Putting some 09 gsxr 1000 forks back together and they have racetech cartridges in them, but I am unsure of what the oil levels should be. Anyone know? Usually it is 120mm+/-?
Racetech Fork Cartridges question
- Thread starter TimTheAsian
- Start date
Tim,
I have Racetech G2-R 25mm cartridges in my R6. According to my documentation, RaceTech specified 110mm to the top. That being said, I didn't have the best experience with the installation and setup of their cartridges. Brian Livengood had to correct a bunch of problems with them. Since being finally setup, the cartridges have been fine for me. I'm actually not even sure Brian kept the 110mm oil level to be honest.
You might want to call Racetech at 951-279-6655. Good luck!
I have Racetech G2-R 25mm cartridges in my R6. According to my documentation, RaceTech specified 110mm to the top. That being said, I didn't have the best experience with the installation and setup of their cartridges. Brian Livengood had to correct a bunch of problems with them. Since being finally setup, the cartridges have been fine for me. I'm actually not even sure Brian kept the 110mm oil level to be honest.
You might want to call Racetech at 951-279-6655. Good luck!
My experience has been ugrading two bikes to race tech with a little discount on parts. Kent at Computrack NE ATL was happy to charge me $100's to install. When I overheard some MotoAmerica racers saying race tech basically stock. If you plan to ride at expert level, not much beats Ohlins, JRI. Whatever you do, don't skimp on safety. Just my opinion.
I don't claim to know any different... but Huey told me that my full G2-R's are really good stuff
Agreed. Just sayin if you're competing and trying to shave seconds from lap time.
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Having both Racetech G2-R 25mm (in the R6) and Ohlins 25mm (in the 750) I'd have to say that right now, the Racetech setup might feel just a little less compliant in the very small stuff. I am very happy with how the R6 handles and can't complain at all. As a matter of fact, where I can slightly feel it, others who have ridden the R6 have complained more - but they are all at least 40lbs less than me (like Musky size) and I think it's really more a factor of the suspension just being valved and sprung way to strong for their weight. Regardless, they were more than good enough for Yank to turn 1:50 flats during the Endurance race at Pitt. And Gary is a LOT smaller than I. And we never adjusted a single thing on that bike for him. We did put fuel in for him. 
Looking at both of them, I'd have to say that from a "build" perspective, there are a lot more people around who are experienced at installing and tuning Ohlins than Racetech, that I'm not sure just how much I trust the Racetech folks to properly build the valve stacks and overall valving to the same level of accuracy of a good suspension guy with Ohlins, and that the construction of the Racetech stuff - while certainly OK - isn't quite to the apparent quality of Ohlins.
Looking at both of them, I'd have to say that from a "build" perspective, there are a lot more people around who are experienced at installing and tuning Ohlins than Racetech, that I'm not sure just how much I trust the Racetech folks to properly build the valve stacks and overall valving to the same level of accuracy of a good suspension guy with Ohlins, and that the construction of the Racetech stuff - while certainly OK - isn't quite to the apparent quality of Ohlins.
The more years experience gained, it's my opinion/understanding...Race Tech is more for dirt bike racing. This is coming from a guy who spent over $2000 on race tech years ago.
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I've run several different packages. Good components are 50% of the equation, the other 50% is your tuner. I've been happy with Ohlins, Penske and Traxxion components. Next build I'll be trying out the Ktech. I believe Lenny 1 went with Ohlins in his R1 and Lenny 2 is on JRI. Be curious to compare them one weekend after we're all setup.
Definitely a step up from stock (but same as re-valving stock). We all need to get real serious about suspension, upgrades, tuning each season or after each crash. Depends on your level of riding/racing. But eventually, I'd step up from race tech, especially if you're the guy I think you are...SV guy Lars and I battled at NCBIKE summer 2015 when we bumped you to Advanced, right!?
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Sorry - can't agree with this - that the G2-R is the same as re-valving stock.
I honestly think we'd all be a lot better off getting serious about our technique more than suspension and upgrades to be honest. When you can have guys at YCRS come past you on bone stock R6s or FZs, it really makes you realize that it's a heck of a lot more about the hands on the grips than it is the guts in the forks. I know my bikes have way more performance in them than I'm getting out of them!
Not sure who you were talking about in terms of NCBike....
Not sure exactly which suspension you're talking, if race tech, I think any of them are better for dirt.
My experience: I have one of the best in the business, Thermosman work on all my stuff. He took my R1 front fork valves, and had the stock pieces machined so they had larger holes. Then a year later I got race tech. When I stepped up to Ohlins a year after is when I heard how inferior race tech is.
