Noticed Kyle Racing is selling some gas charged TTX25 Ohlins for the ZX10R at a good price. They are end of line, but are supposed to be very high quality.
Anyway, my main questions are regarding maintenance.
I understand these are pro racing cartridges, a step higher than the (still excellent) Road & Track (R&T) gear, and pro gear normally has low service intervals.
I'm using the bike mostly on the road at the moment, but when I get my 600 back together, it will be more like 60/40 in favour of the summer track and road use.
Do they need any more servicing than the R&T carts, and is the price more for the gas cartridges?
Do these cartridges even fit the stock fork leg body, or are they for Ohlins forks?
I may be just overthinking all this as have no experience with how these work, so would like some real world opinion if any of you have it.
LDH / evallarta1, would be great to hear from you.
PS. Not opposed to going R&T on my ZX10R. Ran them on my K5 GSXR 1000 and thought they were a supreme upgrade to the stock Kayaba forks, but then again I think those particular forks were quite poor anyway.
They do fit OEM fork legs for the specified model years.
It is also true that they require more routine maintenance than conventional kits and that service cost is a little higher as well. They can be used in streetbike applications, but where they really work the best is on the racetrack. The biggest advantage to gas charged kits is being able to set the front end for maximum trailbraking and have it remain consistent throughout the turn which aids in both geometry and stability for optimum grip. The only downside is they have a smaller window of operation than the conventional NIX cartridge kit and they need a bit more fine tuning as well. There is so little oil in the actual fork tube that we have to compensate for the lack of air spring with more mechanical spring, but you also have the pressure in the cartridge working in that same direction as well so there is a little trial & error in getting them set up to each riders unique riding style and speed requirements which is also why each kit comes with 3 sets of fork springs. These are not just a set it and forget it type of install like the 30mm NIX Kits are, but once the Gas Kits are set-up properly to the riders needs that are way better for track purposes.
I meant more internally. Was looking at the manual and they have certainly changed the whole design of the carts. It's really interesting to see how Ohlins tackled the cart vs K-Tech. Same principles but TOTALLY different way to skin the cat.
This is exactly the information I was looking for so thanks a lot LDH.
I think it sounds like they're not for me...I doubt I'm fast enough to exploit their potential and I doubt I'll ever be competing at a level where this quality of suspension will make a noticeable difference.
I've seen the lap times of open class rookie racing and they are no way that close to pro superstock.
One day I may buy into way over requirement suspension (I was looking at some 15,000 Euro FGR 300 forks earlier and dreaming), but I can't just splurge like that now.
Evalarta, since you joined the party...I have been also looking at Bitubo cartridges, as I have a Bitubo shock which you gave me info about earlier (thanks).
Can you tell me how the ECH29 compares to stock suspension...Is it a decent upgrade, and how do Bitubo compare with the equivalent Ohlins?
Also would you recommend I go like for like regarding manufacturer for suspension.
So I noticed the Bitubo ECH29 cartridges are nitrogen pressurised so I guess the same rules for the Ohlins apply?
When it comes to more regular servicing of gas charged forks, are we talking more than once a year, and if we don't service regularly, what are the implications.
I'm logically thinking of rear shocks that have used gas for years, and how they go off after time, but correct me if I'm wrong.
Bitubo don't seem to be as finicky as the Ohlins. I have a large amount of racers on the ECH29s and we service them once a year with no problem. Nitrogen holds pressure and the oil comes out clean (anodizing tends to help this). I've had one set that came in after 3 years of trackdays and aside from being a bit more dirty than normal everything was fine including nitrogen pressure.
This is not to say Bitubo is any better than any other company out there, I'm only giving my experience working with different manufactures. Also in my experience Bitubo seems to work better out of the box than Ohlins or K-Tech.
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