Ricor Intiminator Install instruction

[cuong-nutz]

Just posting this for now. A slightly cheaper alternative to the RaceTech Gold Valve Emulators.

DIY - Replace fork seals, dust seals and fork oil

Breakdown of how damper rods work and how the Intiminators address the issues.

Modding the Intiminators to work better

[Alex]

Have you installed these on your machine?

[cuong-nutz]

Originally Posted by Alex

Have you installed these on your machine?

I have not yet. Trying to find some free time to.

[cuong-nutz]

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=486633

Prepping to install and review in the near future...

[InvisiBill]

I had RT emulators sitting on the shelf waiting to be installed in my EX500, but went ahead and bought Intiminators after I found out about them. The standard installation is basically just "Drain the fork oil, open your forks, trim your spacer an amount that matches the thickness of the Intiminator, drop the Intiminator in, and put the other parts back in." I did mine without removing the forks from the bike.

It was slightly more complicated for me because I added an oil drain screw to the forks during the process (Gen1 had a drain screw, Gen2 removed it). I also hadn't properly set my sag, so I was adjusting the spacer length in addition to trimming it to account for the Intiminator. FYI, the base was 15mm thick on my 039-20-1001NIN Intiminators.

The marketing material states that unlike emulators, you don't need to drill out the damper rod holes. However, high-speed damping is controlled mostly by density rather than viscosity, so the stock damper rods could still be affecting things even after dropping down to the suggested 5W fork oil. For best results, you'll probably want to remove and drill the damper rods so that the Intiminators are solely handling the damping. I didn't do that, but plan to next time I have the forks apart.

I sold the emulators before taking them out of the box, so I don't have a direct comparison. However, I'd say that getting springs of the proper rate and adding the Intiminators makes the biggest frost-heave cracks in the road feel the same way the smallest cracks felt on the stock setup (I could feel literally every seam in the road). It doesn't completely remove every bump and make it feel like you're riding on glass, but the current setup is worlds ahead of how it was in stock form. I'm no expert and I'm not pushing the bike to its limits, so I'm sure there's plenty of room for improvement.

[cuong-nutz]

Originally Posted by InvisiBill

I had RT emulators sitting on the shelf waiting to be installed in my EX500, but went ahead and bought Intiminators after I found out about them. The standard installation is basically just "Drain the fork oil, open your forks, trim your spacer an amount that matches the thickness of the Intiminator, drop the Intiminator in, and put the other parts back in." I did mine without removing the forks from the bike.

It was slightly more complicated for me because I added an oil drain screw to the forks during the process (Gen1 had a drain screw, Gen2 removed it). I also hadn't properly set my sag, so I was adjusting the spacer length in addition to trimming it to account for the Intiminator. FYI, the base was 15mm thick on my 039-20-1001NIN Intiminators.

The marketing material states that unlike emulators, you don't need to drill out the damper rod holes. However, high-speed damping is controlled mostly by density rather than viscosity, so the stock damper rods could still be affecting things even after dropping down to the suggested 5W fork oil. For best results, you'll probably want to remove and drill the damper rods so that the Intiminators are solely handling the damping. I didn't do that, but plan to next time I have the forks apart.

I sold the emulators before taking them out of the box, so I don't have a direct comparison. However, I'd say that getting springs of the proper rate and adding the Intiminators makes the biggest frost-heave cracks in the road feel the same way the smallest cracks felt on the stock setup (I could feel literally every seam in the road). It doesn't completely remove every bump and make it feel like you're riding on glass, but the current setup is worlds ahead of how it was in stock form. I'm no expert and I'm not pushing the bike to its limits, so I'm sure there's plenty of room for improvement.

The reviews from ADVRider.com suggested the same thing as well paired with springs set up for your weight. I have not ordered the springs yet, but I plan on doing a comparison down the line.

[cuong-nutz]

Intiminators installed into the forks.
I drilled out the damper rod holes to 10mm. Most modders on different forums suggested this to ensure that Intiminators are doing all the work.
Set fork oil height at 125mm. I went off OEM fork oil height of 108 +/- 2mm and included the thickness of the Intiminators (15mm). The original instructions were vague so I sent an email to get some clarification.
I did not cut down the stock spacer since I'm still using stock springs for the time being. Overall preload is roughly 37mm (22mm stock + 15mm (intiminator body thickness).

I'll test this setup for now and will do further modding/tuning to adjust for new springs and what not later on.

[InvisiBill]

Originally Posted by cuong-nutz

Intiminators installed into the forks.
I drilled out the damper rod holes to 10mm. Most modders on different forums suggested this to ensure that Intiminators are doing all the work.
Set fork oil height at 125mm. I went off OEM fork oil height of 108 +/- 2mm and included the thickness of the Intiminators (15mm). The original instructions were vague so I sent an email to get some clarification.
I did not cut down the stock spacer since I'm still using stock springs for the time being. Overall preload is roughly 37mm (22mm stock + 15mm (intiminator body thickness).

I'll test this setup for now and will do further modding/tuning to adjust for new springs and what not later on.

You want to change the spacer length, not the oil height, an amount that matches the thickness of the Intiminator (because the Intiminator is now sitting under the spring and spacer). You may or may not want to adjust the oil height and spacer length as part of your tweaking, but you're supposed to shorten the spacer to make up for the additional thickness of the Intiminator and retain the same amount of preload (assuming it's already been set properly).