YCRS guys are experts making almost perfect actions, so we all gonna make more disruptive actions that result in bumpier laps, which is where us "club level guys" need the extra measure of caution getting best equipment.
I'm very happy to hear this subject is part of the discussion. Suspension is vital to a roadracer.
Just want to be sure my point is clear. We can agree to disagree, that's okay by me.
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My experience: I have one of the best in the business, Thermosman work on all my stuff. He took my R1 front fork valves, and had the stock pieces machined so they had larger holes. Then a year later I got race tech. When I stepped up to Ohlins a year after is when I heard how inferior race tech is.
YCRS guys are experts making almost perfect actions, so we all gonna make more disruptive actions that result in bumpier laps, which is where us "club level guys" need the extra measure of caution getting best equipment.
I'm very happy to hear this subject is part of the discussion. Suspension is vital to a roadracer.
Just want to be sure my point is clear. We can agree to disagree, that's okay by me.
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No - we're good - when you can't be on the track (yet) - talking about this stuff is the next best thing!
I'm not disagreeing at all that the Racetech stuff isn't quite at the same level as Ohlins or Ktech. Not at all. I just have two caveats. They are:
The Racetech stuff (which is certainly far better known for off-road than road racing) is more than just the same as revalving stock stuff. I think that particularly on stuff like high speed adjustments, it has a reputation for being not as compliant and adjustable as Ohlins, Ktech or similar.
And that most of us mortal guys aren't really limited by our bikes - we're limited by our skill. I'm not sure I could make my R6 go around the track any faster if I replaced the Racetech G2-R stuff in the front, or the G3-S shock I have on the back. I'll be honest - I put Racetech stuff on it for one reason. Cost. Racetech really offers a great military discount that made their suspension - replacing some worn out stock stuff on an old R6 - far less expensive than Ohlins. I worked with Lenny Albin (who I think a lot of folks know of) even though he had left Racetech long ago, and was working for K-Tech at the time. Lenny had helped me with some Nitron stuff for my street bike - the Blackbird.
I work with Jon Tyus at CTR for the suspension work on my GSXR/Ohlins stuff. I consider him to be on par with Thermosman and he does my forks and shocks. He's never touched the R6 stuff - only because it's become my "rain" bike - and it's been ridden by friends WAY more than by me in the past year! The biggest problem IMHO with the Racetech stuff is the fact that there just aren't that many people that really work with it enough to be comfortable at setting it up. And at the same money, I'd absolutely go with Ohlins or KTech.
I do think you're absolutely right about another thing. We "club" guys can't go as fast with all our aftermarket goodies as the YCRS guys and their brothers can go on stock bikes. We use the extra stuff to mask our flaws. I'm OK with that. I'm more interested in being more predictable, consistent and safe at current - or maybe just a little faster - pace than I am in turning lap records. If tuning my suspension just a little better makes it 2% less likely that I'm going to lose the front end, it's worth it to me.
I'm not disagreeing at all that the Racetech stuff isn't quite at the same level as Ohlins or Ktech. Not at all. I just have two caveats. They are:
The Racetech stuff (which is certainly far better known for off-road than road racing) is more than just the same as revalving stock stuff. I think that particularly on stuff like high speed adjustments, it has a reputation for being not as compliant and adjustable as Ohlins, Ktech or similar.
And that most of us mortal guys aren't really limited by our bikes - we're limited by our skill. I'm not sure I could make my R6 go around the track any faster if I replaced the Racetech G2-R stuff in the front, or the G3-S shock I have on the back. I'll be honest - I put Racetech stuff on it for one reason. Cost. Racetech really offers a great military discount that made their suspension - replacing some worn out stock stuff on an old R6 - far less expensive than Ohlins. I worked with Lenny Albin (who I think a lot of folks know of) even though he had left Racetech long ago, and was working for K-Tech at the time. Lenny had helped me with some Nitron stuff for my street bike - the Blackbird.
I work with Jon Tyus at CTR for the suspension work on my GSXR/Ohlins stuff. I consider him to be on par with Thermosman and he does my forks and shocks. He's never touched the R6 stuff - only because it's become my "rain" bike - and it's been ridden by friends WAY more than by me in the past year! The biggest problem IMHO with the Racetech stuff is the fact that there just aren't that many people that really work with it enough to be comfortable at setting it up. And at the same money, I'd absolutely go with Ohlins or KTech.
I do think you're absolutely right about another thing. We "club" guys can't go as fast with all our aftermarket goodies as the YCRS guys and their brothers can go on stock bikes. We use the extra stuff to mask our flaws. I'm OK with that. I'm more interested in being more predictable, consistent and safe at current - or maybe just a little faster - pace than I am in turning lap records. If tuning my suspension just a little better makes it 2% less likely that I'm going to lose the front end, it's worth it to me.
