Wolverine

So in my lengthy research, I've settled on .90's. The sonics (from Jamie) are $85 shipped and I've found Race Techs for $93.86. My question is, has anyone found a better price on these? I'm 90% sure for $8.86 more I'm going to go with the RT's.
RT .90's
Somewhere in my reading, I found that the RT's are made by Eibach. My personal experience w/ them sealed the deal.

nuhawk

Good to hear from you, Jason! Yeah the RT's are made by Eibach but I would remind you that some of the best/latest innovations for our bikes come from within the memership.

The other way to look at it - for $8 you got some gook stamping them out at eight thousand per hour or a guy in his garage that owns your bike.

Cranks out ten sets per week. Or less.

My .o2

We need to launch a new shirt order soon

Wolverine

Now lets see... where's Ian's PM link? Limited colors this time, of course.

And about the springs. I wanted to give Jamie the sale period. Then I found out about Eibach. Kind of a brand loyalty thing I guess. My coil-over kit (for car) has Eibach made pieces, and I have been tremendously happy w/ them for years. And you can probably vouch for them as well. You have .90's right?

nuhawk

No, I run .95's. Rider plus full gear. In my case that was 18 lbs more so it put me at .95's for my road conditions and my style of riding. Don't get over technical with the front if you can't do something about the rear. Jamie definitely has the rear change-out of the hour. Mine cost me $500 - just ask Selztoad. Jamie's is new tech and readily available parts. Do your fronts however you wish. Save some change to do the rear.

BTW Eibach owns RaceTech.

Wolverine

Check!!

nuhawk

Good man, Jason! That looks like the good stuff. Enjoy - once you get it all set up you won't believe the difference! Congrats!

JamieDaugherty

Something to think about is that with the RT sets you get spacer tube material.... that you need to cut yourself. For the price I sell the springs for I also include pre-cut spacers so you know you are getting the correct length and don't have the hassle of cutting them yourself. Worth $8 to you?

Aside from that, even though they are more expensive you are still wanting to go with RaceTech springs. Can I ask why? Several years ago when I switched to Sonic I compared theirs to RaceTech. I found no difference in performance or quality. I think what you are doing is paying to middle man and not getting any value from it. If you feel there is another reason you would prefer RaceTech springs I would love to know!

Wolverine

I have had it on the bike since august! At which point I knew springs would have to follow soon. The first real high speed bumpy sweeper... The bike just totally wiggled like jello. I wish I had video!!




Jamie:

Mainly brand loyalty. I am a Honda guy and would NEVER own a vw. I own a Toyota truck and would never consider ford/chevy/dodge. Do they make good stuff? Maybe so, but it's my preference. Many years ago I put a Ground Control coil over kit on my teg. I custom picked spring rates with the support of an established company. My car handles like a go cart. I couldn't be more happy with what I got. And years after, it's still as good as it was new. With such a good experience it was a no-brainer for me.
I searched info on Sonic. This was one of the threads I read. I agreed with some of the opinions (of nobodies/strangers/etc.) and came the the conclusion that for a few dollars more, I could get the brand with which I have had the opportunity to own/deal with first hand.

I feel the sharks circling... please don't bust my *****.
I bought that Ohlins for the same sort of reasons. I could have spent 450 with you and bought an oe Honda rear shock (redone of course). Instead I bought Ohlins, and I have no regrets. I went as far as finding out that the Ohlins fork springs that are offered for the hawk are .85 in an attempt to have the same brand f&r. Please don't take it personal. Do you even remotely understand my motives (or what you might call stupidity)?

Are these springs both .90, yes. Are they made of the exact same materials, no. It's up to the individual making the purchase. I have no experience w/ sonic, I do w/ eibach.

JamieDaugherty

I guess I can understand that. What I get from your explanation is basically that you don't have much (if any) good information about Sonic but have personal experience with RaceTech. The Sonic springs are made from the exact same material (music wire) as the RaceTech springs. Remember: people will post a suspicion or opinion in an online forum and make it sound like fact..... when it is not!

At the end of the day you are just fine with RaceTech springs. They will not let you down. I do not try to "win" everyone over, my goal is to offer parts and services to people who want the exact same level of quality and performance but do not want to pay a premium for it. That's where I'm coming from!

Hawkrider

I've used both RT and Sonic. IMHO, the difference is in the service. $5 between the two is nothing, thus I consider them equals. RT, however, seem to be asses when it comes to customer service. On the polar opposite, you can call Rich at Sonic and he will answer any question you can come up with and will custom make or match springs to your liking. For that, I go with Sonic from now on.

Wolverine, I know this won't change your mind on this purchase, but hopefully those doing research on this forum in the future will make a more informed choice. Sonic's phone number is 405-677-2156 if you need it.

Wolverine

Now I'm second guessing my rate selection. I read an old post where Greg stated anything over .85 would not work well w/ oe valving. Eventually I may revalve. Probably not in the next 3-4 years (wife's attending nursing school). After that who knows, maybe an inverted swap or a send off to one of our 2 greatest assets. In the meantime, if you were in my shoes would you go .85 or .90? 175 w/o full gear, pretty aggressive on the street sometimes, don't want to lose a smooth ride on the long hauls. Roads around here aren't horrible, a few totally suck but for the most part they are "good".
I know what a dramatic change of rate will do having felt it on my car. That being said, I don't want to have harshness in the front end. I wish I had someone close w/ the .90's!!!!


And thanks for the opinions. I really do appreciate all your input.

Tweety

Whatever the spring rate, not doing the valves at the same time is a good way to become sorely disapointed by the results... Yeah, the correct springs will stop the bike falling over forwards in the corners, but it also makes it feel like a pogo stick since the valving and springs aren't very well matched...

Any change of just springs, "will not work well", but what your read in that old post more or less means that once you go past .85 or so, it becomes so horribly mismatched it's starting to become an actual problem...

The springs and valving need to match and be in balance... If not, you get very wierd results... Like how that Öhlins rear probably makes the shortcomings of the front more obvious than before...

If you want to keep it on a budget, do it yourself using Racetech's online info... But do it!

Wolverine

Believe me, I know I need the valve kit. I just can't afford it right now (just bought a new front doughnut too). I'm supporting two kids and a wife going through nursing school! So, should I plan ahead and suffer with a crappy front for a couple years (well, I have been since I bought the Hawk!) or get the softer springs and just deal later? How much difference am I going to give up between .85's & .90's? That's the $94 question.

A re-spring has to be better than what I have now. Honestly, the bike is crazy in high speed sweepers that cycle the front through its travel. Very undesirable characteristics! Maybe just maybe you have a spare R/T kit laying around?

Tweety

Actually, I might... I'm not sure... It's quite possible I have a set of the older version valves lying around... If I do, they are yours for shipping... I'll have a look in a few days when i get home (on the road until next weekend)...

Matt_Hawk

Are you guys talking about the compression or rebound valving?

Personally, I found the compression valves to be okay-not great but not terrible... but the rebound valves really suck along with the fork springs that are soft and harsh at the same time.

Hawkrider

Both need changing. Stock compression valves don't even have bleed holes - they have bleed shims as the base shim, which IMO is a crappy design. As for rebound, the stack is very light, hence the reason that .90s overpower the damping circuit, making the rebound too quick even with the adjuster dialed fully in.

Your statement above is a little bit conflicted. The springs don't make things harsh. Damping makes suspension harsh. So what you're feeling is too much high speed compression damping combined with too little low speed compression damping (and soft spring rates). Bumps are harsh and braking puts the bike on its nose - very little anti-dive properties. Both high and low speed compression damping are a function of the valve design and shim stack.

davidka