[flytrap]

Took the CTX to Florence Honda (where I bought it) and asked them to take a look at the front forks. They did a little research and ended up adding 25 mm shims and 5w fork oil. Here is my assessment after I did the 90 mile ride home. Smooth surface ride is improved. Now the small stuff doesn't even register. I crossed 4 bridges on the trip and was bracing for the shocks from the expansion joints. Surprise! These types of road imperfections are now tamed. Then I started hitting on purpose larger holes and cracks. You still get a harsh feedback but I would say it is 50% reduced. Totally worth the $180 cost. Give Rusty a call. :smiley-happy0034:

 

[sleepngbear]

As much as I'd like to, I probably won't be getting down to Myrtle Beach any time soon.
But I will take this info back to my dealer when I go for service and see what can do.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Huladog]

Flytrap, if you don't mind can you let me know what you weigh so I can get an idea of how they setup the forks?

Figured adding a 25mm spacer would add some preload and the lighter oil would let the forks react better (which is what I'm looking for).

Mahalo!
Huladog

 

[flytrap]

I weigh about 180. TMI. Yes. The suspension rework did improve things a bit. My only complaint is that now if the front wheels falls into a hole at slow speed I get a loud knock suggesting that the preload sends the wheel to the end of cartridge. I just avoid holes.

 

[Huladog]

Yep, we're about the same weight so the tweaks should help me out, too.

Sounds like the fork IS topping out when it falls into a hole.

I'll try the oil change first.

Mahalo,
Huladog

 

[Colin]

Hi Guy's,
just thought I would let you know what I have changed on my CTX to help out the front suspension. I replaced the fork oil with 5w with no shims added and this helped about 70%. the bike felt good over bumps but still had the handle bars vibrating over corrugations, if I held onto the handle bars closer to the triple clamps I couldn't feel the vibrations. I took off the bar end weights and took it for a ride and no vibrations through the bars over the same corrugations but I could feel the engine vibrating through them now. The original bar end weights are very heavy compared to most other bikes that I have owned so I purchased some lighter aftermarket bar ends and fitted them on. The bike now feels great over any bumps or corrugations at the front, I can still feel some slight engine vibrations but only minor which I can live with since now the bike is a joy to ride and the roads in Australia are quite crappy.
hope this can help as it was a cheap fix.

see ya

Colin

 

[gtmn]

is there a weight of the rider problem ( to soft of springs) or is it a valving problem
I am 250 lbs and on a rough road this fork is stupid bad
it feels like the fork is not moving at all or its slamming up and down


now my fz-07 was way to soft and when I replaced with a damper kit from traxxion it is now awesome
what a difference 2 hrs of work made
I assume there is an easy fix for this bike and I will be contacting traxxion dynamics on monday

 

[jgalfo]

please share what Traxxion's fix is. I am interested too. I had traxxion on my wing.


thanks,


John

 

[gtmn]

my last 2 weeks of ownership
hope to get the forks back in like a week
lucky for me I still have the yamaha
yes the calipers are hung just after the pics

 

[gtmn]

for what its worth I just want to add that on this bike, this is the kit from traxxion that I installed in the Yamaha
when new it pancaked on corners and even worse on braking, this was a very simple fix
the ctx is a little bit more involved being an upsidedown fork
but if we can get these forks to change as much as my Yamaha changed you guys will be amazed at the improvement. im still waiting on Traxxion to open them up but as soon as I hear from them I will update
the third pic is what I am hoping to put into the ctx. its the ak-20 kit
same kit as race bikes, street bikes and all the way up to goldwings

 

[gtmn]

ok, we are very close
Traxxion Dynamics built the forks on Thursday and they shipped out Thursday
due in to me UPS on Tuesday
hoping to put bike together Tuesday night or wed
I did go with the ak-20 kit
its not cheap but it will be adjustable for comp and reb
not preload
and sprung for my weight
I sure hope it works out as planned and I also hope I remember how it goes together. its been a while
I will toch base on wed night and let you guys know and then ill put some real miles on it next weekend for a full report

 

[wimpyhonda]

I sure like my CTX1300 except for the dump truck ride. I am thinking about trading for a F6B. **** shame HONDA did not put good sup on this bike. I have ridden Hondas since 1965 and worked at dealerships from 1965thur1983 then went into the car side. Honda don't seam to care about what the customer thinks anymore. Rear shocks are junk on this bike:350x700px-LL-66dd6d

 

