Best Transalp Fork Mod

[ladder106]

In an effort to improve the suspension of my US spec Transalp (along with converting it into a Africa Twin hybrid...we Yanks never got the AT) I embarked on a project to install XR650 forks and longer rear suspension.



Some months later, I was able to find a DR750 Suzuki. These were also never imported to the US. I was very lucky.

After riding the DR for a while I found the modded Transalp lacking. The big DR felt better than my modded Transalp....alot better. The Suzuki made the Transalp feel top-heavy and tippy. I'm a bit over 6 ft with long legs so size was not the problem. The Transalp LOOKED great....it just didn't steer on the dirt. I started thinking about going back to the standard forks and lowering the rear. The only problem was the standard damper rod forks are pretty poor.

After a few weeks, I found myself not riding the Transalp in favor of the Suzuki. This wasn't right! I loved the Transalp and had spent a lot of time and effort improving it. But in comparison, it wasn't as good as I thought. I had been thinking about the problem for a while when, out of the blue, I got a "private message" on the ADVrider site from Don Richardson of Ricor Racing Shocks. http://store.ricorshocks.com/default.asp This was the middle of May. Don said they had developed an easy to install suspension upgrade for the stock Transalp forks and wanted me to try them. I guess I was waiting for something to move my decision "overcenter" so I agreed.

I had the stock forks off in a corner of the shop so I shipped them to Ricor for measurements. In the meantime I undertook the process of converting back to a more standard suspension for the Transalp. Now, for anyone who has done the "AfricaAlp" mod, you know that returning to stock involves triple clamps, steering bearings, wheel bearings, rear suspension work, cables, brake lines and front fender mounting....some time and effort. A bit of a gamble perhaps but Don impressed me with his knowledge and credentials. He KNOWS suspension and has a ton of experience with vehicle dynamics and off-road racing. He rides motorcycles. It was worth the investment.

A few days later my forks returned. The new valves, called Intiminators, arrived along with the recommended fork oil.



Installing the Intiminators is easy and I'd be happy to talk anyone through it who isn't comfortable doing this mod. A pictorial for the installation for the WeeStrom can be found here: 650 Vstrom: Intiminators (fork valves) install & review - ADVrider along with test results from many of the WeeStrom guys. The major installation steps are the same for the Transalp so repeating them is not productive here.

.....NOW THE TEST.............

I put about 300 miles on the first test ride. I tried to find as many different road conditions as I could to see how the "new" forks handled.

I rode freeways (oops...Motorways), I rode city streets, (no photo since we all know what these look like and are boring)

Patched and potholed asphalt



Slow Gravel



Fast Gravel



Dirt (and anyone who can resist going scary-fast on this road should just buy a Harley now and give up the dirt forever)



Rocks



The main thing I discovered was.....STEERING. The front wheel finally found traction and stuck. I could steer the bike without feeling like the front wheel was going to tuck or slide out from under me. I could pivot around the front wheel in the dirt using the throttle....just like it's supposed to be.

The next thing I found was BRAKING. The Intiminators do not let the front end dive down and use up all the travel. You still have a functioning fork even when braking. You can brake over those corrugated ripples on a gravel road and not have the front wheel trying to fold up or slide to one side or the other. If the Intiminators did nothing else, I'd recommend them as a safety feature. It will improve your braking dramatically over uneven ground. Same goes for braking into a bumpy asphalt corner.

After this is DAMPING control. The Intiminators worked very well off-road and on. They absorbed the rocks, worked well on the smooth dirt and high speeds with the front off the ground over the tops and compressed on dips and g-outs. The inertia valve that Ricor developed lets the forks be soft when you need them soft and hard when you need them hard. The 7 in. of travel the stock Transalp offers is just fine when the forks work.

After my first test ride, I was very impressed but I felt that the valves could be a bit softer on square edges and potholes. After talking with Don, a second set of Intiminators with softer valving was sent. I repeated the test last Sunday following the identical route and feel that the valves are now right for the Transalp. To Ricor's credit, they were not in a hurry to market the Intiminators for the Transalp. They wanted the best product they could build and were willing to make changes until that goal was reached

In my opinion, this is the BEST new product to come along for the Transalp in a very long time and I recommend it to anyone wanting to quickly and easily improve their stock suspension. Many of us have have spent a lot on "improved" fork springs to try to solve the Transalp brake dive problem. The Intiminators work best with stock fork springs and solve the dive problem with correct damping, the way it should be.

