Project Deauvadero

[Tonymorr]

Phase one:

1. Ricor Intiminator "Inertia Active Dampening" in the forks.
2. Triumph fork boots.
3. Front fender moved up about an inch.
4. Shinko 705 120/90-17 front tire / 150/70-17 rear.

Phase two:

1. Aluminum skidplate or "lower" if you prefer that protects the bottom and includes wings to keep water splash off of feet.
2. Handlebar mounted wind deflectors (Weestrom?) or the Honda wind deflectors.
3. "Nerf Bars" for the bags?
4. Heated grips.

I just took it for a ride on a couple of very short dirt roads. Need more
testing but my initial impression is that the suspension, handling, and
"sureness" are every bit as good or maybe even better than my '06 Weestrom was.

 

[elizilla]

That front tire looks like it would raise the front of the bike just a bit. Does it change the handling noticeably?

 

[Tonymorr]

That front tire looks like it would raise the front of the bike just a bit. Does it change the handling noticeably?

The bigger diameter tire (and slightly increased rake) do slow the handling down a bit. This is what makes it better on a dirt road. It's a trade off that I'm willing to make.

 

[Phil Tarman]

This is a very interesting project! If you come up with that nerf bar for the bags, could you also make it work with the Big Lids?

 

[Discret]

Very interesting!
Looks like it will be in my favourites
Tank you going on your comments

 

[Warren]

Phase one:

1. Ricor Intiminator "Inertia Active Dampening" in the forks.
2. Triumph fork boots.
3. Front fender moved up about an inch.
4. Shinko 705 120/90-17 front tire / 150/70-17 rear.

Phase two:

1. Aluminum skidplate or "lower" if you prefer that protects the bottom and includes wings to keep water splash off of feet.
2. Handlebar mounted wind deflectors (Weestrom?) or the Honda wind deflectors.
3. "Nerf Bars" for the bags?
4. Heated grips.

I just took it for a ride on a couple of very short dirt roads. Need more
testing but my initial impression is that the suspension, handling, and
"sureness" are every bit as good or maybe even better than my '06 Weestrom was.

What can you share about the Ricor Intiminator "Inertia Active Dampening" in the forks ? Cost ? Which model did you get? Installation ease ? Would they provide an improvement for on road use ?

 

[bicyclist]

I'll be very interested to see your solution to the skidplate. I'd like to have something to protect the bottom of the engine and the coolant hoses. And I'm sure we'd all like to have some protection for the case lids.

 

[Warren]

Geez, you beat me to it, Warren! I have Elizabeth's correspondence with Race-Tech, but haven't followed up.

I found some information on the Ricor web site. http://store.ricorshocks.com/default.asp

Price looks to be $298 and I would guess the part that is used is the same as for the Honda Transalp as it and the NT both have 41mm forks. It also appears to be easy to install and set up as compared to the Race-Tech emulators. Just not sure how much improvement is realized on a road bike as they appear to have been designed primarily for off road use.

 

[Phil Tarman]

OK. $294.98 or something close to that. "Sold in pairs." So does that make them $588.96 or something close to that, or is the $294.98 for one pair?

 

[Phil Tarman]

Tony,

What was involved in moving the front fender up an inch?

 

[Warren]

OK. $294.98 or something close to that. "Sold in pairs." So does that make them $388.96 or something close to that, or is the $294.98 for one pair?

I assumed that you got one pair for $298.94 which by the way compare to $170 for Gold Valve Cartridge Emulators from Race Tech. The gold valves however require a lot more installation time.

 

[Tonymorr]

Sorry guys, I didn't see that there were responses here.

The Intiminators are priced per pair. Mine was the first NT to get them. I'm sure they will have a listing soon. They are probably waiting my feedback which I have been slow to get them. The weather here has been crappy and I wanted to get some more seat time before sending them a report. Finally have a nice weekend and I went for a great ride yesterday. My opinion is that the Intiminators do make an improvement and are worth doing. You have to be realistic in your expectations. They don't make you feel like you're riding on a cloud but they do make a noticable improvement. I'm very happy with the way the bike performs as is. I may do a rear shock somewhere down the road. It's noticable now that the forks are working better than the shock does.

Moving the front fender: I can give more detail if needed but the short version is that I went to the hardware store and bought (4) 1/4" x 3/4" x 2 1/2" U-clamps and used the flat plates from them. On the front of the fender it's as easy as just bolting them to the fork and then the fender to them. At the rear you need to drill a hole on each side and bolt through. I suppose you might not even need the plate on the back but I thought it would help reinforce the plastic. I'll see if I can get some pics this afternoon.

If you are thinking of going to "adventure bike" tires I have only found 2 possibilities in the size that I am using that are also tubeless. The Shinko 705's and Michelin Anakee II's (120/90-17 front / 150/70-17 rear). Also worth mentioning is that the rears are radial and the fronts are not. I know that it's taboo (to some) but I've done a bunch of research and talked to my long distance riding buddies who regularly mix types and decided it's not an issue (for me). I've noticed no ill effects.

 

[DirtFlier]

My previous bike was a '97 PC800 (bought new) on which I rolled up 104k happy and trouble-free miles. I had Race Tech Gold Valves plus Progressive Springs in those forks but converted it back to stock before it was sold. I recently installed those same Gold Valves + springs into my Deauville and they work great. The improvement on this bike is even greater than it was for the PC800 because the fork travel is shorter by comparison (5.7" vs 4.5") so the original valving and spring preload made it very stiff, at least for me.

 

[Phil Tarman]

The Intiminators are priced per pair. Mine was the first NT to get them. I'm sure they will have a listing soon. They are probably waiting my feedback which I have been slow to get them. The weather here has been crappy and I wanted to get some more seat time before sending them a report. Finally have a nice weekend and I went for a great ride yesterday. My opinion is that the Intiminators do make an improvement and are worth doing. You have to be realistic in your expectations. They don't make you feel like you're riding on a cloud but they do make a noticable improvement. I'm very happy with the way the bike performs as is. I may do a rear shock somewhere down the road. It's noticable now that the forks are working better than the shock does.

Tony,

Are the Intiminators the same as the ones that they show for the TransAlp? You may have said that they are...but my memory's gone.

If you got a shock, where would you go?

 

[Warren]

My previous bike was a '97 PC800 (bought new) on which I rolled up 104k happy and trouble-free miles. I had Race Tech Gold Valves plus Progressive Springs in those forks but converted it back to stock before it was sold. I recently installed those same Gold Valves + springs into my Deauville and they work great. The improvement on this bike is even greater than it was for the PC800 because the fork travel is shorter by comparison (5.7" vs 4.5") so the original valving and spring preload made it very stiff, at least for me.

Did you also drill out the damper tubes ?

 

[Tonymorr]

Tony,

Are the Intiminators the same as the ones that they show for the TransAlp? You may have said that they are...but my memory's gone.

If you got a shock, where would you go?

I don't think they are but I really don't know. I sent my forks and they set them up. I'm sure they will have a listing soon. If you email them I'm sure they will get back to you with an answer. One of my emails to them was answered in less than two minutes!

Rear shock.... Wilbers perhaps

 

[charlie b]

Nice, and timely for me. I probably won't get to try this with the NT until the PR3's wear out, but, will be considering this for the next set. I would rather turn the Guzzi into my dirt road bike, but, the 16" wheels on it limit tire selection and changing wheels is a bit expensive at this point.