Suspension upgrades - A bit of a project

[Mjolnir]

I've had my Hornet for a few years now and I love riding it but the rear shock was never the greatest thing in the world even when it was new and the forks are a little too soft when the riding gets more spirited.

My wheels were looking a little tatty and the fork lowers were looking worse for wear as well so I decided I was going to get them tidied up and powder coated over the winter. While they were off it was the perfect opportunity to have a play with the suspension.

The first thing I did was asked around on the forums to see what was available. It's pretty overwhelming. for the forks you can increase/decrease the oil weight, adjust the air gap, the preload, spacers, emulators/gold valves, cartridges, progressive, linear or dual rate springs... And when you start on the rear there are loads of manufacturers that are dying to help you spend your money.

I was originally looking at a Wilbers Ecoline shock, which would have done a fine job, but I was offered the chance to buy a second hand Ohlins, with waaaay more adjustment and awesomeness, so I snapped it up.

For the forks, I had originally fancied a simple set of Hagon progressive springs but I got talked into using Linear springs that were set up for my weight. I was recommended a company called Matris who do a drop in kit for the hornet which includes oil flow rate dampers, linear springs (which you select based upon your weight), spacers and preload adjusters.

I haven't messed with the bike like this before, I usually have a mechanic do stuff like this, but I fancied having a go myself and I took pictures along the way so it's turned into a bit of a project.

[Mjolnir]

Things I've learned along the way:
- Don't trust a powdercoater to listen to you when you tell them exactly what you want
- When the Haynes manual say "simply remove" it actually means "bash with a mallet"
- Everything takes longer than you think it will

Anyway...
I took the bike around to my mates since he has a brilliant garage and the space makes it much easier to work in. Well, it did until we filled it with bits of bike.
I bought an ABBA stand from a guy on ebay who had changed bike and didn't need it now since his new one has a centre stand. It came with the front lift which makes it so easy to take the front and back off. It's pretty solid too. I can't recommend it enough. I've given away my old rear paddock stand since this arrived.
https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/mjolnir13/Motorbike/1-OnStand_zpsabec9785.jpg

Taking the wheels off was easier than i thought considering i've never done it before. I have a Haynes manual but the official Honda service manual made more sense in a few places.
https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/mjolnir13/Motorbike/2-WheelsOff_zpsc6c6f945.jpg

I was really proud of myself. Labeling everything and organising parts into their own place so they don't get lost. It hasn't lasted though. I've got parts scattered everywhere now.
https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/mjolnir13/Motorbike/3-BitsOrganised_zpsbd186baf.jpg

At the front, the forks are looking tatty. They have loads of pitting and the paint has come off and could use a spray. That said, i've no issues with the fork seals so I plan to leave the originals in place for now and do them if and when they start to weep oil.
https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/mjolnir13/Motorbike/4-Front_zps9f66c9e1.jpg

It looks totally different with no front end.
https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/mjolnir13/Motorbike/5-FrontOff_zps21ad902d.jpg

The Matris stuff for the forks originally comes from Italy but I ordered them from PDQ since they're UK based and I could talk to them easier if there was an issue. They are lovely bits of kit. Shame no one will ever see them because they're inside the fork.
https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/mjolnir13/Motorbike/6-NewForkInternals_zps17078163.jpg

Preload adjusters... ooh
https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/mjolnir13/Motorbike/7-PreloadAdjuster_zps234c5749.jpg

All the bits put together: Oil flow restrictor, spring, spacers, Preload adjuster. Hopefully it will make a difference to the ride.
https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/mjolnir13/Motorbike/8-MatrisSetup_zps483363cf.jpg

I hung the forks upside down overnight to make sure they were empty. The old fork oil was dark and smelly.
https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/mjolnir13/Motorbike/9-OilDrained_zps53a076e1.jpg

I filled the forks with Silkolene 10w fork oil, leaving the air gap mentioned in the Matris instructions, and then bolted everything together.
https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/mjolnir13/Motorbike/10-ForksTogether_zps8f415883.jpg

The fork lowers were a bit of a state. I wish I had taken close ups to show how bad they had gotten but you can make it out in previous pictures. I, carefully, used some nitromors to take the old paint off. My mate did a brilliant job masking them for me We sprayed them with an etch primer first...
https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/mjolnir13/Motorbike/11-ForksPrimed_zps806380e0.jpg

and then used several coats of hammerite smooth silver. It's come up really nice and it looks like it might be a tough coating. It may take a few more weeks to cure before it's worth taking out though. I did consider powder coating the forks but i'd have to do the fork seals then and, at least this way, I can always tidy up any future chips myself.
https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/mjolnir13/Motorbike/12-ForksPainted_zps733a885c.jpg

[Mjolnir]

The 2nd hand Ohlins I bought went off to Reactive Supension. They stripped it down and told me it was like new inside. He gave it a full service and then Powdercoated the spring and Zinc plated the shock body so it's now like new on the outside too.

