'08 1200L Intiminator install

[tfarmer49]

Howdy folks. Here's a brief history of my '08 1200L front suspension odyssey. I'm no suspension expert of any sort, but I knew one thing. The stock suspension on the front of my '08 1200L SUCKED! It dived, slammed to the full extended position and bottomed out on a regular basis. Not happy, I got some progressive front springs for it. I waited until I fitted a Mustang solo seat, found that I could still flat foot it at rest, then decided to go with the stock length progressives for my bike model. Huge difference! The new springs eliminated some of the diving and most of the bottoming out problems. I was still using all of the suspension travel for normal everyday riding however. I read about the new Intiminators on this site and decided to give them a try. The following is a chronicle of the install with some specs and a ride report.



The above image is what my stock springs looked like after removing the fork caps. They extended 2.25" above the fork tubes. Adding the .75" recess of the tube caps gave me 3" of preload. Fork oil was at the 4.8" factory suggested level. Like I said above, this setup was not working for me.



The image above shows the progressive springs installed. The instructions called for the spacer to be cut even with the top of the fork tube, thereby letting the recess of the tube cap provide .75" preload. The progressive instructions also called for 5.5" down for the oil level instead of the factory 4.8". The improvement over the stock suspension was huge.



After draining the fork oil, removing the progressive springs, putting in new 5wt. Amsoil fork oil, dropping in the Intiminators, and compressing the forks, this image shows me checking the oil level using the turkey baster slurp method. I went with 5" down for the oil level mainly because I was a little skittish about using 5 wt. fork oil and the 5.5" level of the previous setup was still too soft for me.



This photo shows the forks extended again with the progressive springs and spacers back in on top of the Intiminators. I decided to use the same spacer length from the previous setup to give me a little more preload, again because I felt the previous setup was too soft. The spacer now extends up past the top of the forktube about .5". So that, with the .75" tube cap recess gives me 1.25" preload. With that, I buttoned it back up and went for a ride.

I took it out over washboard pavement, speedbumps and mild potholes. The new feel of the front suspension is kind of a paradox. It seems more solid, yet at the same time smoother. Dive and extension are not as extreme as the previous two setups. Cornering, for lack of a better phrase, just seems "locked in". The bike doesn't do it's dipping, wandering action in the curves anymore. I LIKE IT!!!!!!!! My fairly mild test ride didn't test the Intiminators to their limits. According to the marks on the forks I still had about 1" more travel to play with. I'm going to ride it a little harder in the upcoming weeks to see if I use the full travel of the forks. I may need to remove .25" of preload to achieve my humble opinion of perfection, but I'm going to ride awhile before making that call.

I highly recommend the Intiminators. I compare the change in my Sportster's handling to the difference between the handling of an Impala and a 'Vette! No snake oil here! These things work!!!

[Folkie]

Interesting report; thanks for posting that.

Now, this is probably a stupod question, but if the fork cap has a recess in it, how does that give you ¾" of preload?

[tfarmer49]

Folkie, recess is probably a poor description on my part. I was thinking of the tube cap threads recessing down into the fork tubes. What I meant to say is that the tube caps screw down into the fork tubes 3/4" thereby compressing anything level with the top of the fork tube by 3/4". There is a small recess in the bottoms of the tube caps but it's inconsequential because the spacers or springs won't fit up into that small void.

Also, I forgot to mention that I weigh 185 lbs. That, of course, will make a difference in preload specs. I suspect that the exact level of the 5 wt. oil is not as critical as the preload measurement for this type of setup.

On my bike (the 1200L) there is about 3.5" of available suspension travel. As it sits now, there is 7/8" sag when I sit on it as opposed to resting on the kickstand. XLXR has suggested 1/4 to 1/3 suspension travel for the sag, so at 1/4 I guess I'm probably pretty close to his optimum calculation.

Again, I'm no suspension expert. With me, it's more like a guess here, and a hunch there and I finally get to where I want to be with it. Happy trails!

[Moe47]

Thanks for the write up. Maybe I'll get mine installed this week.

[Folkie]

Originally Posted by tfarmer49

Folkie, recess is probably a poor description on my part. I was thinking of the tube cap threads recessing down into the fork tubes. What I meant to say is that the tube caps screw down into the fork tubes 3/4" thereby compressing anything level with the top of the fork tube by 3/4".

Ah, thanks. I understand now.

[XLXR]

Congratulations Farmer, keep up with the testing and fine tuning and you will be amazed how much of an expert you have become.

