Junkyard shock swap

October 2015 - I remember when I first saw the Hornet's shock the only thing I could think of was to find a way to source another one, because of how much rusty and knackered it looked. With these bikes now more than 10 years old (last incarnation of the carbed version being the 05-06 model), there was very little chance I could find a descent shock second hand. 

So err ... well I don't' recall exactly how it started but I had a spare BMW R1100S shock hanging around (since I swapped it for a great Nitron), and when laid side by side the Hornet's and the BMW's looked suddenly rather similar. So I started playing with idea I could certainly attempt a shock swap.

I had read on several forums that no other shock could really go between the Hornet's frame and swingarm. And this is something I was ready to believe. Because, not only is the space rather tight on the frame side for a shock to slide in, but the rear suspension is a basic direct frame-to-swingarm system. No fancy Pro-Link linkage, no dog bone, just a bare shock between these two. And this has an impact on the shock type to use.

But then if you take a look at BMW's paralever suspension, you will be faced with the same kind of system. It's "just" a single sided swingarm mated to the back of the frame with a shock in-between. So if the sizes look the same and the mounts look the same too, then there's no reason not to try the swap.

The first thing I did was to present the shock to the bike. One thing to notice immediately is that the lower mount is actually larger and would require some custom spacers.

On the top side, the BMW's shock requires more room to fit in. It touches the expansion bottle, but nothing to really worry about. More concerning was the shock's body touching the frame at the swingarm's lowest position. A bit of metal (but really not much) had to be ground here and there to give the shock a little more room at the top.

One of the key issues was that the BMW's shock comes with a preload adjuster and its protruding knob. There was no way the right side panel would fit again, so the knob, complete with the stem, had to go.

One other issue was that the remaining of the preload adjuster, the parts that could not be removed form the shock, was in the way of the main starter relay. The latter had to be relocated.

50 spacers later (I had to order 50 at once ...), we have the shock properly attached to the swingarm by reusing the shock's internal spacers and needle bearings.

So now, there's actually an alternative to the Hornet's shock.

Parts coming by our way

September 2015 - Some new parts arrived for the Hornet. First a BMC filter that cost less than a OEM paper one. Second is a Bitubo spring set along with 15 grade oil (that came free with the set), all purchased from Carpimoto.

OE springs and bushes compared to Bitubo ones.

The BMC is just because we needed an air filter, but the Bitubo spring set is definitely for an upgrade over the way softer OE springs. I had moded a Hornet similarly with Öhlins springs 10 years earlier with great results. This makes the bike dive much less and brakes are can be applied loads harder then.

Leaky front end

Among other thingies here and there when buying project Green Panzer, there was a leaking fork seal on the right leg. It wasn't that bad at the time of pushing the bike on the trailer in order to bring it home. But now that is sits on the bench, there's a big oily spot growing right under the brake caliper and I noticed the left inner tube was starting to feel greasy as well.

The front end needs a full rebuild anyway. And as later posts will show it's only just the beginning of other nastier finds. Hey, it's a 15 year-old fatty after all ...

The return of the Bitubo

The Bitubo front shock is back (was it gone ?), but there's something new about it ... Let me explain that a little.

The first time this shock was put on the front end, the main idea was to replace the 20 000-mile old Showa. Expectations were big : not only the Bitubo was supposed to work as a new part, but its higher specs - spring preload, compression, rebound and length adjustments - would mean nice improvements over the Showa's behaviour. But once fitted, the reality was sadly different. As soon as the brakes were grabbed, the R1100S wobbled like it could never regain balance again. The overall setting was too soft and not a single adjustment seemed to temper the ride. Though a complete setback admission, at that time the stock Showa was put back on the bike for the rest of the season.

And then 2 months ago, I resigned myself to do something about it and did contact suspension guru Eric Delcamp. His company Delcamp Energie is known to build among the most advanced shocks in France. They provide suspension units and services for rally cars and the Pro Twin challenge. We talked about the Bitubo and what could be done to improve things. Eric wasn't very keen on modifying what Bitubo had designed, but agreed to have a look at it and service it. He also asked a few questions about the Showa that he would agree to prepare. 

