Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Twolanerider]

TC and I have received the AK-20 cartridge upgrade at Traxxion Dynamics in the last couple of days.  The red bike on Thursday and TC's yesterday.

Guess what?

Good stuff.

In ways you'd expect and in ways you'd not have anticipated beforehand.  We've both had much the same reaction too.  

TC's 06 had emulators in it out of the box so we'd speculated if he'd notice as much difference as did I.  Riding back to Birmingham last night from the environs of Atlanta his grin was so big I could see it extending beyond the back of his (full face) helmet as I followed behind him.

So, what do feel different?  In all areas of the front wheel's handling and the nose's behavior there are differences that are improvements.

On my own the reactions were as follows:

I did not realize how much diving I was still getting until it suddenly and completely wasn't doing it anymore.  As many of us had discussed here before I'd loaded the nose up with the heavy fork oil to eliminate the bad diving and bottoming out we all tended to experience.  What I've now realized is that I made it harder and not firmer.  Some of the diving was certainly eliminated.  And it made the bike manageable.  It did not make the bike like this.  

No longer are bumps, ridges, ruts, curbs or the random bit of road kill felt and transmitted suddenly and harshly back through the bars to arms and shoulders.  It's not hard or harsh anymore.  It's now completely solid in the front but firm and conforming to the road envirionment experienced.  It's a sudden and night and day improvement.

Not only does the lack of dive make a difference in any riding condition you'd expect it makes a difference at low speed.  The nose no longer wants to lean as much as you lean over going slow.  So tight radius low speed turns or u-turns are easier too.  That was unexpected and noticed immediately also.

The biggest surprise noticed so far, however, is that I had absolutely no clue how much or how often the front wheel was off the ground until it suddenly wasn't anymore.  We're getting a LOT of wheel hop.  But it's always been there.  We're used to it.  It's just part of the package.  Not anymore....

That makes a HUGE difference.

The wheel now conforms to whatever the surface is rather than hopping through it.  Along with the amazingly increased damping effect (actually guess that's two sides of the same coin) this makes for not just a much better handling bike in the twisty roads.  It makes for a much better handling bike, and a bike that's much more pleasant to ride, barreling straight down the interstate.  

There really is nothing bad to say about this job.  The shop where the work is done is a playground for visitors.  They welcome you to hang around, watch, see the place.  The folks are just pleasant; they're friendly.  They like to talk shop and are willing to put up with us attempting to do so.  And it's a nice clean, well done, effective shop.  A place no one should worry about taking their bike or their parts.

The distinct difference and improvement TC and I have seen (and both noticed similarly) begs the question of why it didn't seem so profound a few months on that Road King of a friend of mines whose bike we installed legs in that had had this work done to it.  After watching the guys work on mine and seeing what they've done I know what happened.  I kind of screwed up (a bit).

Installed those legs and at time of installation backed the adjustment off so we could tighten it down to see what gains were to be felt from doing so.  We wanted to see what the differences felt like.  So on that cold day, with ice and snow still cluttering the sides of the road, I rode the bike and adjusted it firmer once.  Adjusted it firmer again.  At that point noticed some improvement over stock.  At that point also was noticing frozen fingers and other special parts and defined an improvement as "good enough."  I never adjusted it where I now know it should be.  We'll remove the headlight again and solve that shortly after I get home and can get access to that bike.  He'll be pleased.

[Twolanerider]

(part deux deux)

To summarize:

It's not an inexpensive thing to do.  Mine in fact cost a couple hundred bucks or so more than did Terry's.  They had to spend a fair bit more time working on mine than they did Terry's.  But it might be worth confirming the price beforehand as much as you're able just to make sure you know what to expect.  I know how much more time they had to spend with mine and what some of the difficulties were so I'm not complaining. But it's a question you might find worth asking beforehand just to verify.

The overall experience is great though.  It is an immediate and profound difference in the feel and handling of the bike.  It should have been like this to begin with.  Obviously problems from aero around fairing aren't solved here.  That's a whole different issue that the Electra Glides have to contend with.  I can say, however, that having the nose and forks this much more stable does even help there a little bit.  No longer does the tail wag the dog as the fairing shake from wind lead to an oscillation or wander down lower.  The bottom end just stays put.

The overall change is significant enough that you actually have to ride the bike a bit different.  You'll find your old lines through the turns isn't right anymore.  It's that much better.  It's also more forgiving.  Last night coming back across some large hills/small mountains I intentionally drove too deeply in to some turns and exited some others either early or late to see how much "more" it could absorb.  Without doing any of that to the point of being stupid I did find that the bike is surprisingly more forgiving.  You can screw up and get away it far more easily than you could have to begin with.

Final thoughts:  Good parts, great impact on the bike, super people to work with.  It's not a couple hundred dollar little task.  But it's far more important than any bling you're ever going to do. 

