Installed Daugherty Motorsports suspension on my 2000 VFR this weekend...observations and such insid

So,

I have had my 2000 VFR for a few months now and it did not take me long to realize the stock suspension is crap (bike has 21K on it now) :smile: After doing some research, I decided to Give Jamie from Daugherty Motorsports a call and see what my options are etc. First and foremost, I gotta tell you, Jamie is a class act guy...friendly, patient and knowledgeable. I conversed off and on with him via phone and email throughout this whole process and he always was friendly and prompt with a response. Refreshing to have good customer service.

Installation:

After some talk with Jamie, I decided on the CBR 929 shock, with springs for my weight (215) and a mid grade valve job and fork springs for my weight, also with a mid grade valve job. I sent Jamie my forks and within a couple weeks I had everything back....wooohooo!!. So this past Friday night into Saturday I put the bike all back together. Forks were simple and straight forward, took about an hour to button the front end all back up. The Shock was a bit of a pain in the arse. I loosened the exhaust and rotated it out of the way and took the rear tire off and pulled the tail fairing off. Now, on a tip from Jamie (and this how I always did it on my MX bikes), I took the lower sub-frame bolts out, loosened the top sub-frame bolts, unbolted the brake reservoir and unhooked the brake sensor connector. This allowed me to lift the rear sub-frame up about a foot and a half........just enough to get at the shock (I used a tie down strap to hold the sub-frame up). After that I attempted to remove the top shock bolt only to realize the big wiring harness left of the shock prevents the bolt from coming out What I did after this is remove the linkage bolts and plates on the bottom of the shock (and took the time to lube all bearings) and Loosened the top shock mount under the tank so I could rotate the shock a bit and remove the top bolt. Out came the shock. The new shock went into place the same way (little harder to get that thing in there but it goes:smile. However, I realized the shock reservoir rubs pretty good on the wiring harness i mentioned above....sooooooo, out came the shock for some grinding/smoothing on the reservoir lip where it contacts the harness (there is a post somewhere where they did this and that's where I got the idea). I also put some wire loom plastic tubing on the wire harness. After this, it is very close but should not be an issue as that part of the shock moves very little anyway.

Ride Impressions:

This thing is a whole new bike! I set my sag at like 30 rear and 35 front knowing the suspension is going to settle some amount (I will check it again after some riding and set it 35 rear and 40 front) and at first ride, I thought,man, this thing is a bit stiff as you "feel" everything on the road now. However after the first 10 minutes, that sensation went away and I was amazed at how well the bike turns now. It turns in and transitions MUCH better and does not get "mushy when you push it. Throw it in and it wants more. Corners I used to butt clench on I just go through with out issue now....and with confidence. Nice indeed! As far as bumps and compliance, where the stock suspension used to send me off the seat and send a shock to my hands on bigger bumps, this suspension I would describe as firm but smooth. No more harshness. You know the bump is there but it it is a much more controlled event if that makes sense. All in all, the best money I have spent on the bike to date. After I get to know it I will probably make an adjustment or 2 but it is damn close right now and I am very happy how it transformed the bike :smile::smile:

Hats off to Jamie

 

Man......the weather was so nice this weekend I was in a hurry to get her back together, hehe. The pics would look the same as the other posts too, lol

Here is a pic of the bike just so you are happy

 

Thanks man, I'm really glad you like it!!!!

 

Hey CRFan1

I too had the exact same experience with Jamie. Extremely helpful and polite on the phone, email, everything. I would never hesitate to recommend him to anyone. Being in the service industry myself, it is rare to meet people that are as knowledgeable, friendly and as helpful as Jamie, so hats off to Jamie yet again. The handling difference on my bike too was exceptional and I could feel the difference on the short commute home. My front forks had already been done by the previous owner and I have yet to more than just change out the fork oil for something thicker and adjust them a bit for my weight, but the difference when combined with the rear shock was AMAZING, to say the least. I tried fiddling with the adjustments on the rear shock just a bit, but even without meeting me, Jamie seemed to have the rear shock dialed in almost perfect. I changed it a bit but wound up reseting to the way it was when I originally got it from Jamie.

The post you were talking about where the poster trimmed the flange on the remote resevoir might have been the write up that I did, when I installed my rear shock. I had to do the exact same thing.

http://vfrworld.com/forums/mechanic...br929-jamie-daugherty-rear-shock-upgrade.html

Once again, great thanks to Jamie, you are the BEST.

 

I will definitely be in the market for a Daugherty setup down the road. Maybe next summer.

Jose

 

Well Zoom Zoom, thanks for the tip on the reservoir, heheh :smile:

I actually look forward to riding the bike much more now that it is set up right!

 

You will not regret it, hehe. For the cost, it is a great mod!

 

Reading this sure makes me wish I had mine done. Hopefully this winter I can swing it