Intiminator Compared and modified

generally a combination of upgrade of fork springs is necessary to bring out the best - sometime people can get sucked into hype

Got'em in my KI75s.

Really appreiciate the amount of work you've put in Ace. I saved this thread.
I learned too much, my head spins, from mcallister suspension 101 via google.

Tetreves,
Did you remove the forks and clean the internals?
Grit can get inbetween the shim stack and foul things up.

That's an interesting new idea. I did a quick flush with new fluid to try to get the old shock fluid out. I suppose its possible that was not adequate. That's a good suggestion.

I may try that. Brian at Ricor has stopped responding to my emails...

I found he was just very slow at responding.

When you put them in, did you have to push them down with the spring? They should be a snug fit in the tubes.

I did have to push them in, but not very hard. They slid in with a gentle push, but did not fall in.

I think I'll take the fork to Meiser Racing, and see what they think.

EDIT post 1 to provide a summary of what i learnt in the last 3 years from experimenting and others' experimentations

Since I have a leaking fork seal on my 05 Wee, the forks are going to have come apart. I've had a set of the 1st generation Intiminators sitting on the shelf for several years now that I'm planning on installing. I weigh about 220 geared up. I almost never carry a passenger or luggage and don't ride aggressively. Most of my riding is backroads with less than perfect pavement. I'd like to set the forks up for a smooth, compliant ride

Based on reading several threads I've got some general ideas of setup.

Springs: From Sonic's web page it looks like I should use a .85 or .90 spring. I'm leaning toward the .85 since I like a soft ride.

Rebound hole: I plan on using the 5 wt AMS recommended by Ricor. Do I need to weld up the rebound hole and redrill it? If so, what size.

Shims: Since I have the orginal version of the Intiminator I was planning on ordering the .012 shim kit and the disassembly tool. I don't see any .010 shims offered. The kit has 8 shims. Will I need more than 1 kit? What shims should I use? Does it make any difference what order they go in?

I plan on drilling a bleed hole on the top of the Intiminator to improve compliance. Is it neccessary to drill extra orifice holes on the bottom on the bottom of the body?

Spring: I would consider 0.90kg over 0.85 on 220lbs body - 0.85 is going to very soft even with your intended applications - perhaps ask Rich and see what he thinks.

Rebound hole: i would seal the original hole and drill a 1.5mm hole next to it for your 0.90kg spring.

Shim: best ring ricor up and see if u can get some 0.0010 for possible fine tuning later - if only 0,0012 is available, i would start with 0.012 x 5. According to Ricor thickest shim facing down,closest to the wheels.

Bleed hole up to top = yes - thick aluminum- broke 3 1.0mm drill bit trying to drill the 2.

Extra orifices at the bottom = i cant be sure if it makes a big difference but the same principle was used with RT's gold valve kits.

Thanks, that's what I needed to know.

Well I finally got around to doing this project. Took it for a test ride this afternoon. In general its a major improvement. It's really impressive on the rougher stuff. No more hammering through the handlebars. Thanks to AceRider01 for all your work on this. Now I'm probably going to have get the rear shock done.

I had called Brian at Ricor about getting the .010 shims and he said they don't have any .010 shims, just the .012. He then said if I send my Intiminators in they would revalve them to the latest tune and drill the center bleed orifice for free. They even paid the return shipping! Can't beat that for customer service.

I drilled out the damper rod compression holes to 10mm and had the rebound hole welded and drilled a new one about 1.5mm.

Springs: I went with the recommendation of Rich at Sonic and AceRider and got the .90kg. I might try the .85 as it currently seems a little to stiff for my preferences. I'm currently running 1/2" of preload per Sonic recommendations. I have not yet checked the sag.

Oil: I am using the 5wt Ricor oil. Sonic's instructions recommend 150mm fill level so I'm using that.

Orifices: I did not drill the extra holes in the bottom since Ricor dissasembled and revalved them for me and I didn't feel like taking them apart again.

Sealing rings: One of them slid in nicely and went to bottom with just the weight of the spring. The other would not even fit in the tube. I had to do a lot of filing on the sealing ring. That one finally slid in with just light pressure on the spring.

Overall it is much better than it used to be. I wish it were a little more plush but I'm satisfied with the improvement. I'm not sure how much my stock rear shock is contributing to what I'm feeling also.

The shims are Fox shock shims.

Ricor sent me some 0.012's and I got some 0.010's locally even here in New Zealand.

