[SickRick]

Okay...

FINALLY got those fork tubes back from PVD coating, they came out AMAZING.

So, time to take a trip to Atlanta to get the Traxxion AK-20's installed on the front (since the installation of the Penske's in the rear exposed how CRAPY the OEM front suspension REALLY IS. Made an appointment for Wednesday at 9:30 AM, pulled the front off the bike Monday night (ripped 6 movies to the IPad to watch on the BORING ride) and headed out Tuesday afternoon for Atlanta.

I chose to just take a ride up there, because I HATE for the bike to be down waiting for parts to go back and forth (as evidenced by all the take-off parts in my garage), it would have cost me $400 to round trip Fedex the stuff next day - so it was actually cheeper to just throw it in the car and drive.

Traxxion Dynamics is in Woodstock, Ga. - about 1/2 north of the city. They have a pretty nice sized facility.

Welcome Mat was rolled out - that was pretty cool I thought.

TD guys were pretty impressed with the quality of the PVD on the fork tubes, don't think they've seen that process done before on a set of tubes.

While I didn't stick around to watch and photograph the install process (had a lunch appointment with a friend in the city and a noon meeting at my favorite AA clubhouse there), TD's president did give me the "nickel tour" of the facility.

CAD/Parts Design Room

Company President plays Sax, and is friends with some sax maker, so in addition to motorcycle suspension, they also CNC a line of custom Sax Mouth Pieces - pretty nice stuff.

They can also do your Fork R&R for you, if you happen to bring the whole bike in.

Apparantly, VROD's aren't they only bike that suffers from suck-ass OEM front suspension - they do a lot of work on Victory Touring bikes.

Forks come off and are disassembled. In the case of VR's, the tower in the bottom of the upper tubed is machined out in a lathe and the TD tower is installed - yet another reason to do this in a set of NEW tubes, so you can re-install the OEM suspension if you want to take the TD suspension off (though after riding it for a day, and don't know WHY you'd EVER want to do that).

Assembly Room

They have a nice CNC setup, 4 REAL EXPENSIVE looking multi-axis machines.

contd...

 

[SickRick]

They also manufacture a line of Gold Wing Trike Triple Trees (BANK the president tells me).

TD has a good stock of parts (they make some stuff for Penske also), the president informed me (with some pride) that over 95% of their stuff is MADE IN AMERICA (he doesn't know where the O-Rings come from).

Cutaway of TD Suspension system

So, four hours later, forks in hand, time to head back to Lauderdale - the final credits of "Get Him To The Greek" rolling just as I came off my turnpike exit - ride isn't quite so BORING if you have some movies to watch (HEY, at least I'm not driving and TEXTING).

New tire on the OEM Front wheel (still waiting to get the BST's on) and forks are ready to go back on.

Before:

After:

Suspension handles AMAZING. Speed bumps, etc. go un-noticed. Front end brake drive is handled really well, no bouncy-bouncy when you grab the brake. Damping and rebound is solid, responsive and predictable. Don't know if it's all suspension (because I put the new Nightdragon front on at the same time), but turning in is super fast, no wobbles, bike leans in and holds whatever line you want to now with no wandering.

I got the adjustable fronts, with adjusters on top of the tubes.

Need to go through the "dialing in process" to get the Penske rears and fronts balanced out to my liking. I'm running both pretty soft right now for the street.

All-in-all, TD's were a great investment - bike now handles the way it SHOULD, and is now pretty much a sport bike - not a "sport cruiser", as far as handling and performance go.

Blacked out fork tubes complete my "blackout process", and are really the crowning touch as far as my appearance mods go. BST wheels & Lyndall Rotors should be on by the end of the month. Then it's just "minor detail work" (powdercoating spacers, touch up paint on the un-painted parts of the motor, etc.) and this project MIGHT BE DONE! (yeah, right, I'm already romancing the idea of a Boss Noss 50 Shot)...

Regards,

Rick

 

[Jeck]

That looks real nice. Now how about some color on the pale white foot in the last pics haha

 

[Sharkey]

nothing like going to the extreme when customizing huh? - looks good...

 

[santeg]

you think thats different, wait till you get the rims on

 

[redfish1960]

This setup I know well! Once the rims (BST) are on it's a whole new bike in terms of performance and handling. My setup has been the same, except on my backside, I've got the Works Pro-Racers.

 

[redfish1960]

you think thats different, wait till you get the rims on

You will enjoy!!!