K11 Owners Group

whyoldbill · Last edited by whyoldbill on Wed Oct 06, 2010 9:17 pm; edited 3 times in total

Hi All,
As Beachcomber mentioned earlier, I'm putting together a group buy of RAM Shocks and Ignition Leads.
The prices as of today's exchange rate are:
K75/100 Stock Replacement - $316.86
K75/100 lowered (1" short) - $360.23

K1100LT/RS - Stock - $360.23
K1100LT/RS - lowered (1.2" short) - $403.59

All prices are estimates based on $35 shipping (included) and do represent the 10% forum member discount. If you want to shave a few bucks off the shipping, I can do the USPS Priority Mailer for $10.20 (which will make shipping total $26.20) or we can calculate the FedEx ground rate. I'll leave the shipping options open to the buyer. If you're checking on shipping options, use 8.0 lbs as the weight. Shipping from 43240 (commercial address) and add $16.00 to that (shipping cost to me from the UK).

If you're interested in the Ignition Leads, They are $60.35 (no shipping if purchased with a shock).

If you are interested, please shoot me an email. My username on this forum at gmail.com

Regards,
Bill
_________________
'02 - GL1800

The desired effect is what you get when you improve your interplanetary funksmanship - George Clinton

Beachcomber · Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2010 4:55 pm Post subject:

Just by way of confirmation - Bill is our man.

He is a satisfied customer / user of the RAM shocker and therefore speaks from personal use / experience.

In an effort to keep carriage costs to a minimum we have asked Bill to handle ALL Kay related RAM products as they become available.

Bill is hoping to build up a small stock initially to service the odd "urgent" requirement.

Don't forget - if there's a specific part that's not catered for - or maybe a tad expensive - let me or Bill know and we'll look into the possibilty of having parts produced.

Wavy discs [ rotors ] for the K1100 are not far away and other parts are in the pipeline.
_________________
Beachcomber '93 K1100RS / '93 K1100LT and several K100's

Stoked Steve · Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2010 8:13 pm Post subject:

Good on ya Bill!

I have both the shock and ignition leads already, (and very pleased with both) so I don't need either.

But I am curious about the fork springs, maybe you'll handle those as well when they become available.
_________________
Steve
Virginia Beach, VA
93 K1100RS Mystic Red SOLD
12 Suzuki DL650A VStrom

roadscum · Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2010 8:16 pm Post subject:

email sent. I'm in for the shock and ignition wires and springs when they arew available.

Regards, Paul
_________________
"I don't believe in the after life, although I am bringing a change of underwear." - Woody Allen
'94 K11RS
'08 F800S
'08 MG 1200 Sport
'09 Triumph Scrambler

whyoldbill · Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2010 5:46 pm Post subject:

nickw · Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2010 6:03 pm Post subject: lowered shock for K1100?

Can anyone give me an idea what the lowered shock does (and doesn't do) for a stock LT? I have the correct inseam for the bike, being able to flat-foot both sides when stopped, but there is no flex left in my legs and my wife, who is vertically challenged, would like a little bit lower seat just to get on easier.

Thanks, NickW
_________________
"It's not what people know, it's that they know so much that just ain't so!" (Apologies to Will Rogers)
93 K1100LT
(2) 79 Suzuki GS850's (In limbo)
65 Triumph TR6S/C ( sold)
2009 Suzuki SV650
2009 Suzuki DL650

whyoldbill · Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2010 9:35 pm Post subject: Re: lowered shock for K1100?

Beachcomber · Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 6:41 am Post subject:

Guys,
I did a LOT of work with shorter shox as, although I'm 5' 10" my inside leg is 29" [ NO Gorrilla jokes please ! ].

One of the first things I did when I was developing the RAM shocker was to get them to make me shorter models for both the K100 and K1100. See I told you this mission was selfishly driven.

That was a bit of a laugh as the track test pilot is 6' 4" !

