Coming clean

[blinkey501]

Ah, now it all becomes clear... Very nice - I was rather taken with Mart's FutFut at the recent meet. I note yours has some rather tasty cans fitted, as well...

How long before all the mods start - uprated forks, front brakes etc...?

Funny you should have mentioned that when I bought the bike Graham.
Having talked to martdude and looking on the pipe and slipper facebook page it seems that falco's are donor bikes for the futura.
I will be fitting falco forks with progressive springs to the bike, which then allows me to fit the falco brakes and disks 320mm instead of 300mm.
This will lower the front by 15mm.
I also have an ohlins that I bought from pete quite a while ago and intend to have that serviced,resprung and fitted to the rear.
It will take a little time to do a lot of the work as futura modifying is as expensive as the falco.

[MartDude]

Thought long and hard about fitting an Ohlins shock. I've decided on a brand new Wilbers shock; it won't cost a lot more than a decent second-hand Ohlins plus rebuild/refurbishment, and I won't have to faff around modifying bits of the bike to make it fit - plug and play. I'm also going to have the spare forks (cosmetically better than what's currently on) rebuilt, and progressive springs fitted. Did think about taking it to Maxton, but Revs Racing is only down the road, and I've heard nothing but praise for them. Also, I've heard, from owners who've used them, that Maxton suspension can be rather too firm and stiff for a road bike.

Might also get round to fitting the bar risers I bought 2 years ago.

[mangocrazy]

I'd agree with everything you've said there, Mart. Revs are excellent and actually listen to what you tell them you want, and then try to achieve that. Maxton, from my experience, have their own opinions on what's needed and are resistant to rider's preferences. And everything I've ever heard says they set bikes up way too firm for my tastes.

Wilbers are excellent quality shocks and very good value for money. Revs will also tailor the shock specs to your preferences, which makes them even better. I do like Ohlins kit; the quality of the internals is superb. But I've had to get every Ohlins shock I've ever owned revalved (and I've had 5 on different bikes) to reduce compression damping (and often reduce the spring rate), and that costs time and money.

[MartDude]

Thanks for the reassurance, Graham. The original shock is still just about OK, but after 20,000 miles it's probably nearing the end of its usable life, and I've never been able to get it set just right for me - too soft and unresponsive, or too hard and 'boingy', although Griff's tweaking improved matters. And I've always found the forks a little soft, even with heavier oil.