Front fork discussion topic

[Friday]

Why does the Crosstourer’s suspension (especially, the front) come in for such frequent harsh criticism when Honda’s other on-road/non-sport flagship 4 cylinders of its era (ST 1300, VFR 1200F, CB 1100) come across in reviews of front suspension as good or even very good/excellent ?

[Hartley]

I really don’t know, what’s disappointing is whilst the rear is a fairly pricey upgrade the front is drastically improved with slightly different springs, airgap and oil. All stuff that’s no dearer to do in original build.

[Jfro5867]

I think its because our expectaions are quite high TBH. I weigh about 17 stone so most bikes I ride or have owned can feel quite 'soggy'. I don't ride hard so it's never really an issue for me. As a relatively new owner of the CT if anything its set up too hard. It tracks beautifully and on decent roads feels excellent (to me). On crappy roads it is harsh. But not massively so. I guess We all ride familiar roads around where we live so comparisons are easy to judge when we change bikes. Today i have actually adjusted my suspension just to see what/if any difference was noticed. I did. I left the preload front and back as standard but turned the rebound 1 click softer on the tront and a smidge softer on the rear. Made a significant improvement. I noticed a little more front fork dive but the trade off was well worth it. Much more plush, even on the most rubbish roads. I wouldnt want to go too soft/ soggy anyway. But for me i think its about spot on TBH.

[BiKenG]

Thought I'd mention here, although an old thread, that most Hondas have Showa forks, but both versions of the VFR1200 use Kayaba forks.

May be a coincidence, but seems significant to me.

[Pickaxe]

With stock settings, the fork action on my 2018 CT felt very hard and non compliant and especially at lower speeds on rough, undulating surfaces. My approach was to back off the preload and rebound to near zero and she now feels fine under all conditions. It maybe that the forks were specified for much harsher use than most of us put the bike to. I don't think you'll ever achieve anything near a soft setting with the stock forks, but you can achieve an acceptable degree of comfort with good performance.

[BeToney]

Originally Posted by Friday

Why does the Crosstourer’s suspension (especially, the front) come in for such frequent harsh criticism

Is that based on reading reviews on the internet or your personal experience?  How does it feel to you?  I didn't find the forks particularly terrible but the damping and springs seem mismatched.  I had the rebound damping completely closed, clockwise, and the rebound speed still seemed too fast. 
I ended up using a higher viscosity, BelRay 15w oil which slowed down the springy feeling on rebound.  The forks feel very acceptable now, whether I'm taking long runs on the highway or riding it hard in the twisties.

I thought the factory shock was just ok, the rebound damping responded more noticeably to adjustment than the forks but the spring felt soft and compression damping felt harsh.  I bought a replacement YSS shock and like it a lot, it has a combined adjustment knob for both compression and rebound and the adjustment is very responsive, I add 1 click for more sporty riding where I want it firmer or back off 1 click for a more plush highway run.

[BiKenG]

It seems to me that the front fork compression damping is too hard/stiff. This means that over sharp bumps they jar and seem to flex rather than absorb the bump by allowing the forks to compress.

Spring rate always has to be a compromise as it's not something that can be adjusted (only replaced). It is either ok for your weight or it's not. Pre-load has nothing to do with spring rate. That simply alters the ride height. However, for me, the spring rate is probably ok.

The trouble with damping is it needs to be balanced between compression and rebound. Whatever you are trying to achieve with suspension, both need to be in balance. If e.g. the compression damping is very low, but rebound is very high, it will act like a ratchet over repeated bumps so the suspension compresses down and becomes very hard, until there is sufficient gap between the bumps and there is time to overcome the high rebound. The inverse can also be true.

As I said, the damping of both strokes needs to be balanced. That doesn't mean 'the same', just balanced to work together in harmony.

Therein lies the problem. With any cheap/budget suspension with only one damping adjustment (rebound on the CT), it is going to be impossible for the majority of riders to achieve the 'balance' they require.

[Pickaxe]

Totally agree with the last post. When manufacturers are developing a bike with less sophisticated suspension, they tend to go for a stiffer setup for adventure bikes or softer for cruisers etc. The CT's suspension is on the stiff side for its intended purpose. Carrying weight and traversing undulating surfaces at speed.