I have just fitted a set of drop-in cartridge emulators, springs and a new rear shock from Cogent Dynamics in the US to an XT250 Serow (sorry to get your hopes up with that first sentence!) The front end was dramatically improved (ride quality and dirt road cornering feel) so I have been trying to find information about emulators for the ttr (which already has quite good forks as Mr Ballard knows, but you know - even good can be made better!)
I need to be educated:
When gold valving, do you have to fit-ride-adjust-repeat, or are there some guidelines for setup from manufacturers?
Has anyone any experience of Racetech on a ttr?
Cogent were really helpful but haven't done anything for the ttr. Giving them the rider details and expected load and usage, all the bits came ready to fit (although the rear shock preload may need a turn or two) so I was hoping for something like this...
I don't want usd forks - they seem to be forever leaking, so emulators are my new obsession!
-- Edited by mossproof on Friday 1st of May 2026 08:09:14 PM
Well it's been a long time since I wrote that post! I finally bought a set of Race Tech "gold valve cartridge emulators" via TW Suspension tech up in Preston last November, having talked about them with Kaos for a while. He got on really well with his and seemed very happy with their performance.
They shipped them direct to me from the States despite my having made the decision to get TW to install them for me. After filling in the questionnaire about usage, ability, rider weight and bike modifications, Race Tech actually specified the same spring rate as stock, for me and my skinny butt, and a specific shim stack setup based on my requirements.
I went for a ride on my stock forked bike just after Christmas to try and set a benchmark on my nearest "interesting" lanes, stripped the bike down and sent the forks off to Teut for installation. I supplied new seals and slide bushes to complete the renewal.
Teut is a lovely man, very helpful and easy to discuss things with. He does a lot of race bike suspension, not so much off road, but was happy to deal with my battered and grubby old 1993 forks! After about a month (TW were really busy prepping bikes for the new season) my forks arrived refreshed, renewed and reinvigorated and were fitted straight away, whereupon I didn't get a chance to go out on my test route again 'till mid April!
The weather was a bit drier for my second run and I had a really good day out, but the result of the test was, well, a bit meh (as the young people say) to be honest! On the road there was hardly any perceptible difference, not that I was expecting much. Once I hit the dirt I did feel maybe slightly more comfortable through/across the ruts but nothing earth shattering. What I was really hoping for was more control on rocky hill climbs. When I hit the hills there was, I think, slightly less ricocheting off the rocks, but again, nothing so different that I could say "wow, £450 well spent". I did spend the extra for adjustable valve bodies, so there is some compression damping adjustment, and I will have a play with those next time I go out and see if less damping will make for a plusher and more controlled ride. I have heard that RT tend to spec things on the stiff side - for race pace at higher speeds more damping is needed, and maybe my steady approach is not optimal for this setup.
I am not saying that others positive experience is wrong, but I do wonder whether the spring rates have a more noticeable effect when people upgrade their forks. The majority of riders are not as scrawny as me and the Japanese fellows the bike was designed by/for, and I was told by DLee that his bike rode much more nicely after he just put in heavier springs, and then there's Mr Ballard's opinion that the standard forks work pretty well as they are... (Again, iirc, with just a slight increase in spring rate) Certainly comparing the 2 valves, there is a clear resemblance in design which suggests to me that the Kayabas were quite advanced for their day and small improvements in valving are all that it is possible to make.
When I think back to the profound difference the Cogent kit made to the Serow front end, I have to remember that the forks on the Serow were of a much more basic technology, and therefore easy to improve noticeably with a bit of modern more advanced tech.
