TRACK TESTED
Race Tech Gold Valves for Forks and ShockK3 Chris OnwilerPage 2
continued... Race Tech Gold Valves are designed to flow substantially more fluid than the stock parts they replace. To control this flow, a large, tunable shim stack fits into each valve. By varying the number, diameter and thickness of these shims, a custom setup can be obtained for any rider. Through years of testing and experience, R ace Tech has determined how much damping it takes to control a given spring rate. From this base number, they consider other details, such as what type of machine you’re riding, its intended use, your level of riding experience and whether you prefer your suspension to be stiff or soft. All of this information has been fed into a user friendly computer program that Race Tech calls their Digital Valving System, or DVS. As a customer, you can access this program via a unique code that comes with each Gold Valve kit. Simply log in, enter your code and input the required information. Within seconds, the DVS program returns your valve stack configuration, spring rate and setup information, eliminating the frustration of trying to figure all this out for yourself.
Our parts list for the job was as follows: FORKS: FMGV S2040G FRGV S02 FRSP S3625110 – 1.1 rate SHOCK: SMGV S4001 SRSP S5818098 – 9.8 rate Everything in this parts list plus three bottles of Race Tech’s recommended fork oil priced out at $870. That’s really a bit of a bargain when you consider that it includes the shock parts as well as the forks. Looking at the rather extreme spring rates, you can tell that this suspension was to be set up for our enormous Senior Editor, K3. Race Tech considers their kits to be installable by the end user. Each kit includes an assortment of valving shims, DVS valving charts, complete instructions, and a "Technical Edge Gold Valve Installation Video" for installation. They’ll also happily assist you over the phone at their customer service line. In addition, Race Tech probably sells more and better specialized suspension tools than anyone else in the business. Clearly, if you want to do this job yourself, Race Tech has you covered. Another alternative would be to have a professional suspension tuner do the installation for you. This is the route we chose, enlisting the help of site sponsor Superbike Suspension and the vast knowledge base of its owner, Ken Hall.
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