Question about oil weight...

I believe stock fork oil viscosity is 10W (From service manual: Suzuki Fork Oil G10 [#10] or equivalent).

If someone installs the Intiminators on the stock damper rods and decides to use 10W oil, won't the stock damper rods still control the damping just like they were intended to, i.e. still be fairly harsh on high speed compression?

I assume that the reason why they recommend 5W oil is so that it flows through the stock damper rod holes easier than the 10W, and reduces this effect. But for those who want more rebound damping and are going to heavier weights, won't this be an issue?

I have modified damper rods for the RT emulators, and I was running 20W oil. The Intiminators don't change the rebound circuit, or so they claim, so now that I have 5W oil with the Intiminators I feel like I need more rebound damping. I really like the compression characteristics, though. I don't think I will have any problems with choked flow going to 10W since I have modified damper rods, but I was curious about how the 10W would affect the compression characteristics of the Ricor valving. I'm hoping someone from Ricor chimes in...

:ears:

I run 10wt and it makes them just a tad stiffer, but the rebound is much slower. The stiffness is greatly accepted and not bad at all. Still much better than RTGVs. I'm gonna weld my rebound holes when I do a bushing and seal install this fall and see how that goes.

I'm gonna mess with my Penske alot this weekend while at the Gap but so far its a nice compliment to my Intiminators.

I run 10wt and it makes them just a tad stiffer, but the rebound is much slower. The stiffness is greatly accepted and not bad at all. Still much better than RTGVs. I'm gonna weld my rebound holes when I do a bushing and seal install this fall and see how that goes.

I'm gonna mess with my Penske alot this weekend while at the Gap but so far its a nice compliment to my Intiminators.

Do you have modified or stock damper rods? Stock springs?

Do you have modified or stock damper rods? Stock springs?

Modified damper rods by adding the extra 2 holes method (had RT emulators in before) and .80kg RT springs. I want to get a set of Traxxion Dynamics damper rods since there is talk about the 2 extra holes screwing with the rebound.

Modified damper rods by adding the extra 2 holes method (had RT emulators in before) and .80kg RT springs. I want to get a set of Traxxion Dynamics damper rods since there is talk about the 2 extra holes screwing with the rebound.

That's my point, modified damper rods probably handle the heavier oil much easier. If you had stock damper rods with 10W oil, then the stock rods would still act stock and the intiminators would do nothing to alleviate the harshness.

BTW, I think the two additional holes, if drilled per instructions from RT, will cause a loss of compression damping at full compressed stroke per some research and info from Zoran. I just drilled the existing holes bigger. There is a small rebound hole at the top of the damper rods which should be filled in to provide a slight amount of additional rebound damping. The Traxxion rods don't have this small rebound hole.

I also see the heavier springs having a greater effect on the poor rebound damping, thus requiring heavier oil.

That's my point, modified damper rods probably handle the heavier oil much easier. If you had stock damper rods with 10W oil, then the stock rods would still act stock and the intiminators would do nothing to alleviate the harshness.

BTW, I think the two additional holes, if drilled per instructions from RT, will cause a loss of compression damping at full compressed stroke per some research and info from Zoran. I just drilled the existing holes bigger. There is a small rebound hole at the top of the damper rods which should be filled in to provide a slight amount of additional rebound damping. The Traxxion rods don't have this small rebound hole.

I also see the heavier springs having a greater effect on the poor rebound damping, thus requiring heavier oil.

I have also been stating that 10wt w/ stock rods will cause an issue. The rods were modified by the previous owner of my bike and that is why I am wanting Traxxion Rods. But they may have to wait since I just bought a set of Pilot Road 2s for $245 NEW!

My buddy n I were having the same discussion when I installed the intiminators. We both agreed that the emulators have far more adjustability than the ricors. I think that the ricors were designed for harleys, and the Sv was an afterthought, so basically if ur looking to soften the comp blow on high speed bumps, they do the job, but if ur looking for adjustibility, Ur kinda on your own to expeiriment. I have emulators in my 1st gen and I got them dialled in pretty good for me, but still harsh on high speed bumps, great everywhere else. the ricors work great on highspeeders but suck on slots in the road. For me anyway.

