyes) would have required a lot of other changes. I may still do a fork swap down the road, but the way I want to do so puts the total cost past $2000. Forks, rebuilding, springing, and valving said forks, custom triples for the right offset, gauges, and a spoke wheel with said forks, gets expensive quickly.
By contrast, a fork brace, springs, and gold valve really transform the bike. While the USD fork conversion would technically be better, for the type of bike this is they do a more than adequate job.
I am sure the Goldwing front hub could be machined to use the right bearings to work with a larger bearing to work with the GSXR or other donor bike front axle, and thusly accept the speedo drive of the Goldwing. Then some custom axle spacers could be used. That would cut a lot of cost from the conversion - roughly $800.
I actually have a spare front wheel hub now, so that gives me the ability to look into it. I will likely keep my eyes out for a set of cheap GSXR750 forks and pick them up, but that is way way down on my priority list. I am more than happy with the stock forks after doing the upgrades.
1975 GL1000 - Delkevic exhaust with stainless studs, Corbin Touring seat, Race Tech Gold Valve cartridge emulators, Progressive 11-1100 springs, Progressive 412HD rear shocks, Shinko 230 tires, Fork Brace, Trucklite 27270c headlight, X-Arc Signals (run, brake, turn), Hydraulic Clutch conversion, EBC Clutch discs, HD springs, and Barnett Steels + Plate B eliminated. BikeMaster DLFP-50N18L Lithium battery, Rick's Motorsports CBR600F4 Mosfet Regulator/Rectifier upgrade.