I have finally installed my Ricor Intiminators Ricor on my bike after having them sitting here nearly a full year. I guess a lack of desire to pull my forks off the bike is the main reason I have not installed them until now. I spent countless hours toiling over a decision of what was going to make the front end of my bike handle as well as the rear with my Shotgun Shock.
A little background on my ride is that I have had the Shotgun Shock (which has performed flawlessly) for a little over 6 months. My front forks have been at stock height until now. I figured if I am going to put the intiminators on I might as well lower it at the same time as the forks will be apart anyway. I got a Progressive “drop in” lowering kit and am lowering the front 1”. This will level out the bike with the 21” front wheel on the front and make it look plain bad ass.
I am using 5W oil as specified by Ricor in the instructions for the intiminators. For anyone who is not aware, the Harley Type E oil is 10W although it says it nowhere on the label of the bottle.
The first thing I noticed as I got on the bike and grabbed the brake while pushing on the forks is the distinct lack of travel. I used to have a ton of travel even with the Screamin’ Eagle heavy fork oil. This had me wondering how my forks were going to be able to soak up the bumps.
Like I said above I read pages and pages of info on the intiminators and finally pulled the trigger. The inertia valve in the intiminator is smart enough to determine whether it is the wheel or chassis that are trying to move. This all sounds great in theory, but does it pass the acid test?
ABSOLUTELY! Once I was rolling I was shocked to feel what I consider to be nothing in the way of bumps from the end. I am very used to navigating the road to avoid bumps as the stock damper rod suspension is less than sufficient for such a heavy vehicle. Couple that with the 90/21 tire I haveetched onto a 21x3” rim and you could say front end performance was any oxymoron. Notice I said WAS. The bike is now reminiscent of an aggressive sport bike front end that soaks up everything in its way without a second thought.
I am not an engineer by any stretch of the imagination so I am doing my best to explain this in layman’s terms so you will understand. Whenever the bike hits any sort of imperfection in the road the intiminator determines first whether the chassis or wheel is what is moving. It then reacts appropriately soaking up the bump through its intertia technology.
It seems that I avhe been wasting years without putting my intimiantors and in and the combination of these and my Shotgun shock in the rear make my bike handle like it never has before. I avhe always been a proponent for upgraded suspension on motorcycle as on any brand of motorcycle stock suspension will rarely achieve what can be had from putting on aftermarket suspension, but these have me in awe.
I am a former sport bike rider and the suspension is always the first thing I would upgrade. Ohlins, Fox Shocks, Werks, etc. I avhe tried the vast majority of what is available and was always more than happy to spend my hard earned money on them as it made such a difference in the way the bike handled that it was like a different vehicle. If you re on the fence about the intiminators, I am here to tell you that there is no need. These perform as they should and make riding my bike that much more of a pleasure. I no longer watch the road for uneven pavement, bumps, cracks, etc. I am worry free and stuck to the ground like glue. I am yet to take a nice canyon flyer run, but as soon as I do I will post up my findings for everyone as well.
Thanks!
Drew
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