HELP: Anyone with Honda TRAC Fork& Racetech emulators install experience?
 

Hoping someone here has some experience with putting RT emulators on a honda TRAC antidive fork. I am rebuilding an 1100F with this system - I believe some of the other old honda's used it like some VFRs perhaps. I'm sure with the collective experience of the board some of you have encountered this and I recall there is an interceptor expert on here too but can't rembmer who that is.

Anyway, putting on the emulators requires drilling the piston (damper rod). But this is a unique damper rod, with compression holes at the very bottom but anywhere above that point, the rod is double walled. The first picture shows the lowest holes, stock, and then a second set I've drilled but only through the outer wall. You can see a tiny hole up near the top that is a rebound hole. There is another set of holes above the lowest set but they only go through the outer wall (and communicate with the small rebound hole which is up high on the damper rod. You can see those in the second photo, I've rotated the rod 90 degrees to show the stock second holes, only through the outer wall, and another set I drilled above it. Racetech instructions say to drill above the lowest hole and put another 4 holes in place. But I'm guessing I have to drill through both walls of the cylinder so it can function to eliminate any compression damping (which the emulators take over). But I don't want that interfering with the rebound system. NObody at racetech tech support can help me - they are apparently too young to have seen this damper rod and really aren't sure either about what to do. Racetech definitely sells a kit for these forks, its unfortunate nobody there knows how to install them. Does anyone have experience with this?

thanks for any help. Sounds confusing, but if you've done these forks you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

bill

Your holes look ok except for a couple of things. First off you don't want the holes at the very bottom near the taper. You also have too many holes, three spots (six total holes) is enough. You'll want one set of holes right between the retaining ring grooves and two more above. Yours go too high up on the rod. Otherwise I'd say you have it.

Thanks Jamie - so just to be clear, I should drill through both walls of the damper rod? (its double walled at those locations. And then I do not replace the oil lock valve and spring that attach at those two line, correct?
thanks again

Bill;

I've got an '83 VF750F Interceptor. Like your CB1100f, it has 39mm forks and the TRAC system. I have no experience with Race Tech, but FWIW, when I put my Interceptor back on the road, I pulled the stock(worn out) fork springs and replaced them with $60 bucks worth of springs from Progressive Suspension. The improvement in the front end was pretty impressive.

I really don't know what you mean about double walled, is there two tubes? I guess it doesn't matter, you need to drill all of the way through. Leave the oil lock pieces out when you reassemble the forks.

thanks guys. I finally got someone at racetech that helped. Yes, jamie its a double walled damper rod - that was what was causing the problem and confusion. has an inner cylinder and outer one that runs all the way inside down to the retaining clip grooves. The rebound adjuster is a barrel that sits between the two walls. Anyway with some destruction was able to dissassemble and actually remove the inner cylinder - thus converting it to a single walled rod. that will work fine now and I'll drill the holes in the locations you suggested.

thanks guys. this site was more helpful than the designated 1100f forum! go figure.

bill