[Twolanerider]

I'm logging off now.  Just took advantage of TC's computer to post this as several have asked.  Quite a few of our buddies have been talked to on the phone in the last couple of days wondering how this was going to work.  So didn't want to keep everyone waiting.

It's been quite a trip so far too.  Rode to the Atlanta area and first stayed with Chief and Pinkie.  Thanks again and so much for their kindness and hospitality.  Dinner one night while there with their friends Dave and Katie and V-Girl.  A good time was had by all.  Stayed last night here with TC and Diva after the great ride back to Birmingham from the Atlanta area.  Tonight will be in Memphis with JR, MJ, Jerry et. al.  Grand hospitality and great friends rolling back and forth across the Old South.  It's been a special little trip and I appreciate everyone very much.


Thanks again!

[Boatman]

Don-
Thanks for the great write up of  a new product as usual.  I realize they installed the upgrade to yours and TC's forks with the bikes being there.  Can others send their forks in to have them done or do they have to have the whole bike?  I can now see from their website that you can send yours in for a 1 week turnaround.  We also need pictures of your new legs installed.  SEEG's have cartridge forks already on both sides?  Let us know what you still think of them when you get home.  Thanks, Bob

www.traxxion.com

[Midnight Rider]

Not a whole lot to add to what Don has already said, other than a big DITTO!! 

First, I did not know my 06 forks had emulators, as I'd never had a reason to look at the exploded diagram to see what was in there.  So we now now that the 06 and 07 models (at least the SEUC's) have an emulator.  I would assume the other FL models do as well, but haven't a clue about the "regular" bikes, or non CVO models.  As Don mentioned, the guys at the shop are very friendly, glad to show you around, and let you wander in and out wherever you want.  They have a lot of nice machine equipment in a relatively small space dedicated to that task.  Then a small shipping area, "admin" office space, and the shop area with two lifts to do the bikes brought in.  They manufacture all components in the cartridge system, and got to see some of how that is done.  Basically, the tech removes the forks, hands them off to the guy in the room where they take everything apart and put the new stuff in.  That shop is clean as well, and set up nicely to do this work.  They are very careful with your forks.  Mine took about 6 hours from start to finish.

Impressions: The difference is felt the moment you throw your leg over the bike...the normal "settling" you get when getting the bike off the kickstand is simply gone.  Slow speed maneuvering is so much improved, it's simply like being on a different bike.  Braking on the front end...the bike still moves, but it is controlled movement, and then immediately settles back to where it should be.  Riding the bike is a completely different experience...as Don mentioned, no more wheel hop, the normal buffeting you get from turbulence around the fairing when passing big boxy vehicles is MUCH improved...the front end and the tire just simply stay put, soaking up every nuance in the road surface.  I intentionally ran over divots in the road surface to see how it felt compared to the shock I used to get running through the same type of road surface imperfections...soaked up immediately by the forks.  Just running straight roads is a really noticeable improvement.  Taking curves, the bike is like it's on a rail...no wallowing, steering inputs cause the bike to respond immediately and predictably, so if you screw up, it's a lot more forgiving.  You can wait longer to apply the front brakes when entering a turn, as you no longer have to wait for the front end to settle back down prior to pushing the bar down.  It does require a bit of relearning your normal line through a turn, but it only take a few and you have complete confidence in what the bike is going to do.

I simply cannot say enough about how good this system is...it is absolutely a night and day difference, and though pricey, I feel that every penny was money I would have spent much sooner, had I known this place existed.  The Legends compliment it well, though if you don't need the adjustable part of the Legends, they will soon have a shock which has a separate component for adjusting the preload/dampening, and if it is anything like this, will be far and away superior to anything we've seen or felt to this point.

I've put over 400 miles on the bike since the install, 175 or so coming back from the Atlanta area, then another 225 or so today with Suzanne on the back.  Suzanne even noticed a vast difference in how the bike handled.  We came back through a couple of areas (after riding with Don to Northwestern Alabama) where I sometimes scrape the floorboards a bit through the turns...never even came close.  The bike just carves through the turns now.

If you want a bike that handles as well as it can, spend the money on this and a set of rear shocks.  I can also see a huge potential benefit for those of you pulling a trailer.

This is both a performance and a safety improvement, IMO.

Oh...got to test some new brake pads while we were there.  Phenomenal!!!

[RJ749]

Thanks Don and Terry for the write up on the Traxxion's.

Terry did you say they are developing a rear shock too?  What is the timing on that?

Glad to hear they have worked out so well and that you got time to ride with Don as well.

[Midnight Rider]

Thanks Don and Terry for the write up on the Traxxion's.

Terry did you say they are developing a rear shock too?  What is the timing on that?

