Making an 1100K handle

[dougw]

The plan for 2016 is to pull the 11K from out of hibernation and give it a bit of TLC.

Its currently running a short 750L swing arm and tired shock, Maxton front forks shimmed for racing (done in 1994 so not very compliant on the road)

5.5 inch rear rim.

Last time I rode it the back shock had lost most of its damping and it was quite "entertaining" at 100mph plus.

I have an 1100 M arm lined up and a new shiny Ohlins ready to bolt on.

I`ve been on one of Gareth Evans at Reactive suspensions courses and have a set of 750J forks that I`m going to have a go at fitting the shim stacks from into the 11K forks.

Head bearings will get a looking at too.

From memory I recall it said that the 11K frame was very similar to the 750J, and the 750J I had in  did handle very well , just suffering from a lack of ground clearance with my younger more enthusiastic self on board.

Not sure how much effect the lower bars on the 750 had on the weight distribution and handling, being an old git I`m planning to leave the bars above the yokes.

Anyone any experience of improving the 11K ?

Any advice/comments/abuse welcomed.

 

 

 

[dupersunc]

I've a 750m which handles well enough do fast group times on track. 95Nmm front springs in standard rebuilt forks, 500lb rear spring on  a rebuilt WP shock, sag set, and shorter dog bones to jack up the rear, all the damper setting in the middle of the range. Modern tyres are the biggest improvement. 

Wouldn't go any stiffer on the springs for the road, as it's just starting to feel harsh on the ride.

[dougw]

Thanks Dunc, currently got 100Nmm front springs and it is a bit harsh, I think this is not helped by the current shimming.

I`ll have to check the spring rate on the Ohlins, as its specced for the 11K and the M arm I have is longer so  might be a bit soft ?

[Slabby11]

Very interested in where this goes as i have 750J forks on my slabby and want to change to get the bars above the yokes. I bought a set of 1100K forks and made some enquiries and was told that the 11 forks are an older damper rod design and would need major modifications to get them as good as the 750 forks so at the moment they're in the "useful - but i don't know where" pile. Is there a cartridge conversion available anywhere?

[dupersunc]

2 hours ago, dougw said:

Thanks Dunc, currently got 100Nmm front springs and it is a bit harsh, I think this is not helped by the current shimming.

I`ll have to check the spring rate on the Ohlins, as its specced for the 11K and the M arm I have is longer so  might be a bit soft ?

if you decide to change the 10.0nmm springs, let me know, they'd be spot on for my current project.

[dougw]

13 hours ago, dupersunc said:

if you decide to change the 10.0nmm springs, let me know, they'd be spot on for my current project.

Will do Dunc.

[dougw]

14 hours ago, Slabby11 said:

Very interested in where this goes as i have 750J forks on my slabby and want to change to get the bars above the yokes. I bought a set of 1100K forks and made some enquiries and was told that the 11 forks are an older damper rod design and would need major modifications to get them as good as the 750 forks so at the moment they're in the "useful - but i don't know where" pile. Is there a cartridge conversion available anywhere?

As far as I know the 1100K forks have a cartridge, I`m basing this on being told that my current 11K forks "Don`t have many Shims in them" when I had them refreshed a bit ago, only time I have ever farmed out work as I was short of time, then the new seal leaked worse than the old so I had to remove and refit them twice..

I believe the 11K forks are Kayaba and the 750J ones are Showa, Gareth from Reactive thought my plan sounded feasible.

I`ll post the results when I have both forks apart, but don`t hold your breath I`ve been meaning to look at the shims since 1995, must speed up a bit as I`m running out of project time  

Squirrel !

 

[Oilyspanner]

18 hours ago, Slabby11 said:

Very interested in where this goes as i have 750J forks on my slabby and want to change to get the bars above the yokes. I bought a set of 1100K forks and made some enquiries and was told that the 11 forks are an older damper rod design and would need major modifications to get them as good as the 750 forks so at the moment they're in the "useful - but i don't know where" pile. Is there a cartridge conversion available anywhere?