[gtmn]

to whom it may concern

if you are happy with the front end of your bike then you don't need to read any further
if you are not happy read on
I have only ridden about 5 miles cuz its cold out and I just wanted to get a quick ride in after I installed the forks

as all of you know I sent my forks to TRAXXION DYNAMICS
so they could install the ak-20 cartridges in them
it took a little longer then expected but I did send them at the very beginning of spring
so on the way home I rode on the worst road that I know of on the route I took
again I have less then 200 miles on the bike and don't have a lot to compare it to
I got zero of the bucking bars over bumps and no hard hits from the forks
the bike seemed to take all I could intentionally throw at it. instead of riding around the bad I drove right through it
I have yet to play with the settings as they are fully adjustable
rebound, compression and preload
as you can see in the pics the caps stick up about 1/2 to 3/4 of a inch
they do not rub and they look fine. the pic looks a little weird but not in person
to be honest the bike rides totally different, when hitting bumps it was all over the road and now it just takes the bumps
I live in mn and the roads after winter are really really bad so I know a bad road
I just wanted to give a quick update and will give a full report maybe this weekend. I have emailed Dan to find the oe spring rate but we installed 105kg
now what you guys are all wondering is what's the price and I get that
ak20 kit 1299.99 labor 200.00 if you send them the forks
now 1500 dollars does seem like a lot but many of you could install these your self
also I have read a lot of guys trying different methods of trying to fix these very problem
here are a few pics
there is still the road on the way to work that made me make this move. I have not ridden that one yet and am looking forward to it
I will try to give more after a couple hundred miles
remember a move like this is not for everyone
it is expensive, but not in the long run. and not everyone feels like there is something wrong

 

[bob]

I am one who is fine with what I have. I may yet try thinner oil when time to replace but I'm not in a hurry. We have some fairly bad roads here too in central Iowa but I guess not as many as in MN... at least that I ride on. The front and the rear have greatly improved for me in the last 4000 miles so now it's good for me for now.

Thank you @gtmn for a good, detailed, helpful review of the rebuilt shocks. I'm sure others here will consider the cost and decide if they desire to do this for themselves.

 

[flytrap]

Cool. Look forward to a long ride test.

 

[jeffz]

I'd still advise anyone happening across this thread to wait longer than 200 miles before deciding the bike 'needs' a $1500 suspension upgrade. At almost 4000 miles, with no change of fork oil, I think mine rides just fine, and has for at least the last 3000 miles. I weigh around 200lbs.

I have noticed that if I inflate the front tire much more than the recommended 36psi in the owner's manual, I get a bit more shock on bumps that I can feel in the bars, so I avoid doing so -- even though we've discussed elsewhere that airing the tires up closer to max PSI will yield better wear in the long run. If I have to replace a front tire a bit more often, so be it.

I must say I'm curious to know what the bike would ride like with the improved valving, but not $1500 curious.

Jeff

 

[psullam]

So far so good with mine

I didn't notice any major problem with suspensions here in Colorado (Boulder county). My general philosophy before spending a lot of money on major modifications is to consider alternative bikes that better fit my needs / road situation. I kept the CTX700 a little over a month before moving to the CTX1300 once I realized what really fits my needs now.

 

[Kookopelli]

I hope we can buy the parts from Traxxion Dynamics and do the install ourselves at a lot less than $1500.00.

 

[gtmn]

when I looked at the guts that Honda put in the bike they actually looked like they were not that bad
after talking to Dan he said the oe springs are 85 kg that progressed to 1.13 kg but held the 85 till very late in the stroke before stiffening up
we installed a set of 1.05 kg springs
he said he has spring kits with precut spacers in stock for $119.99
again i am certainly not telling everyone to call Traxxion. I think there are plenty of guys out there that are very happy with the bike as is
and that's awesome I sure wish I was one of them
I would say that a guy could get away with a spring swap to firm up the shock, again I don't think the fork was firm I think it bottomed out, and that was the jarring feel that caused all the problems
I did put on about 50 miles today and its not any firmer but way more controle seems to ride very different then before


I am in now way shape or form trying to sell product I am just passing on information to the guys that are asking the questions
this is the second bike I have installed new suspension product on in 6 months and I am here to tell you it works
at the end of the day if you have someone changing fork fluid and adding preload to the soft springs that are in there, and changing bar ends or bars or bar mounts or or or you know where im going with it
you may just spend the same money as what may be the only fix
and that's likely internal fork guts
I almost told him to just spring it but went with the best
I do ride the bikes I own pretty aggressive in the corners and just want to make sure im good
if any one ever has questions about suspension just call the guys at traxxion they really are great even if you don't buy you may get a better idea of whats going on
thanks so much for listening and good luck

 

[gtmn]

oh ya
when you look up the Honda parts online there are 2 different part #s for both left and right forks
I do wonder why cuz I cant find any information on line as to why
if one # is sprung or valved different then the other that may be why some guys think there forks are great
it could be an update or diff between deluxe or standard
im just not sure
my bike is very early production and a standard ??????????????