I have a 2011 registered Ten with 15K miles on it, I bought it in November 2013 with 5K miles on it. In June/July this year it completed a trip to Gallipolli, Tiblisi, Moscow, Berlin and back - a touch under 6500 miles (I really must get my arse into gear and post some pictures).

However, that willy waggling is not the point of the post. It's the rather weak and floppy front end (back to willy waggling). The bike would have a disconcerting shimmy at walking speeds when loaded up and had dreadful fork dive and bounce.

I had thought of going the Hyper-pro route but have read a lot of conflicting points of view on linear vs progressive springs. To be frank, it does seem that progressive springs are a bit of a bodge, what you get at one end you lose at the other but it must be said I haven't tried them.

I may have hit upon a simpler, and cheaper, solution.

I used 15w synthetic fork oil (it was the cheapest at Wemoto, so don�t think I�m going soft buying fully-synth) instead of the recommended 10w. The standard fork springs were retained and measured 580mm (the standard free length).

I used the recommended 650ml per leg which gave a 150mm air gap (instead of the recommended 145mm).

So far I've given it the standard 22 turns out on the preload (loaded up for the trip it had about two). It�s a different bike with much more precise steering and far less fork wallow. I no longer have the headlight dip and flash when changing gear quickly!

How much of the improved precision is down to the steering head having some grease and properly adjusted (which I did at the same time) and how much is simply down to heavier oil I don't know, but there is certainly a significant difference.

I've only test ridden it solo, unloaded over 50 or so miles of Sussex A and B roads but I have another big trip coming next month so I'll let you know how it copes with being loaded up, motorways and mountain passes.

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Simon

Brighton, UK

Good cost effective mod/fix that.

It's exactly what I did as my first attempt at improving the stock forks, it's cheap and it made a decent improvement for me. Well worth doing for the cost/improvement benefit.

However, I did notice after a while that on corrugated surfaces (or any length of rapid high speed ups and downs) the forks did tend to pack down a little, due the OE springs not being strong enough to overcome the additional rebound damping of the thicker oil.

Later I went to progressive springs and SAE15 oil, didn't like them, little better than what you've done already (see this thread). Then Ohlins linear with SAE10 oil - much better. Finally, just added Teknik valves - better still. The quest for improvement is never ending though...

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Do you have any details on these?

A friend and I are considering going the emulator route.

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Simon

Brighton, UK

I did quite a bit of digging into emulators a while back. In the end I bought the Teknik valves based on some rave reviews and the fact they do specific ones for the XT, unlike others such as Racetech/Ricor, which are more generic. Although I know a few people who have used the Racetech version and more than happy with the result. Whichever you choose, you won�t be disappointed. You could even make some, it isn�t rocket science, as long as you (or someone you know) has access to machining tools.

The information on the Racetech site is actually very good (applies to all emulators) and explains all you need to know about their function and operation. There�s not a great deal on the Teknik site regarding the technical side. Rather than me explain everything here second hand, have a read of read of this and this.

Fitting is dead simple, the instructions/steps/principles are the same whatever emulator you use, and it is no more challenging than a normal fork dismantle and rebuild. I took advice from my local suspension specialist and opted to drill out the existing damping holes/orifices to 8mm, some others tell you to drill the holes out to 6mm and add two extra 6mm holes. In the end it makes no odds, there are many ways to skin a cat, but basically all you�re trying to achieve is to make sure the total cross-sectional area of the holes is big enough to prevent any damping effect coming from the original damping rod. The emulator will do all the work once fitted, so the rods themselves effectively become redundant as far as damping is concerned.

Important note: Bear in mind, this mod is not reversible after the drilling. You cannot remove the emulators and return the bike to stock without fitting new damping rods; with no emulators in place there will be no damping at all due to the enlarged holes, with an obviously catastrophic effect on handling. If you decide to sell your bike in the future you will have to leave the emulators behind.

FYI these are the parts/part numbers I looked up from Racetech and the Teknik I ended up buying:

Racetech:

Part number: FEGV S4301 (use TDM900)

36.0mm/29.2mm/17.5mm

racetech.com

Teknik:

Part number: 25-051-07 (XT660R/X/Z)

36.0mm x 29.2mm x 17.0mm

www.teknikmotorsport.com.au

I did notice, when checking the Teknik website, that the V4S valves are currently out of stock. Probably a good idea to contact them.

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I couldn't be bothered going the spring/drilled rod/cartridge emulators (or whatever name can be applied), and tried the thicker oil thing which is fine for me. Having said that, I've ridden some very badly-valved bikes for a long time, so bearing in mind my Tenere isn't used hard off-road (unlike those belonging to other legends on this forum), it's just not worth the money for me. So far, anyway. Btw, I agree. With the standard oil, the forks were pretty sad!

The greatest improvement to my front forks. I made a brace for the tubes it fits under the mud guard.