Suspension, forks and shocks

Maestro, SEI-V
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Tom500
Posts: 2
Joined: 22 Sep 2007 17:47
Location: San Francisco CA USA

Suspension, forks and shocks

Post by Tom500 »

My 500 that was rebuilt from a basket case could use a better suspension. Someone must have some good recomendations for fork springs, oil, rear shocks etc.......? Thanks.....Tom
moriniuk
Posts: 62
Joined: 13 May 2006 12:00
Location: Levenshulme, Manchester
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Post by moriniuk »

I've only ever ridden my 350 Morini on UK race tracks, so what I have to say may not apply to normal road riding.
I use Falcon alloy rear shocks which are UK made, expensive and fantastic. Other alternatives would be Hagon, NJB, Maxton or Koni (now Ikon).
Front forks, I use standard springs and 30 grade fork oil. I have tried Race Tech cartridge emulators but could never set them up to my liking. They seemed to be way too stiff. I thing softer springs would have been better, but they have to be custom made. The softest springs you can get away with is best.
The standard forks can be improved, but it's quite expensive, or you could have proper modern cartridges installed for big money. Maxton do these mods.

I've found that the "legendary" handling of the Morinis is not quite as good as we all like to believe. It's good compared to other bikes from the same era. But when compared to modern bikes I've ridden back-to-back on the same circuit, the inadequacies are shown up and its the forks that are lacking in my opinion.
Last edited by moriniuk on 06 Oct 2007 10:46, edited 1 time in total.
EVguru
Posts: 1528
Joined: 01 Aug 2006 11:13
Location: Luton
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Post by EVguru »

Fork oil weight is all to do with what fork internals Marzocchi supplied that month (week, day, hour!?). You'll have to play around and see what suits your forks/you. It's always going to be a comprimise with damper-rod forks. Springs have often sagged over the years and a new set may work wonders, but check your forks are properly aligned and move without stiction before you do anything else.
Paul Compton
http://www.morini-mania.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/user/EVguru
Brubru
Posts: 76
Joined: 16 May 2006 11:10
Location: Franiere, Belgium

Post by Brubru »

I think the new name for Koni is Ikon. If not, something similar with the same letters. Over the years, I have used Koni and Marzocchi for the rear shocks. Marzocchis are beautifully red and Italian, with the separate gas tank, but I found the Konis were the best and longer lasting.

For the front I personnally was not very happy with the original springs. They tended to plunge too much when braking hard. I then tried the springs and pre-loaders from a Ducati Pantah, but those were way too hard for a comfotable ride. I found the best solution with progressive springs: first part of the travel is soft, making them comfortable under normal circumstances, but then progressively getting harder so that they don't get straight to the bottom when you brake too late...
You can get them from NLM.

Bruno
The fastest touring rack east of the Channel
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