Suspension GL1500-what to buy?

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DBohrer wrote:

It may not be the best but...............

I am running Progressive fork springs and the Progressive 450 IAS rear shock on my '99 Gold Wing SE with good handling and ride.

http://www.chromeworld.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=catalog.catalog

Enter "Progressive" in the search box.

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Hey DBohrer

Sorry to bud in on this discusion.

I need to replace my front fork seals this winter.

are you saying there is different springs/kits that I can buy? What place?

I would like to improve the handling and ride if I can(88 wing) It rides very nice and do not want to give up the cushyness of that.



Thanks

Doug

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My expeience with Progressive hasn't been quite what I wanted.. I put a rear shock on my 1800, and it's totally worn out after 25K miles. The front benefited from stronger springs, but a straight rate would have been a better choice.



I have an 1800, so I'm more familiar the suspension deficiencies of that bike than on a 1500, but they are pretty similar.. Spring rates too weak for an 8-900 lb bike, damper rod forks, poor to no rebound and compression damping. The 1500 at least uses roller stem bearings, not the ball bearings more suitable for a bicycle they went to on the 1800..



Your choices include:



Progressive..

The Gabriel or Monroe of the motorcycle aftermarket suspension market. Better than stock, but not great, and doesn't address fork damping issues. Also, these are progressive wound springs, and a straight rate spring gives more consistant action. As I mentioned above, my Progressive shock is gone at less than 25K miles. Not ideal for a $700 investment.. ($500 shock + $200 install)



RaceTech..

Much better.. Straight rate springs, of the correct weight, and the Gold Valve kit addresses and fixes the damping issues. Reasonably priced, and if you can rebuild forks, you can do this upgrade. The rear shocksetup is matched to the front end, and comparably priced with Progressive. Or they have an upgraded shock that looks like a real heavy duty winner, at least for the 1800..

http://old.racetech.com/evalving/english/Srchpr.asp?bikeid=212&manufacture=Honda&model=GL1500SE&year=95%2D00&TABLEINFO=street&langname=english



Traxxion..

Probably the best. Totally gut and replace your fork innards with high quality cartridges and suitable springs. This install does require you to machine off a part of your fork tube to remove the cup from the damper rod side, and Traxxion has been reluctant to have the end user do this, but since you are in the UK, perhaps they have a different plan.. I know there is an 1800 rider in Australia with the Traxxion setup, and I'm sure he didn't ship things back & forth.. Traxxion uses a custom built Penske shock, and it works very well on he 1800.

Look around the Traxxion website, and check out Max's video. He's opinionated, but he's right..

http://traxxion.com/hondagoldwing.aspx



I have done both RaceTech and Traxxion upgrades, and have ridden both. If money is no object, go with the Traxxion full monty. If budgetary considerations apply, perhaps the RaceTech GoldValves, decent springs, and a new shock would be more affordable. You can do this incrementally, by the way.. one end now, the other later. The problem with that is that as soon as you fix one end of the bike, you notice how bad the other end is...





Dave

rocketmoto.com

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DBohrer wrote:

Dandy Dave wrote:

I have an 1800, so I'm more familiar the suspension deficiencies of that bike than on a 1500, but they are pretty similar.. Spring rates too weak for an 8-900 lb bike, damper rod forks, poor to no rebound and compression damping. The 1500 at least uses roller stem bearings, not the ball bearings more suitable for a bicycle they went to on the 1800..

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The GL1500 and GL1800 are two completely different bikes.........! Different frames, suspension and everything else compared to the GL1500.

I am guessing you haven't ridden them both very many miles.

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You're right.. while I've ridden an 1800 a few miles, I haven't ridden a 1500 much..



But I was refering to the suspension weaknesses, which both bikes suffer from, especially since they are different generations of the basic machine, and share their design DNA. Both bikes have anti-dive, which they need because the original springs fitted by Hondaare too light for a bike with the GVW of a fully loaded Goldwing, either model. While the 1500 has damper rod suspension on both forks, the 1800 has a cartridge on one side and a damper rod on the other, because anti-dive requires a damper rod style suspension to work. A damper rod kind of stirs the fork oil around, but doesn't really provide much actual damping, and doesn't handle high amplitude bumps well at all. (think going over a 2x4). It does a little better on long dips and rises, since it's slow reaction time is masked somewhat. And the A-D can stick, causing a terribly harsh ride, not to mention that when the A-D kicks in, it locks your fork, so you get NO fork travel. No fork travel equals jarring, hammering ride. A cartridge fork with adequate springs for the bike's weight will give you more fork travel, eliminate the need for anti-dive, and give you a smoother, plusher ride. Either cartridges or cartridge emulators coupled with proper weight springs will improve both bikes dramatically.

While the 1800 uses a single shock and the 1500 uses a dual shock setup, the same issues apply to both bikes again.. Not enough spring, poor damping in the stock unit. Replacements again will make a huge difference in ride quality.



How far does your bike sag when you take it off the centerstand? An 1800 uses upabout1/2 of it's suspension travel just holding itself up off the ground. This is travel that is no longer available to soak up bumps and washboard type roads. You need a little negative suspension travel, but most of it should be available to respond to bumps.



Race Tech says "The best suspension you know is the best you've ridden." If you'd like to take a ride to NH, I invite you to try out a couple of suspension options. I have a Traxxion 1800 and a RaceTech 1800 that can be test ridden. I don't have a 1500 to try, since these are our personal bikes. Or, go check out Motivation Cycles in Charlotte Hall. I personally don't know them, so I can't speak for them, but most Traxxion installers have a demo bike you can ride.




Dave

rocketmoto.com

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Dandy Dave wrote:

Nitrowing, Longboater, did you get some responses?

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Yes, I did. Talked to Dan and I am trying to set up a time this month to do the work and combine it with a GA,SC trip over to Savannah and Charleston. Any one know if the Navy Yard is open to the public? Great history there. Never been, have to check the boxes you know.



Looking at the forks, and rear shock together withnew bearings in the head.



Longboater,

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Dandy Dave wrote:

Glad you got through. The only thing you are missing now for a full monty is the fork brace, and you can do that any time. I agree that it's silly to pull the forks off and not go for the stem bearings. You'll be amazed at the difference in ride and handling. Keep up updated on how it goes and what you thinnk of the setup once it's done.

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Yup, the fork brace is included. I went the full 9 on this even though there is a brace on it. I want a fully installed engineered system. This eliminates the finger pointing when issues crop up.



Need to work on an easier method to change the fork oil. This is an annual and having to pull the wheel to do it seems antiquated to me. Oh well checking the brakes and bearings goes along with it so I guess putting up with the current system works.



Updating is always a thing I try to maintain as it helps those who maybe in need down the road. The good and the bad too.

Longboater

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Hi Nitrowing.
My GL1500sey (1999)
Front
Forkbrace
Progressive springs (Hagon)
Rear
Twin progressive 416 series (both air)

Handling:
Fantastic much more sucure in the bends without any of that GoldWing 'wallow'
Ride:
(i) Standard front end and 416 series behind, great ride, good at soaking up bumps and all the luggage - removed the GoldWing 'Wallow' on fast long bends.
(ii) Progressive springs up front, fork brace and 416 series behind, back end same but I am getting a little bounce from the front, especially when cold, going to replace fork oil from 10 weight to auto transmission fluid (ATF) and see how that goes.
Hope that helps
Stu