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/mjolnir13/Motorbike/17-NewOhlins_zps90db5d40.jpg

The wheels came off easily, getting the bearings out takes a lot of hammering and I bought a length of brass roundbar from eBay which came in really handy as a drift. One thing I now know is that he spacers that sit inside the wheels, between the bearings, can be moved over quite easily on one side so that you can hammer out the bearing. The other side they are held more firmly in place by the wheel. The rear sprocket carrier has a huge bearing and then a spacer that sits inside it, which I wasn't expecting but you can make out in the next image. According to Haynes it just fits inside, it took some drifting to get it out though.

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/mjolnir13/Motorbike/13-SprocketCarrier_zps5f72675f.jpg
All of the bearings seemed fine when they were out but I changed them all for new anyway.

Anyway, I took the wheels to a blaster/powdercoater who talked the talk and seemed to know what he was doing. I even saw an old bike frame in his workshop that he had blasted and then coated in black. It looked great so I assumed that I was in safe hands.

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/mjolnir13/Motorbike/14-WheelsPowdercoated1_zps4daad5e1.jpg

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/mjolnir13/Motorbike/15-WheelsPowdercoated2_zps5114e4d2.jpg

The wheels came back and, whilst they looked great initially I found that they had blasting material inside which took me an hour or so to completely clear out. Not the most professional thing to do. Apart from that he did a good job and the wheels look great.

Upon getting the brake disks back on I found that I had to clear out the threads for the disk mounts as they were crammed with blasting material. I mustn't have gotten it all because as I was putting one of the bolts in I felt it go tight as the threads gummed up. I tried to back it out and ended up taking the head off the bolt.

I took it to a local bike garage, Almaxx, where they've got a fantastic mechanic. He drilled it out, helicoiled it and gave me a few spare disk bolts as well. I originally did my training with these guys, as did a few of my mates, and I would highly recommend them.

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/mjolnir13/Motorbike/16-WheelsTogether1_zpsd091dd2c.jpg

Just to add: The tyres are brand new and haven't been scrubbed in yet. I rode them from fitting to the garage where I started stripping everything. (That's my excuse and i'm sticking to it )

[Robby]

Looks like you're doing everything properly and by the book, which is refreshing, most mechanical novices try taking shortcuts which end badly.

One thing though. Replace the fork seals, using genuine Honda ones. You're doing all this work and spending quite a bit on the job, don't scrimp on the cheapest and most failure-prone part of the job.

Also, if the fork stanchions (uppers) aren't totally smooth when you run your fingernails over them, give them a quick going over with a finishing pad. When the job is completed a light coating of ACF-50 on a rag will drastically slow down any future corrosion, particularly on the upper parts of the fork behind the headlight.

[garth]

[evoboy]

This will be a nice bike when complete.

I've ridden a Hornet Cup bike with very similar mods and it was very nice and well behaved in the suspension department. A massive difference to the soggy standard setup.
____________________
Suzuki GT250 x7------- Fazer 600------CB250RS------Aprilia Rally 70----- Bandit 600

APT Motorcycles

[Mjolnir]

Robby - Cheers. I've been trying to do everything properly so far. I'm happy to change the fork seals when they need it but wasn't going to rush into it whilst they're still fine.

I actually picked up a replacement set of OEM fork seals from Dave Silver Spares as well as replacement bushes. I imagined that I might end up playing with the air gap and the oil weight a little until i'm happy so i'll still have a chance to change them.

I actually bought a bottle of ACF50 from Busters a few days ago which i'm going to put to good use. They do the large bottle and the smaller spray bottle to decant into rather than the aerosol. I've used FS365 before but a load of people have recommended this stuff so i've switched over.

[Mjolnir]

I've had a few days off this last week so I've made a fair bit of progress with the bike. I cleaned the downpipes with a little autosol and some wire wool. They came up very nicely.

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/mjolnir13/Motorbike/18-PolishedDownpipes800_zpsbb8fd132.jpg

After that we slotted the forks back in. Really looking forward to seeing how the bike rides with the new oil and Matris bits inside them.

