What did you do to your bike today?

[wyly]

Such a delight to ride and be on and if that wasn't enough, everywhere it goes it always gets noticed. I can't count the number times people say to me " you don't see many of those around these days do you" or, " nice bike" or just "wow", they are not interested in me just the bike and that engine but then you all knew that.

It can be fun having a celebrity bike and chatting with admirers or an inconvenience when you're in a hurry and don't want to be rude.

[wyly]

New toy, Ohlins! Adds a bit of bling to the Z and did wonders for the ride.

Why did I wait so long ....because they're expensive! I'd had enough of dodging bumps a pot holes I'd always miss one or two and I'd pay the price. Off with the $300 Techs and on with the Ohlins, I had to trim my chain guard to fit but I was done in 2 hrs.

The last couple of days I've deliberately sought out road gremlins to test them out, so much better now.

ohlins.jpg

I attempted to purchase Progressives with more adjustment but the US sellers aren't permitted to sell into Canada Ohlins from Italy works for me and my first impression is good.

[steve murdoch icoa #5322]

A good look, indeed!
What's the chain guard from, Robert? Is it one of your own creations?

[wyly]

A good look but an even better ride. I went out today looking for some manhole covers and dips that were previously hell now they're just minor disturbances, money well spent.

A friend gave me the swing arm from a Suzuki GS1100e without the chain guard. Ebay and searches only produced plastic guards and the few chrome ones were either rusted or very expensive, so I made my own aluminum version about 3 hrs work. My adjustments to fit the larger Ohlins resulted in some abrasions but I was more concerned with getting it on quickly than final appearance, I have all winter to do a final trim and polish.

[steve murdoch icoa #5322]

Same story for me, a GS1100 swingarm on the '79.
The '81 GS1100E had the chrome chain guard and i managed to find a nice one but with the piggyback shocks from an 1100F it had to be trimmed.

[Syscrush]

Why did I wait so long ....because they're expensive!

They're expensive, but suspension mods are the best thing you can do for almost any vintage bike, and the CBX is no exception.

Something we hear repeated a lot is the sentiment: "I don't need that, I just take it easy, I'm not racing" - which IMO is exactly backwards thinking. Race tracks tend to be smooth, they're cleaned/groomed, and as you do lap after lap, you get fewer and fewer surprises. The track is a much less challenging environment for suspension for most of us than public roads are. I know that the difference between RTCE's and upgraded cartridge forks on my SV650 was much less apparent at Carolina Motorsports Park than it was on the pockmarked streets of Toronto.

I'm glad that you went this way and are enjoying the result!

[wyly]

Why did I wait so long ....because they're expensive!

They're expensive, but suspension mods are the best thing you can do for almost any vintage bike, and the CBX is no exception.

Something we hear repeated a lot is the sentiment: "I don't need that, I just take it easy, I'm not racing" - which IMO is exactly backwards thinking. Race tracks tend to be smooth, they're cleaned/groomed, and as you do lap after lap, you get fewer and fewer surprises. The track is a much less challenging environment for suspension for most of us than public roads are. I know that the difference between RTCE's and upgraded cartridge forks on my SV650 was much less apparent at Carolina Motorsports Park than it was on the pockmarked streets of Toronto.

I'm glad that you went this way and are enjoying the result!

Speaking with the Progressive rep he also advised not spending a lot of cash on fancy race shocks with multiple adjustments. He said if you're not racing or a twisty hooligan a quality shock like a the lower range Ohlins that I purchased will be all that I need for my vintage ride.

[Syscrush]

Speaking with the Progressive rep he also advised not spending a lot of cash on fancy race shocks with multiple adjustments. He said if you're not racing or a twisty hooligan a quality shock like a the lower range Ohlins that I purchased will be all that I need for my vintage ride.

IMO it's not that you don't need adjustment unless you're a racer, it's that Ohlins specifically tends to come with the damping dialed in so well for a given application that you can get away without it. The same isn't true for all shocks.

My YSS shocks are similar build quality to Ohlins, but the shim stack as delivered was so wack that no amount of adjustment would have made it right on the bike. My suspension guy sorted it out on the shock dyno, and it was a massive improvement over any vintage OEM damping, but I still benefitted from removing some compression and adding some rebound.

[wyly]

Speaking with the Progressive rep he also advised not spending a lot of cash on fancy race shocks with multiple adjustments. He said if you're not racing or a twisty hooligan a quality shock like a the lower range Ohlins that I purchased will be all that I need for my vintage ride.

IMO it's not that you don't need adjustment unless you're a racer, it's that Ohlins specifically tends to come with the damping dialed in so well for a given application that you can get away without it. The same isn't true for all shocks.

My YSS shocks are similar build quality to Ohlins, but the shim stack as delivered was so wack that no amount of adjustment would have made it right on the bike. My suspension guy sorted it out on the shock dyno, and it was a massive improvement over any vintage OEM damping, but I still benefitted from removing some compression and adding some rebound.

I read your comments regarding the YSS earlier when I was looking at upgrading, that's what convinced me to go with Ohlins. Your experience saved me a lot time and frustration

[wyly]

I was supposed to go on an end of season cruise through the Rockies today with my bro and friends. In my pre ride prep last night I discovered I had tail/brake light issues. Texted my bro I had an electrical issue but I think I'd have it solved in time. One of the lights didn't work and brake light didn't engage with the front lever. A quick run to an auto parts store this morning solved the tail light issue but not the brake light. Ok, I can manage with just the pedal switch for the brake light and I now know the problem lies in the lever switch as it flickers the brake lights when I depress it.

In testing the lights I started the Z and discovered the rear wheel wouldn't turn in neutral, it was locked in tight. The rear caliper had seized solid since my last ride. I texted my bro to inform him I doubt I'd have that solved in the 90 minutes before departure time.

With a block of wood and hammer it took 5 minutes before I got the caliper assembly off. Pistons were locked in tight, I spent the next hour or so trying to disassemble it, no amount of brake pedal application would move them. These calipers are done, not worth the time to fix I can get better from ebay.

What to do for the short term maybe my oem caliper is still usable. The next 4 hours were spent going through my parts bin salvaging the oem calipers and hanger, removing the 1984 dual piston setup then fitting the oem parts to a longer GS1150e swing-arm assembly. It was a bit of struggle fiddling with the aftermarket brake line to fit to this new arrangement. Finally complete I'm ready to move on and I see a shim laying among my tools Take it all apart put shim in . I'll do a test ride tomorrow. If it fails it'll likely be the last ride of 2023 .

[Syscrush]

Your experience saved me a lot time and frustration

I'm so glad.

I'm happy with how they worked out, but I think it's important that people know what to expect and what it takes to get them working right.

Everything I've heard about Ohlins suggests that regardless of the bike they're spec'd for, they work well out of the box.