Lee,

you are about the same weight as i am - from your discription the only difference i could see was my shim stack is 0.012 x 4 + 0.010 x 1;

rear shock does make a difference - there have been many occassion, especially early on my experimentations, the problem is thought on the front is "solved" by adjusting the rear and vice-versa

good luck and have fun

I think you are right. A lot of what I'm feeling is coming from the rear shock now. I feel the impacts a lot more through the seat than the handlebars. I know the front is much improved as far as impact harshness goes. I think its just a personal preference for a little softer suspension on the front. I actually prefer a litte more brake dive than I'm getting now. I plan on leaving it as it for now and getting my shock redone over the winter and then see how it all works together.

....here are my findings:

2004 DL650 V-Strom

25,000 miles

I weigh 190 pounds before another 20 pounds of Aerostich and boots, helmet, gloves, etc.

Elka Triple adjustable shock (Thanks Blair@SV Racing)

Fork Brace

Pat Walsh crash bars and skid plate

Sonic .90 Springs

Been riding with this set-up for two years.

Yesterday I added the latest spec Ricor Intiminators, they came woth the .12? shim stack.

I did NOT modify the Intiminators.

I did NOT modify the damper rods.

I did NOT change the fork position in the triple clamps.

I did NOT change the shock settings.

I DID switch from Continental Road Attack II tires to Michelin Pilot Road 3 Trail tires at the same time as the Ricor Intiminator install, so that will muddy the change somewhat.

I just picked up the bike from my tech in Houston and rode her three hours on Interstate 10 to my Louisiana home.

So, my forks were already stiffer with the .90 springs. Here are my thoughts:

The bike is much more "planted". The forks feel very firm, they follow the road imperfections without hopping into the air over bumps, the tire stays glued to the road.

The bike turns and leans in a beautifully predictable and light way. I can lean her EXACTLY the right amount and she stays EXACTLY at the lean angle I place her and requires ZERO correction to keep her EXACTLY where I want her.

The forks transmit more bumps into the bars on concrete rippled pavement. At first I thought to myself, "Uh-Oh, I just made the bike too stiff and she is going to beat me up on trips."

After a few miles, however, as I rode on concrete, then blacktop, then back on concrete, she seemed to soften up a bit.

By the two hour point in the ride home, I was LOVING the new setup. The forks absorb sharp edged bumps like a dream. When I hit a piece of concrete that has uplifted an inch, and I hit the 90 degree edge of slab, the forks just eat it, without transmitting that big bump into the bars. Also, I used to get a slow "pogo" effect front to rear, that is now gone. The bike is flat and stable on undulating surfaces.

The other big change, is when I stopped for fuel. The low speed handling at walking pace, has been transformed. I use to have a heck of a time with this beast at walking speed since I have really short legs. I have dumped my bike over at 2 mph more times than I want to admit.

Now, with these Ricor units, I can perform a feet up, 5 mph u-turn like a pro.

I was not expecting this.

My V-Strom is soooooo much easier to maneuver at slow speed now. Money well spent just for that alone.

I hit a couple of clover leaf interchanges at 80+ mph and she just RAILS. Epic.

I'm very, very happy.

I think Ricor is correct in that you could probably just drop these in with stock springs and be very, very happy.

My .90 springs make this combo just a hair too firm, but I like it that way. Anyone out there who rides more slab and dirt and less twisty roads than I, may prefer the Ricors with their OEM, stock springs.

Again, I performed NONE of the modifications to the Ricors or the damper rods that the above folks have listed.

And the Pilot Road 3 Trail tires are FANTASTIC.

All the best.

I never updated this. Chris at Meiser Racing installed some Race Tech .90 springs, and modified the damping. I love this setup. The front end now stays planted in corners and over bumps, especially on bumpy corners, which was my main complaint originally about the fork. I was NOT happy with the stock spring and Intiminators. Now I am! :)

i just skimmed through this real quick but can someone point out in a picture what the rebound hole mod is?

my son weighs 130#, thought that his DR650 would perform better on dirt without his Intiminators; we were both amazed at how much the front end dives with the stock setup... I'm sure that he'll be putting them back in after this weekend's ride.

I don't have a picture but its just a hole drilled straight down through the center bolt that holds it all together.

I went from professionally tuned Gold Valves on my K6 to Ricor Intimimators on my L12.

For my riding style ( oh screw it, just chuck it in) the Intiminators were vastly better, a bit harsh on smooth sealed roads BUT, the ability to handle the big ones and nasty dirt was so much better I'm prepared to forgive that. Note: that's the current Intiminators with 5x 0.012 shims.

Pete