Slabby forks were damper rod , the 1100K had cartridge, which were too stiff on the damping settings as standard . As Doug says, 750 K forks are Showa and the 1100s are Kayaba and not as compliant. Maxton (Ron Williams )used to alter the 1100K forks to work very well.  With the longer swing-arm use the after market L/M/N spring rates - I can't remember what mine is of hand. 1100 Slingshots can be altered to handle well, perhaps not ultra sharp, but really reliable - I used to find my GSXR1000s almost too keen to dive into corners and make even a spirited ride not the experience it should've been, good on the track though.

Junking the standard exhaust , fit a lighter system and fitting lighter wheels helps the handling loads too - the curved spoke wheels are very heavy, the later straight spoke wheels give a very useful saving.

Keep us informed Doug, your project will work nicely.  Suzuki didn't quite finish off the Slingshot 1100s, with more care to suspension and cutting weight they would've had loads of good press, not  the pasting they mostly took.

Oily

[Fula28]

I've had 750-k forks and 11k in both my last two projects and whilst they both were modified to suit my weight and bikes, the 750,s as stated were damped rod, and big ole 11k were cartridges, I had K-tech do my 11k think they may have had Hon€€ cbr600rr cartridges fitted, and respective Spring rates. 

And 750 ones were reworked by Mct stowmarket as , Ken sommerton who owns runs k-tech helped me out before he went huge, global production . 

They both can be made so much better for few quid,  way cheaper to do than usd forks, as well I seem to remember . 

Great stuff.

[dougw]

21 hours ago, Oilyspannerlyspanner said:

Slabby forks were damper rod , the 1100K had cartridge, which were too stiff on the damping settings as standard . As Doug says, 750 K forks are Showa and the 1100s are Kayaba and not as compliant. Maxton (Ron Williams )used to alter the 1100K forks to work very well.  With the longer swing-arm use the after market L/M/N spring rates - I can't remember what mine is of hand. 1100 Slingshots can be altered to handle well, perhaps not ultra sharp, but really reliable - I used to find my GSXR1000s almost too keen to dive into corners and make even a spirited ride not the experience it should've been, good on the track though.

Junking the standard exhaust , fit a lighter system and fitting lighter wheels helps the handling loads too - the curved spoke wheels are very heavy, the later straight spoke wheels give a very useful saving.

Keep us informed Doug, your project will work nicely.  Suzuki didn't quite finish off the Slingshot 1100s, with more care to suspension and cutting weight they would've had loads of good press, not  the pasting they mostly took.

Oily

Will have to drag the Astralites out of the loft then.

The rear broke a couple of Rivets, the two halves developed a small gap in one place, not loosing any air but upon investigation the Rivets by the gap had sheared.

Temporarily repaired with a couple of cap heads, I've seen the rivets by the spokes replaced with cap heads before on a couple of race bikes.

I`ve never found anyone able/willing to check the rest of the rivets , the guy who started making Astralites again wanted to replace everything but the hubs, not really what I want as there is nothing wrong with the rims and pressed spokes.

Anyone know anyone who might be able/willing to crack test the remaining rivets ?

I wondered if a resistance reading with a milli ohmmeter might give an indication of the health of the rivets ?

I could drill out and replace all the rivets with bolts of some type, but as this would probably be heavier I`m reluctant to attack what might be perfectly good rivets, but the consequences of a wheel collapsing are a bit worrying ...

 

[Oilyspanner]

Wow Astralites, I wanted some myself back then. A tough one with the rivets, resistance might be one way, but the unknown is at what level is safe ? I can see the solution being a bit expensive, anyone who works on them will want to make sure they're safe by doing a very thorough job. The wheels must have a decent value though and worth looking after.

Someone on  here must've had the same wheels refurbed ?

[dupersunc]

Eddy current is what you would need to check the rivets.

It's fairly specialised kit, but plenty of people in the aviation industry use it for exactly this sort of job. it wouldn't take long for someone who knows what they're doing to check them out.