I'm gonna throw my hat into the mix on this. Yes- we teach technique and emphasize it heavily. Yes, a good rider can go faster on a bone stock R6 than a bad rider on a Graves R6. Notably, the R6 has a pretty derned good front end from the factory too.
But just because people can go stupid fast on stock suspension by using good technique, doesn't make it the best thing or the safest. Think high speed damping. What's the purpose? To track bumps. You're leaned over, encounter a bump, your forks compress at the appropriate rate to not launch your bike off the bump or upset the chassis, and then they rebound quickly enough to track the second half of the bump as it goes back down, without being bouncy. Again on the rebound, the goal is to keep your tire in contact with the pavement and not upset the chassis. Very skilled riders can make up for poor tracking (ie when the tire loses contact with the pavement) by riding smoothly and knowing the limits of their suspension and backing off when the tire starts moving too much underneath them. For a less experienced rider, I would feel better about giving him/her the proper suspension that will track the bump without losing traction. Another benefit of good suspension is that it transmits feedback from the front tire to the bars. At NCBIKE in November, I rode my friend's bone stock GSXR 750 back to back with Ron's 750 with full ohlins, and of course I was a hell of lot faster on the Ohlins bike, but the thing that struck me the most was the difference in feedback. On the stock bike, I could rail through the corners reasonably well, but didn't know where the limits were due to the lack of feedback. On Ron's bike, I knew exactly where I was in terms of traction, due to the awesome feedback.
Notably, this is only my thought on how high speed damping affects the front end. I could write all day on the remaining aspects of suspension benefits.
Not everybody plans to ride/race expert
But I totally agree; for me, setting up my bike with proper suspension is a safety issue, and I won't skimp on it.
Lars - totally agree. I was just trying to make the point that the difference between Ohlins and Racetech probably for most people won't result in much of a change. Properly setup Racetech can work really really well. Maybe not quite so refined as Ohlins - but certainly not unsafe - even at stupid fast speeds Honestly, I think we're all saying the same thing here - except perhaps in our opinion as to Racetech. Not sure where you stand on that. At the end of the day, though, suspension design is a science, but damping and compression is hardly rocket science. From an engineering perspective, it's hard for me to conceive how a good suspension guy can't make pretty much any of the manufacturers work pretty darned well so long as they have experience with each particular design and their quirks.
Honestly, I think we're all saying the same thing here - except perhaps in our opinion as to Racetech. Not sure where you stand on that. At the end of the day, though, suspension design is a science, but damping and compression is hardly rocket science. From an engineering perspective, it's hard for me to conceive how a good suspension guy can't make pretty much any of the manufacturers work pretty darned well so long as they have experience with each particular design and their quirks.
Yup Jonathon, that's me!
Different bike now. Went from an SV to a gsxr600 (which Lars is still mad at me for doing) that I found already set up with race tech front and rear. I'm predominantly a track day guy and only intend on racing a few times a season. Plus I'm still learning a lot "hand over fist" so I appreciate everyone's input on this subject.
Lenny ZX9R
Control Rider
Hello to all!
I've had Raceteck front valving and I've had Penske rear shocks. And then there is Ohlins. I have to say that as my skillset became better, I could FEEL the difference between a good stock suspension and a good aftermarket suspension. What your looking for is great feedback ( thanks Lars) from your bike! I went with the Ohlins suspension on the new R1 as I knew how this suspension would work and that Ron at Washington Cycle Works knows how to set up the suspension the way I like it to feel.
I'm sure that I could go just as smooth with a JRI or Kteck, but I would have to find someone to help set up the bike for me!
Each manufacturer makes their suspension for a wide variety of riders, so its essential that you find a person that can set that particular suspension! I hope this helps a little
I've had Raceteck front valving and I've had Penske rear shocks. And then there is Ohlins. I have to say that as my skillset became better, I could FEEL the difference between a good stock suspension and a good aftermarket suspension. What your looking for is great feedback ( thanks Lars) from your bike! I went with the Ohlins suspension on the new R1 as I knew how this suspension would work and that Ron at Washington Cycle Works knows how to set up the suspension the way I like it to feel.
I'm sure that I could go just as smooth with a JRI or Kteck, but I would have to find someone to help set up the bike for me!
Each manufacturer makes their suspension for a wide variety of riders, so its essential that you find a person that can set that particular suspension! I hope this helps a little
Lenny ZX9R
Control Rider
Was it 3 or 4 quarts of fork oil? LOL!