Fast forward a couple of weeks later, Eric called back to tell me he had put the Bitubo shock on the testing bench. The result was rather embarrassing ... for Bitubo that is. The shock wasn't working properly as if something was stuck in there that was preventing the shock to properly apply any sort of damping. Before calling that a complete failure, Eric decided it was now certainly worth to open the shock not only to repair it, but also to apply his magic to the internal components.

The shock was back home from Eric's facility before we moved house, so with very little time to fit it on the BMW, it's still unknown whether it's working properly or not. I'll figure it out later this month.

Work on the forks

Some pics taken while performing some work on the Showa forks in an attempt to improve the Speed Triple's front end.

Speedy's first been put on a jack to help fork tubes sliding down

A fork tube opened 

What's in a fork ?

Pastoral workshop ... 

Standard progressive and K-tech linear

Springs and inner tube

Reassembled tube ready to be filled up with 15 grade oil

Coming next is the headstock bearings change.

News from the front

So the front of the Speed Triple feels bad ? Let's put it back on the bench for a complete check up then. To be honest, I had planned a complete rebuild but definitely not that early. The last terrible ride has made to rush the key decision to closely inspect the front suspension.

The one thing that has mainly led the Triumph back on the bench is the much too soft fork setup, something a simple oil drain wouldn't solve. So to cure that, the decision was made to upgrade the fork springs to some with a more suitable spring rate. The standard springs are rated 0.7 kg/mm and I opted for K-Tech's road/race springs rated 0.95 kg/mm. This setup is clearly closer to what's required given the type of usage for the bike (and also my weight). 0.25 kg/mm is a huge difference, but the 955i Speed Triple is known for its harsh rear suspension. Let's hope this change will make both front and rear up again.

But as soon as the front wheel had been removed, I noticed a big play in the steering stem. A quick look in the service manual revealed that this play can be 'adjusted'. This is the first time I heard about such a thing. Either there should be a play and it can be adjusted, or there shouldn't be one and it shouldn't be allowed to adjust it ... Anyway, it motivated a second decision : the steering bearings had to be changed. If that play has been there for a bit of time, then the bearing have been knocked out on every bumps. So on to the World of Triumph shopping list.

Yes ... I know it's a Fag bearing ...

And since there was a growing part list to order from the UK, why not add a left engine bolt and its spacer. They will allow to remove those ugly crash bungs that gets in my knees' way on every corner.

Coming next : these parts are being fitted.

The road version

I took the roughly finished product for a test ride the other day. The only thing I can tell is there's definitely room for improvement, to say the least. The Triple did run a bit last winter and there were already a couple of things to cure back then, but I thought the spring rebuild would have ironed some issues out. Well it did, but not as much as expected, so the main feeling about this 'first' run is a big disappointment. Let me explain that.

The roughly finished product

First thing, not everything is bad on this bike. The brakes are strong and the new EBC HH pads really bite the rotors hard. Also, the engine is pulling really hard and now sounds good with its new - even though baffled - Mivv exhaust. The latter seems to have cured the surging issues felt last winter when equipped with the standard Triumph exhaust. It might be that the ECU was mapped for the use of an aftermarket can already. Finally the throttle cables were fixed during the winter and now move more freely, which gives proper control on the gas.

But then, the whole experience is wasted by dodgy suspensions. Touch the brake lever and the front literally dives literally locking the steering. It feels too soft and completely uncomfortable at the same time. Plus, there's a rather worrying clacking noise when riding over big bumps. It feels so bad, you have to concentrate and pay extra attention to what you do when approaching a simple roundabout. And that's just for the front suspension ... I can't even tell about the rear because of how bad the front felt ...

I need some time to rethink the project as a whole and either sort things that were let down for too long or ditch the bike. It seems to me that the forks haven't been touched for a long time and could do with good servicing.

More parts, more work, more time required to make it the sharp bike I intended it to be. Maybe it's worth  it after all.

Line drawings

As winter approaches (weather guy says it's going to snow on tusday around here), I think it's the right time to strip the R1100S again. The idea would be to have all the refreshing jobs done during the winter so it's ready when spring comes back. What I have on the list is fairly simple : 

- a full paint job with a paint scheme that still needs to be decided (maybe you can help, see below)

- a front suspension rebuild

- a front bearings swap

- an exhaust headers grind

- a couple more thingies with parts to come and already arrived.