The Intiminators will work with any Transalp 41mm DAMPER ROD fork. Because I'm in the US, I do not have any experience with the 650 or 700 cc Transalp (Yes, US Honda has still not extracted their head from their backsides) so check your fork specification to be certain of fitment. On the whole, I think you'll be well pleased.

As a disclaimer, I'm not part of Ricor and do not stand to earn anything from the sale of the Intiminators. I did receive the product free of charge but also spent a fair amount of my own time and money in converting the bike back to the stock configuration. My bike doesn't look like it just won the Dakar any more.....but I'm riding it just as much as the Suzuki now and the two compliment each other very well.



A word about cost. Ricor generally offers a large discount after initial development. Please contact them concerning costs and overseas shipping. As a general comparison, suspension work from a "specialist" will cost betwen $200 and $500 depending on the job.

[Paul-S]

In an effort to improve the suspension of my US spec Transalp (along with converting it into a Africa Twin hybrid...we Yanks never got the AT) I embarked on a project to install XR650 forks and longer rear suspension.



Some months later, I was able to find a DR750 Suzuki. These were also never imported to the US. I was very lucky.

After riding the DR for a while I found the modded Transalp lacking. The big DR felt better than my modded Transalp....alot better. The Suzuki made the Transalp feel top-heavy and tippy. I'm a bit over 6 ft with long legs so size was not the problem. The Transalp LOOKED great....it just didn't steer on the dirt. I started thinking about going back to the standard forks and lowering the rear. The only problem was the standard damper rod forks are pretty poor.

After a few weeks, I found myself not riding the Transalp in favor of the Suzuki. This wasn't right! I loved the Transalp and had spent a lot of time and effort improving it. But in comparison, it wasn't as good as I thought. I had been thinking about the problem for a while when, out of the blue, I got a "private message" on the ADVrider site from Don Richardson of Ricor Racing Shocks. http://store.ricorshocks.com/default.asp This was the middle of May. Don said they had developed an easy to install suspension upgrade for the stock Transalp forks and wanted me to try them. I guess I was waiting for something to move my decision "overcenter" so I agreed.

I had the stock forks off in a corner of the shop so I shipped them to Ricor for measurements. In the meantime I undertook the process of converting back to a more standard suspension for the Transalp. Now, for anyone who has done the "AfricaAlp" mod, you know that returning to stock involves triple clamps, steering bearings, wheel bearings, rear suspension work, cables, brake lines and front fender mounting....some time and effort. A bit of a gamble perhaps but Don impressed me with his knowledge and credentials. He KNOWS suspension and has a ton of experience with vehicle dynamics and off-road racing. He rides motorcycles. It was worth the investment.

A few days later my forks returned. The new valves, called Intiminators, arrived along with the recommended fork oil.



Installing the Intiminators is easy and I'd be happy to talk anyone through it who isn't comfortable doing this mod. A pictorial for the installation for the WeeStrom can be found here: 650 Vstrom: Intiminators (fork valves) install & review - ADVrider along with test results from many of the WeeStrom guys. The major installation steps are the same for the Transalp so repeating them is not productive here.

.....NOW THE TEST.............

I put about 300 miles on the first test ride. I tried to find as many different road conditions as I could to see how the "new" forks handled.

I rode freeways (oops...Motorways), I rode city streets, (no photo since we all know what these look like and are boring)

Patched and potholed asphalt



Slow Gravel



Fast Gravel



Dirt (and anyone who can resist going scary-fast on this road should just buy a Harley now and give up the dirt forever)



Rocks



The main thing I discovered was.....STEERING. The front wheel finally found traction and stuck. I could steer the bike without feeling like the front wheel was going to tuck or slide out from under me. I could pivot around the front wheel in the dirt using the throttle....just like it's supposed to be.

The next thing I found was BRAKING. The Intiminators do not let the front end dive down and use up all the travel. You still have a functioning fork even when braking. You can brake over those corrugated ripples on a gravel road and not have the front wheel trying to fold up or slide to one side or the other. If the Intiminators did nothing else, I'd recommend them as a safety feature. It will improve your braking dramatically over uneven ground. Same goes for braking into a bumpy asphalt corner.

After this is DAMPING control. The Intiminators worked very well off-road and on. They absorbed the rocks, worked well on the smooth dirt and high speeds with the front off the ground over the tops and compressed on dips and g-outs. The inertia valve that Ricor developed lets the forks be soft when you need them soft and hard when you need them hard. The 7 in. of travel the stock Transalp offers is just fine when the forks work.