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/mjolnir13/Motorbike/19-ForksFitted800_zps39b00205.jpg

I had a spare set of bars that had a little corrosion on them. I had them blasted and powder coated as well so I fitted them and... it didn't go as planned. The powder coat on the bars was too thick to get the choke over it and the throttle would stick and not release. I should really have thought of this before hand as it's pretty obvious when you think about it. It took me well over an hour of sanding on each side to get the bars down to the correct thickness so that he controls could be mounted. I ended up using a drill with an attachment to wear the coating down. It was a pain in the backside but if the coating on the wheels is a good as the bars then it will last forever.

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/mjolnir13/Motorbike/20-AdjustersandBars800_zps4451d8d7.jpg

My mate cleaned the swingarm while I was faffing with the bars. Using Muc off and Paraffin, he got it so clean you'd think it had come out of the showroom.

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/mjolnir13/Motorbike/21-OldShockRemoved800_zpsd4648239.jpg

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/mjolnir13/Motorbike/22-CleanSwingarm800_zpsc658514a.jpg

We sprayed and wiped ACF50 onto everything that could corrode and would normally be hidden when it was all back together and then, the good bit: Shiny new Ohlins vs old Showa

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/mjolnir13/Motorbike/23-OldShockNewShock800_zps43fbe437.jpg

The Showa is in pretty good condition, it's just a little soft and lacking in any adjustment so, on with the new gold stuff:

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/mjolnir13/Motorbike/24-OhlinsFitted800_zps6ea183f1.jpg

Looks great, I'm dying to get it out on the road to try it out.

We put the hugger and the rear wheel on and torqued everything up. The hugger was a pain to get off in the first place as one of the bolts had corroded. We ended up covering it in penetrating oil, filing it square on two sides and then grabbing it with some mole grips. It eventually creaked around and dropped out. It's always the little things that take the most time though.

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/mjolnir13/Motorbike/25-RearWheelFitted_zps7fd8c3b6.jpg

and that's where i'm up to now. Just the front wheel, mudguard, bellypan and fairing left to do... as well as adjusting the chain. We didn't get to that as the pub was calling.

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/mjolnir13/Motorbike/26-GettingThere800_zps9a51d473.jpg

It almost looks like a bike again.

[Mjolnir]

I tidied everything up and finished bolting everything back together over the weekend.

I found that my original front mudguard had a crack in it where it looked like the mounting bolt had been overtightened when the brake lines where mounted. I got hold of a brand new one from ebay for a semi reasonable price. The new one went on:
https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/mjolnir13/Motorbike/27-FrontMudguard800_zpsf1e27e84.jpg

D'oh, Stupid mistake of the day.
You can't put the wheel back in if you've already attached the brake calipers so off they came and one went the wheel.
https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/mjolnir13/Motorbike/28-Wheel800_zpsa97b10d6.jpg

Haynes is brilliant. It claims the torque setting for the front wheel is 72Nm but there is a note on a separate piece of paper that is slotted into the book that says to amend that torque setting to 59Nm. Just a little bit different. Glad I noticed before it got tightened up.

Next, back on with the fairing. It's a pain in the backside routing all of those wires properly.
https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/mjolnir13/Motorbike/30-Complete800_zps419ddda2.jpg

And that's pretty much that.

I wanted to do a couple of things before I was completely happy with it. There's a great bike garage down the road and i'd spoken to the owner about setting up my suspension properly for my weight as well as checking over my work to make sure I hadn't done anything stupid.

I had pretty much gone by the book so hoping that it should be fine. Then again. The book was wrong at times

[Mjolnir]

Back from the garage
https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/mjolnir13/Motorbike/31-Tested_zps1c8fdd68.jpg

I took it to CQ Performance. He's just down the road from me and is a really knowledgeable bloke. His workshop is fantastic.

He said that i'd done a good job overall. The chain needed to be slightly tighter than i'd left it and he complained about he crap (ACF50) that i'd covered everything in. He adjusted the suspension for my weight and talked about different tyre pressures to use, depending upon the ride/conditions.

The bike rides beautifully. The Ohlins rear shock is a massive improvement, though I think any aftermarket shock would have shown the original up. It feels so plush and controlled.

The Matris front fork kit is something i'd definitely recommend to anyone thinking about upgrading theirs. The components are quality and it's really firmed up the front without making the ride overly harsh.

I fitted Hel brake lines to the front and rear last year and the braking felt way more consistent. With the new forks in place I feel like I can brake much harder. I'm exceptionally pleased with the way the bike is set up now.

Thanks for reading. It's been fun to document it as I went along. I'm no mechanic and it's been a real learning experience for me. I know the bike a lot better now, which was part of what I wanted to achieve.

I think it might need a trackday now

[garth]

PM me if you want rid of the old shock.

[Mjolnir]

Sorry mate, I'll probably keep hold of all of the original bits, just in case.

[garth]

[DrDonnyBrago]

Good job .