I believe stock fork oil viscosity is 10W (From service manual: Suzuki Fork Oil G10 [#10] or equivalent).

If someone installs the Intiminators on the stock damper rods and decides to use 10W oil, won't the stock damper rods still control the damping just like they were intended to, i.e. still be fairly harsh on high speed compression?

I assume that the reason why they recommend 5W oil is so that it flows through the stock damper rod holes easier than the 10W, and reduces this effect. But for those who want more rebound damping and are going to heavier weights, won't this be an issue?

I have modified damper rods for the RT emulators, and I was running 20W oil. The Intiminators don't change the rebound circuit, or so they claim, so now that I have 5W oil with the Intiminators I feel like I need more rebound damping. I really like the compression characteristics, though. I don't think I will have any problems with choked flow going to 10W since I have modified damper rods, but I was curious about how the 10W would affect the compression characteristics of the Ricor valving. I'm hoping someone from Ricor chimes in...

You can try the 10w. I feel that it transmits a lot more of the road inputs to the bike and rider. There are a lot of benefits to fast rebound, they type you would have with the 5w. The biggest one is traction. What issues are you having where you need more rebound?

Modified damper rods by adding the extra 2 holes method (had RT emulators in before) and .80kg RT springs. I want to get a set of Traxxion Dynamics damper rods since there is talk about the 2 extra holes screwing with the rebound.


If you are talking about the two holes near the bottom of your damper rod, they have nothing to do with rebound. The two rebound elements are the small hole drilled near the top of the damper rod and and any bleeds that are in the return check valve at the bottom of the stanchion. That is the little plastic piece that the damper rod fits through.

My buddy n I were having the same discussion when I installed the intiminators. We both agreed that the emulators have far more adjustability than the ricors. I think that the ricors were designed for harleys, and the Sv was an afterthought, so basically if ur looking to soften the comp blow on high speed bumps, they do the job, but if ur looking for adjustibility, Ur kinda on your own to expeiriment. I have emulators in my 1st gen and I got them dialled in pretty good for me, but still harsh on high speed bumps, great everywhere else. the ricors work great on highspeeders but suck on slots in the road. For me anyway.

The INTIMINATORS were designed for damper rod forks. We have tracked down over 40 main stream models so far. The difference between bikes is tuning and size, not design. The overall suspension theory regarding damper rods and what it takes to make them work better is the same for all applications.

The only adjustment on our competitions product is the preload on the coil spring blow off and or different coil springs.

The shims can be changed on the INTIMINATORS for different compression responses. We will soon have tools available for this.

The shims can be changed on the INTIMINATORS for different compression responses. We will soon have tools available for this.

I have been waiting to hear that! Being able to change shim-stacks was the first question I asked when I got my set.

Keep us informed when you will have the tools available (so I don't have to make a tool to take them apart)

In researching Oil "Weights" for use with the Intiminators the 5W Amsoil recommended appears to correlate fairly typically with the viscosity of 16 cSt@40C (centiStokes) value that is typically recommended for Cartridge Forks.

(Technician information for the Amsoil 5W Oil (http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/stl.aspx) is at the bottom of this page.)

Peter Verdone in his PVDWiki discusses suspension fluid (http://www.pvdwiki.com/index.php?title=Suspension_Fluid) and some of the technical 'ins and outs' of the various types of suspension fluids. The Amsoil 5W isn't on his rather extensive listing, but gives a viscosity of 15.7 cSt@40C and 4.4 cSt@100C for a VI rating of 210, this being of minor importance because it would fit the requirements of a Viscosity of ~16 cSt@40C and a VI rating of over 100 (as needed for Cartridge Style Forks).

My question is "What is the oil viscosity the Intiminators were designed for? Is it the ~16cSt@40C? Or should we be looking lower or higher than that?"

Thanks!