After my first test ride, I was very impressed but I felt that the valves could be a bit softer on square edges and potholes. After talking with Don, a second set of Intiminators with softer valving was sent. I repeated the test last Sunday following the identical route and feel that the valves are now right for the Transalp. To Ricor's credit, they were not in a hurry to market the Intiminators for the Transalp. They wanted the best product they could build and were willing to make changes until that goal was reached

In my opinion, this is the BEST new product to come along for the Transalp in a very long time and I recommend it to anyone wanting to quickly and easily improve their stock suspension. Many of us have have spent a lot on "improved" fork springs to try to solve the Transalp brake dive problem. The Intiminators work best with stock fork springs and solve the dive problem with correct damping, the way it should be.

The Intiminators will work with any Transalp 41mm DAMPER ROD fork. Because I'm in the US, I do not have any experience with the 650 or 700 cc Transalp (Yes, US Honda has still not extracted their head from their backsides) so check your fork specification to be certain of fitment. On the whole, I think you'll be well pleased.

As a disclaimer, I'm not part of Ricor and do not stand to earn anything from the sale of the Intiminators. I did receive the product free of charge but also spent a fair amount of my own time and money in converting the bike back to the stock configuration. My bike doesn't look like it just won the Dakar any more.....but I'm riding it just as much as the Suzuki now and the two compliment each other very well.



A word about cost. Ricor generally offers a large discount after initial development. Please contact them concerning costs and overseas shipping. As a general comparison, suspension work from a "specialist" will cost betwen $200 and $500 depending on the job.

Excellent report, good intel and fantastic pics

Just hope someone takes this forward for the AT

[ladder106]

Just hope someone takes this forward for the AT

I believe Ricor is working on the ATs as we speak. The problem is finding ATs in the US.....it's no easy task. There are a few but rare.

Maybe one of you guys would volunteer to work with Ricor. Contact them here: http://store.ricorshocks.com/ Dunno if shipping the forks here would be too expensive (or take too long) or not. It's worth a go.

I should also mention that I used the Racetech product for a while also. It's an improvement, but I like the Ricor product much better since it seems able to "differentiate" between chassis movement and wheel movement and react accordingly.

[phil w]

Seriously great looking TA you have there and one of my biggest complaints of TAs is the front fork dive although the 600 I have now doesnt seem as bad as the 650 I previously had.

[piguglyshandydrinker]

Yep, they look a bit like the Racetec Gold Valve Emulators, which essentially change crappy damper rod forks into something a bit more like cartridge forks.

I fitted some a while back, had a fiddle & couldn't tell the difference.....

But glad they worked for you & a smart looking bike.

Phil

[piguglyshandydrinker]

Hi Phil,
Suprised to hear you say that you felt no difference. What set up do you have.

Steve

I purchased the extra set of damper springs that you suggested & have tried both with different preloads!
Maybe I'm not that sensitive to these things (or a good enough rider....)

Phil

[YEN_POWELL]

Excellent report, good intel and fantastic pics

Just hope someone takes this forward for the AT

It's happening as I type actually. Watch this space.

[piguglyshandydrinker]

Phil I feel responsible.

Did you drill out the damper rods plus the extra holes? what weight oil are you using and how much?

Steve

Yep, all done as per instructions, it's all pretty easy to do, think I'm using 10wt oil at stock quantity/air gap.

Don't feel too bad, I hadn't ridden the bike for a while before the mod & when I got on to ride afterwards I forgot/hadn't noticed they were fitted so there was no back to back test as such, I recall noticing a small improvement in quality over small fast bumps like cats eyes.

Phil

[phil w]

Lookin again at this, wouldnt it be better to just replace springs with Hagon ones to stiffen up the front

[RicorSHX]

The Ricor Intiminators operate differently than the Race Tech Emulators. Their only similarity is where they are installed in the forks. The inertia valve is a motion sensing valve. It only responds to wheel inputs. The chassis input circuit can then be tuned to provide a few times more transition resistance than the Emulators to address brake dive and stability. The inertia valve opens the 'comfort circuit' seamlessly only when needed within milliseconds without the 'PSI spikes'. The inertia valve 'reads' to road surface to allow the wheel to comply resulting in a huge drop in tire force variation. Low tire force variation = traction/grip.

The Ricor IAS system was pioneered in the 90's with Citroen and was instrumental in making their Dakar Rally cars competitive. Citroen won every Dakar Rally after switching to Ricor Racing Shocks starting with the Paris/ Moscow/ Beijing Rally.

We are working on the ATs asap.

Yep, they look a bit like the Racetec Gold Valve Emulators, which essentially change crappy damper rod forks into something a bit more like cartridge forks.

I fitted some a while back, had a fiddle & couldn't tell the difference.....

But glad they worked for you & a smart looking bike.

Phil