However, we persevered and trialled both shox [ stock length ] and 25mm [ 30mm for the K1100] shorter versions.

Here's what we came up with.

Yes, the shorter shocker does aid the vertically challenged and NO it doesn't bring a plague of frogs down on your UJ's.

There is NO handling benefit - both perform exceedingly well. Trade off on the shorter shocker is a little more effort required to haul the beast up onto the main stand. But I'm guessing anyone who can manhandle a fully loaded K1100LT is no whimp anyway!

Now then - raising the fork tubes in the triple trees to reinstate the stock OEM geometery. There's a lot of ballderdollox spouted on this subject.

Unfortunately as springs and shox wear - there is no such thing as "stock" geometery on a 20K mile + old bike. Of the NINE bikes I checked out in the past 18 months, [ on an engineering workbench ] no two had the same stock steering angle. Neither is there a stable geometery platform - just look at how much the rear of your bike sags [ front rises ] when you add on passengers, luggage etc. PROGRESSIVE springs will help here. Conversley - look at how the front dips under severe braking [ Progressive springs DEFINITELY help in this situation ]
Both situations will alter the head angle quite significantly.

I have my own ideas based on track day experience - but for the REAL World of Luggage, passengers, potholes, bad weather, Volvos, evasive action we found the following - during trialling we raised the forks ANYTHING FROM 1/8TH TO 3/4" - the sweet spot for the K100 with 25mm shorter shocker was 3/16". For the K1100 [ 30mm shorter shock ] it was 5/16".

Part of the improvement from new front fork springs will come from the fact that the geometery is "stabilised" and predictable. Obviously new stock OEM springs will give you the same benefits, but without the actual suspension benefits of the progressive spring. And yes Duck - they ARE upgraded. Here's a little excercise. Before you fit your new front springs measure vertically from the ground to the bottom of the headstock [ or any other convenient datum ]. Fit the new springs and measure again - gone up an inch or so ........................... That has IMMEDIATELY put your steering geometery back to where the factory thought it should be!

For my personal projects [ no passengers, luggage and bike almost 100lbs lighter ] I am playing with steepening the headstock angle quite significantly to get quicker turn in and flickability [ made that word up ].

For touring / leisure we are looking at the opposite to create a stable straight line, with rapid turn ins not being high on the list of priorities.

Ever noticed how your handling [ a weave ] is affected by the addition of panniers? And then loading them up?

I had a stock R80 for a while [ 3 weeks before I Cafe Racerd the life out of it ] and that was DANGEROUS ridden solo and with panniers in place. Panniers removed - and it was once more a sweet thing. You could feel the whole plot trying to fishtail with the wind buffeting causing directional changes.

Any feedback I post up WILL be the result of 2 years of real World testing with qualified riders and engineering back up.

Hope that gives you some insight NickW
_________________
Beachcomber '93 K1100RS / '93 K1100LT and several K100's

nickw · Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 7:20 pm Post subject: Geometry test(ing)

Thank you for that explanation. It serves to show me (again) that nothing is simple or easy, but your research information makes me feel that I should not jump on a new item until I understand what I have.

It has an aftermarket shock on it now and it rides and tracks fine, I believe I will make my SO struggle a while until I know the bike better and have the time and space to do some measurements to really know what is going on.

I just installed the side bags and have yet to put any significant miles on it with them installed or loaded.

Thnak you, for your kind efforts at enlightening me.

NickW
_________________
"It's not what people know, it's that they know so much that just ain't so!" (Apologies to Will Rogers)
93 K1100LT
(2) 79 Suzuki GS850's (In limbo)
65 Triumph TR6S/C ( sold)
2009 Suzuki SV650
2009 Suzuki DL650

roadscum · Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 11:00 am Post subject:

I see this going no where. Sad

How many are needed to complete the group buy?

Is there a close date for this activity?

I'm in dire need of a shock and will want to make the spring upgrade when available...... what are my options?