The new feel of the front suspension is kind of a paradox.

It really is hard to describe because it does feel different. That's why I recommend not making too many changes at once. You need to get a feel for them before deciding what needs to be fine tuned.

Keep in mind the oil level from the factory may vary an 1" or more. So it is best to be sure to drain all the oil oil out and then pump the forks and let the oil drip out for awhiile to get it all out. After adding the factory recommeded amount, and Intiminators, pump the forks again to get all the air out, then measure the oil level, springs out, forks extended (to not risk knocking the bike off the jack) and use that level as your starting point. With the forks mounted on the bike, the oil level will be different front to back, so measure it at the same point everytime. The factory recommended oil level refers to springs out, fork OFF the bike to be held vertical, and fork tubes compressed.

Average riding over averaged bumps should not use all the fork travel. You want to save some fork travel for the really big, bad, scary stuff, the worst bump you know. That is the safest way to set up a bike that is already too low.

I would not recommed any lower oil level than factory recommendations. At the most, you can suck out less then 1/2 oz taken up by the Intiminators. So don't suck out any more trying to increase fork travel.

Adding oil has been another way to prevent forks from bottoming. But if the plastic tie indicates you are not using all the travel, and you don't want to reduce preload because you want the front end high as possible, then take out the 1/2 oz displaced by the Intiminators.

When you learn the compromises each change forces on you, you have done all you can. Reducing preload may soften the ride over small bumps, but will also lower the forks. Nightster guys should probably stay with extra preload. Roadster guys have more travel to use less preload and still have better cornering clearance than Nighsters.

If you had Works Dual Rate (soft version) springs, you could change the cross over spacer to regulate fork travel over bumps. Just throwing that in as an example.

What shocks, springs, preload setting are you using?

[rodhotter]

i do not understand why not buy an adjustable cartridge setup, what all these GIZMOS are trying to do is IMITATE how the superior cartridge forks work, you may save some $$$ but sometimes not, every trial costs $$$$, 1940"s damper rods can be made to work better and its no secret that cheap is why they still exist, sportster sport forks just bolt in, though a better spring aka hyperpro is needed for our heavier rubber mounts, changing conditions, twistier aggressive riding 2 up just turn the dials, i guess thats TOO EASY IMHO

[Shocknerd]

Originally Posted by rodhotter

i do not understand why not buy an adjustable cartridge setup, what all these GIZMOS are trying to do is IMITATE how the superior cartridge forks work, you may save some $$$ but sometimes not, every trial costs $$$$, 1940"s damper rods can be made to work better and its no secret that cheap is why they still exist, sportster sport forks just bolt in, though a better spring aka hyperpro is needed for our heavier rubber mounts, changing conditions, twistier aggressive riding 2 up just turn the dials, i guess thats TOO EASY IMHO

Cartridges don't have bump sensing/ inertia valves that automatically adjusts the damping response seamlessly within milliseconds. Damper rods have much more piston surface area to work with. The damping response cartridges provide have been around since 1913 for cars. The hydraulically manipulated inertia valve was invented in the '90's and first tested in Tunisia, North Africa on a Citroen Rally Raid car. The top speed of the Bilstein equipped race car was 138 kph over the rough section of the test loop. First generation Ricor inertia valve equipped, 185 kph. The Citroen domination over Mitsubishi in the Paris/ Dakar rallies began right then. The inertia valve equipped shocks also made a much smoother ride, improved tire wear, much lower shock temps.

[Folkie]

Wow !

[tfarmer49]

XLXR thanks for your observations and comments. I've a lot of respect for all the suspension tuning you've done and your willingness to share it with the rest of us on the forum.

My rear shocks and springs are the factory units. I have them set at the next notch up from the lowest setting. Lowest was too mushy and this notch seems almost to stiff but I like it better than the mush.

I went ahead and took 1/4" out of the preload in the front. It now has 1" preload with the progressive springs. I took it out and did some hard cornering, hard bumps and extreme braking. Under these conditions I used 93% of the total front suspension travel. I'm happy as a clam. This is probably as close to dialed in as I want to get for now. It's a different bike. I'm really enjoying the ride!

I'm going to wait and see if Ricor comes up with something for the rear. If they do, I'll be one of their first customers. At that point I'll probably do a little more fine tuning on the front. For now, it's darn close.

I can't say enough about Ricor's service and product. They have made a true believer and established lifetime customer loyalty in my case. Que te vaya bien, amigos!
Terry