Glad to hear they have worked out so well and that you got time to ride with Don as well.

Rog, he led me to think it would be within the next 3 or 4 months...they are working with another company on this one.

Getting to see and ride with Don was a lot of fun...we had a good time hanging at the shop and riding back.  Had a good dinner and a couple of Black and Tans as well.  Took him out to 29 Dreams for lunch, and then we headed Northwest.

[Hoist!]

This is friggin' great! It's about time we got a real suspension for the FL's! This is one thread the MoCo should be paying attention to! The rear shocks are from an Italian manufacturer and supposedly getting raves from sport bike riders in Europe. I'm anxious to see what develops.

Terry, what's the deal with deal with the brake pads. I hadn't changed to the Lyndalls yet, which I was definitely planning. Do you know something we don't know? 

Hoist!

[hard10]

This is friggin' great! It's about time we got a real suspension for the FL's! This is one thread the MoCo should be paying attention to! The rear shocks are from an Italian manufacturer and supposedly getting raves from sport bike riders in Europe. I'm anxious to see what develops.

Terry, what's the deal with deal with the brake pads. I hadn't changed to the Lyndalls yet, which I was definitely planning. Do you know something we don't know? 

Hoist!

Howie, how many pads would you need for one disk rather than two?

[ultrafxr]

Don, thanks for the write up and of course getting the report in person tonight at dinner.  Good to see you, JR, MJZ, et al.  Can't wait to see JR's photos.  Thanks for remembering the camera, JR.

Anyway,  I'll definitely have to check this out.  Sounds soooooo good.

Jerry

[RJ749]

Howie, how many pads would you need for one disk rather than two?

AJ, you're bad

[110tHunDer]

 
Guys, I saw the $1,000 price tag in the Group Buy section for the parts.  How much did they charge for the on-site installation?

[Hoist!]

Guys, I saw the $1,000 price tag in the Group Buy section for the parts.  How much did they charge for the on-site installation?

Brian, that's supposed to be the installed cost. It sounds like a great deal too! Hoist!

[Hoist!]

Howie, how many pads would you need for one disk rather than two?

Actually AJ, I changed my mind. I'm removing all my rotors and calipers so you can see the wheels better. I plan on using my feet to stop. Lyndall makes a new product called Brake Boots that just came out. You gotta see them! Boots and brakes in one product! I'm not sure there'll be enough stopping power for you with that (fasterjesterwiththefunnyguyontop)! Hoist!

[Midnight Rider]

Guys, I saw the $1,000 price tag in the Group Buy section for the parts.  How much did they charge for the on-site installation?

Brian...actually, the cost of the whole deal comes to a bit over 1100 bucks, out the door.

This includes the AK-20 Axxion Cartridge Kit, two OEM Fork Seals, two inner bushings (which, by the way, were very worn after just 11K on my bike), removal and replacement of front end, installation of the Kit, and county sales tax.  What it amounts to is 250 dollars off normal cost.

Don's cost a bit more because they had to do some extra work on his new lowers due to the powder and chroming he had done (they had to remove some "left over" material inside the tubes).

It took them a good 6 hours to do this on my bike, and about 8 or so on Don's.  Mine probably went a bit faster because they had just done his.  They remove the ignition switch (a bit more difficult on the 06 and up models), the lower inner fairing cap, front calipers, wheel, etc.  The installation of their kit takes a while...these guys are professionals, taking great care to get everything set up just right on the forks before installing them back on the bike.  A good 4 hours of time was spent installing the kit and adjusting each leg, adding the precise amount of fork oil to get the response/action they want the fork to have.  At no point was I concerned about their work.

For comparison purposes, they have done enough Gold Wings for it to only take them 2 hours or so for the whole job, but then the Wings are easier to get everything apart, and they have done hundreds of them, and only a half dozen or so Harley's.

IMO, it is a bargain...there is that much difference in the bike.  There's really no other product out there that can compare to this one.  A person can do a lot of things to make the front end of our bike firmer...changing fork oil weight, different springs, emulators, etc, but there is nothing that will give the responsiveness and ride quality of this system on our bikes.  They are having trouble breaking into the HD market, as it seems the "typical" owner, if it does not involve bling or horsepower, is not interested in much else.  I'd make a bet with anyone here that if they got on either mine or Don's bike and rode it, then got back on their own, they would turn around and have this done ASAP.  No matter what your riding style, it's that dramatic of an improvement.

They have a Wing that is used for a demo...has all their suspension, etc.  We got to play around on it a bit.  Got to compare some brake pad they are working with a company in Japan on...ride the bike with stock pads (the Wing has ABS brakes, so you just bare down as hard as you can), then they changed the pads out for us...Holy chit, what a difference!!  I would NEVER have believed that just pads would make such a difference in stopping distance.  It was unreal.