Regards, Paul
_________________
"I don't believe in the after life, although I am bringing a change of underwear." - Woody Allen
'94 K11RS
'08 F800S
'08 MG 1200 Sport
'09 Triumph Scrambler

Beachcomber · Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2010 5:56 am Post subject:

Paul,

the group buy is only to save on the carriage [ about 30%].

If you need a shock immediately and decide on a RAM - no problem, send your details - a shocker spec will be sorted - you pay and the shock is on it's way with 72 hours. Your carriage currently is £32 [ door to door ].

For those who are NOT in urgent need and can wait - they will save on the carriage + if they also want Power Leads etc. the carriage on those additional items will effectively [ UK to US ] be free.

There is no time limit, as once the ideal weight break has been reached and despatched - another gb begins.

In the event of an urgent requirement, Realm can normally turn round a single order [ door to door ] within 7 days - the best to date has been 72 hours, but consider that unusual!

Shox are held in stock - as are a range of springs. It will normally be the spring requirement [ if any ] that will cause a small delay.
_________________
Beachcomber '93 K1100RS / '93 K1100LT and several K100's

roadscum · Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2010 10:04 am Post subject:

Thanks for the info Beachcomber.

How many orders are needed to reach the amount required to eleminate the shipping cost? How many are now comitted? That info will help me decide what it is I need to do.

Regards, Paul
_________________
"I don't believe in the after life, although I am bringing a change of underwear." - Woody Allen
'94 K11RS
'08 F800S
'08 MG 1200 Sport
'09 Triumph Scrambler

Beachcomber · Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2010 7:51 am Post subject:

RS,

theoretically ALL enquiries for the group buy should be going direct to Bill.

Personally since the LAST group buy, I've had 6 people contact me asking when the next is! Three couldn't wait and ordered individually.

That would indicate that there are at least 3 more ready and waiting + yourself and another from the "other side" waiting to go. That's theoretically 5 potential.

10 sets is the sweet number to get the best carriage break per shock set - in reality between 6 and 10 will make only a small addition to each individual carriage cost - maybe $10?

I'm sure Bill will keep you all advised as to the numbers - no good having "oh I'm interested" he needs a committed order.

That said, if we can get the Progressive springs into production rapidly, they could go into the parcel and that in turn would reduce the shox vs carriage costs - or at least maintain them.

Once this deal is under way Bill hopes to hold one of each shocker kit in stock in the USA for just such an urgent requirement.
_________________
Beachcomber '93 K1100RS / '93 K1100LT and several K100's

roadscum · Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2010 9:26 am Post subject:

BC, after checking the Realmengineering web site I've got a few questions regarding the shocker:

Are this oil or gas dampened?

What is the difference betwee the standard version and the HI-PERF version of the Realm shocker?

And OMG, when I hit the LOTTO it will be a Heritage C-type for me!! Smile

Regards, Paul
_________________
"I don't believe in the after life, although I am bringing a change of underwear." - Woody Allen
'94 K11RS
'08 F800S
'08 MG 1200 Sport
'09 Triumph Scrambler

Beachcomber · Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2010 5:38 pm Post subject:

Paul,

the shox are OIL filled - after 25 years of racing and a successful one make series [ RAM /Bardahl Trophy ], we've never found the need for gas medium and oil is generally more reliable / easy to refurb by home mechanic.

The Hi-Po unit has different valving and is fitted with self aligning rod end mountings [ Heim syle ] with sleeves and new fixings. Quite honestly - totally unneccessary for road use, except for bragging rights!

The C Types are a real blast to drive - we regularly take a couple to the 24 hrs Le Mans race.
_________________
Beachcomber '93 K1100RS / '93 K1100LT and several K100's

roadscum · Posted: Tue Oct 12, 2010 12:22 pm Post subject:

Thank you BC for all the good info. Smile

_________________
"I don't believe in the after life, although I am bringing a change of underwear." - Woody Allen
'94 K11RS
'08 F800S
'08 MG 1200 Sport
'09 Triumph Scrambler