Racetech did a great job on my GS1100E forks

[Brando]

Just installed my stock forks off my 83 GS1100E that I had taken to Racetech to have valve emulators installed along with new bushings and fork seals. I had them put in my progressive springs. Now the ride is smooth, absorbing every bump and yet stiff during cornering and high speeds. Worth every dollar. One thing i though was strange was that they recommended using regular 20wt motor oil rather than special fork oil. Also, they only put in 120mm of oil to give me 20 mm of sag (I weigh 190lbs). Make sure your chrome upper tubes are rust free as they won't work on them if they have ANY rust. I had to buy a new set of forks off Ebay as mine had tiny specks of rust that they said would rip my oil seals.

[robinjo]

How many dollars was it worth if I may ask?

[Brando]

It's a poor man's way to get modern cartridge forks

Racetech charged me $340 parts & labor to do the following to my pair of stock 37mm forks.
Installed Gold Valve Cartridge Emulators (FEGV-S3301)
Install all new bushings and new fork seals
They also internally disconneted my anti-dive
Filled the forks with oil.
I supplied them with my own progressive springs.
This was a discounted price as I had come down there before and bought all the parts only to be told that my forks didn't pass their inspection. I had to then hunt down a set of good used stock forks ($80 on Ebay). I guess Bill (service manager) took pity on me and cut me a good price.

The additional item I installed on my forks was a Telefix fork brace to help give me more control in the corners.
The only down side is that I still have the stock brakes. I will be replacing the stock brake lines with braided and also better pads and that should keep me happy for a while.

[bwringer]

Man, you California people have it made.

[AOD]

Brian, I have a contact for a local suspension shop out my way that I'm going to talk with. He said he enjoyed the older GS bikes and would like to work on them again. I plan to probe him for knowledge or see what he offers with the 1100E, but I planned on just doing the progressive spring install myself to save money.

I'll let you know the outcome of our talks.

~Adam

[Brando]

Progressives are a good start

Putting in the progressive springs is easy. just remove the top cap, pull out the old spring and pop in the new ones. Putting in the proper amount of fork oil is another story. The Haynes manual says one level and Racetech put in much less. Racetech suggested using plain 20wt motoroil and that using a super fork oil was a total waste of money. There is a big differance between progressive springs and racetech emulators with progressive springs. Much more action in the forks at under 50speeds.
Good luck.
Martin
83gs1100e@gmail.com