Anyway, I talked about this custom patin scheme idea of mine (based on a black and white theme) on the Pelican forum last week to gather a couple of thoughts and pictures of similar projects. One suggested I could use the existing line drawings found in some other posts and draw my own paint scheme by hand. And that is precisely what I'm going to try out. But not being the most artistically inventive person on earth I'm sharing these raw drawings with you, so you can also suggest a paint scheme by just droping me an email with yours attached.

Have fun drawing.

Lévitation

Ce week-end, c'était retour à la méthode ancestrale pour le levage de l'avant du SV : béquille latérale + cric hydraulique ... C'est pas super propre, mais ça marche plutôt pas mal pour sortir les tubes de la fourche. Y'a pas à dire, le levage d'un 4 cylindres, c'est quand même plus facile ! Mais faut avouer qu'une ligne Yoshimura n'est pas le point d'appui le plus adapté ...
Tout ça pour vidanger et remplacer les ressorts progressifs un peu nases par des Öhlins linéaires.

Le contenu de la fourche prend l'air. Différence entre les ressorts progressifs d'origine et le linéaire (plus court !) Öhlins. Et pour une fois, le kit ne comprend pas de nouvelles cales.La photo n'est peut-être passez bonne pour le distinguer, mais la section du fil du ressort est plus importante sur le ressort Öhlins. Un bon moyen d'obtenir une raideur (la force d'amortissement d'un ressort) plus importante.

L'huile 15W Öhlins. Il a changé la recette M Öhlins depuis la dernière fois. On dirait un jus de pomme fermier alors qu'avant on aurait plus dit de la Lessieur ... :D (niveau couleur seulement heureusement).

Higher ground

Le kit chaine du SV n'est pas encore arrivé. C'est Red (Red Racing Parts) qui est chargé de l'envoyer et ils prévoient 3 semaines de délais. Il est vrai que les kit chaines en 520 sont rarement en stock chez un vendeur ...

Toujours en Italie, c'est Carpimoto qui a fourni la couronne 47 dents en alu de la jante de CBR qui va remplacer la jante d'origine. Il s'agit d'une Afam, car France Equipement annonce une fabrication sur mesure sur commande et 3 semaines de délais ... Il est toujours intéressant lorsqu'on recherche une pièce de savoir si le modèle est commun à d'autres machines. Dans le cas du CBR F3, la couronne est un modèle qui se monte également sur certains R6, ce qui a tendance à réduire le delais de livraison chez les fournisseurs dégourdis.

Une fois arrivée et montée, ça donne donc ça.

Les travaux suivants concernent la suspension. Rappelez-vous, dans le dernier épisode, vous avez pu voir notre héro monter un amortisseur de ZX10R à la place du ressort de stylo d'origine. Avant cette modification, la hauteur maximale de la coque arrière culminait à 99cm. C'est le moment de vérifier si le changement d'amortisseur a changé l'assiette de la moto et s'il est nécessaire de la modifier encore.

La jante arrière d'origine est donc remontée pour effectuer une nouvelle mesure. Résultat : 100cm. 1 petit centimètre de gagné en bout de coque. L'assiette a donc changé, mais pas encore assez pour transfigurer le comportement de la moto. Les biellettes d'origine vont donc devoir laisser leur place des versions plus courtes.

C'est parti pour le montage.

Et voici le résultat une fois monté.

La dernière mesure de hauteur donne 101,5cm. Un gain de 2,5cm est plus conforme à ce que j'escomptais.

Shock swap

Poursuite des travaux sur le projet SV 650. L'amortisseur d'origine a aujourd'hui laissé sa place à un amortisseur de ZX10R 2006. Présentation des travaux en images :

- d'abord béquillage et un peu de démontage.

- ensuite, on démonte le magnifique échappement Yoshimura pour ne pas l'abimer.

- étape suivante : démonter les biellettes et le support inférieur de l'amortisseur.- petit comparatif des deux organes. Celui de droite fait plus pro ? Normal c'est celui du ZX10R.- une fois l'amortisseur d'origine dégagé, remplacement par celui du zX10R et remontage inverse.
Ca paraît facile, pas vrai ?