[cuong-nutz]

Originally Posted by InvisiBill

You want to change the spacer length, not the oil height, an amount that matches the thickness of the Intiminator (because the Intiminator is now sitting under the spring and spacer). You may or may not want to adjust the oil height and spacer length as part of your tweaking, but you're supposed to shorten the spacer to make up for the additional thickness of the Intiminator and retain the same amount of preload (assuming it's already been set properly).

I know I'm suppose to cut the spacer down but I just wanted to see first hand how it feels before I do. Plus I didn't do any base suspension measurements before I took everything apart.

[InvisiBill]

Originally Posted by cuong-nutz

I know I'm suppose to cut the spacer down but I just wanted to see first hand how it feels before I do. Plus I didn't do any base suspension measurements before I took everything apart.

Ok, I just wanted to make sure you weren't confused on which part needed to be altered due to the extra thickness of the Intiminator, since you mentioned changing the oil height 15mm and not changing the spacer. By leaving the extra 15mm of spacer in there, you've added 6.6kg of preload on the stock .440kg/mm springs. That change could interfere with your analysis of how the Intiminators have affected the ride.

Generally speaking, as part of the install you want to remove "1 Intiminator-height" from the spacer to compensate for the extra height of the Intiminator in the forks. The oil should remain the same height from the top of the fork tube (i.e. the same volume of air at the top of the forks), calculated with the Intiminators installed. You may wish to tweak the oil height and/or spacer length as part of your suspension tuning, but that's really a task separate from the Intiminator install.

[verboten1]

Hmm, I have intiminators in the KLR....maybe it's time for another set!

[choneofakind]

OH! I wanted to do these this summer. Eff it, I'm commiting; drain, drop, and cut is too tempting to pass up. Anything is better than bouncy 10W pregen fork oil, right?

What model should fit my pregen forks? @InvisiBill, this is your post right? post #2?
http://www.ex-500.com/index.php?topi...prev_next=next
I'm a little confused whether they'll work or not in my smaller forks.

[verboten1]

If they improve the ninja as much as the KLR was improved it's worth it for sure!

[InvisiBill]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

OH! I wanted to do these this summer. Eff it, I'm commiting; drain, drop, and cut is too tempting to pass up. Anything is better than bouncy 10W pregen fork oil, right? :)

What model should fit my pregen forks? @InvisiBill, this is your post right? post #2?
http://www.ex-500.com/index.php?topic=62090.0

I have no idea WTF is up with these forks. =) The PreGen and Gen1 both supposedly have 36mm forks, while the NewGen and Gen2 have 37mm. I would assume that the two older models would be the same, and the two newer ones would also be the same. However, the Gen1 uses the FEGVS3301 emulator, while the Gen2, PreGen, and NewGen all list the FEGVS3501 and FRSPS2938. Similarly, Ricor lists them for the '86-'08 250 - it seems like it should either stop at '07 or continue on to '12. Another guy in that thread said that he bought them for his Gen1 and they didn't fit. The Gen1 "36mm" might be smaller than the PreGen "36mm" or something. *shrug*

http://www.ex-500.com/index.php/topic,51754.0.html is another thread over there where the Intiminators first came up. There's a fair bit of my rambling there too.

Originally Posted by Thread OP

Oh yeah, shoulda mentioned that the ninja250 ones fit the ex500. Thats what my intstructor/racer buddy used. He loves em.

That's what I went on, and Ricor responded to me that it looked like they should fit my bike, but I could return them if they didn't. They're listed as fitting all years of the PreGen, so I would assume they'll work. I would also expect that they should work in any other bike that uses the same emulator part number, which apparently includes the NewGen and Gen2, but not the Gen1 (for reasons beyond my understanding). I also have no idea why Ricor calls them 39mm, when they seemed to be the perfect size for my 37mm forks. I guess a 1mm difference in radius isn't such a big deal with the expanding ring on the side of the Intiminator.

While the instructions say you don't need to drill out the damper rods like you do with emulators, it may still be better to do so (as explained in previous posts). They definitely help even without it, but that ensures that the Intiminators are handling everything and the stock crap isn't interfering. It should also give you a little more leeway to tweak the fork oil for desired rebound.

Just for general information of anyone else reading this thread, the springs were less than half the price and had a larger effect on how well the suspension worked. Springs of the proper rate should definitely be higher on the list of mods, with priority directly proportional to how mismatched the stock springs are for your weight. However, the damper rod setup is very basic and inherently doesn't work all that well, so Intiminators (and I assume emulators) do indeed help. I'm trying to lose some more weight, and I didn't need my street bike to be super-firm, so I actually went about two steps softer on the spring rate than what RT's calc suggested (still 54% stiffer than stock). Some people have suggested that the extra damping control of the Intiminator might work better with springs that are a little softer than what you'd normally use.

[choneofakind]

Thanks for the extra link and info bill.

According to the calculator, I need 0.64 springs and I have 0.585 from the ex500. It's a hair soft, but is fine for a street setup. I'll read that link you posted and maybe email rice for clarification. Thanks a bunch!

[sharky nrk]

Originally Posted by InvisiBill

Just for general information of anyone else reading this thread, the springs were less than half the price and had a larger effect on how well the suspension worked. Springs of the proper rate should definitely be higher on the list of mods, with priority directly proportional to how mismatched the stock springs are for your weight. However, the damper rod setup is very basic and inherently doesn't work all that well, so Intiminators (and I assume emulators) do indeed help. I'm trying to lose some more weight, and I didn't need my street bike to be super-firm, so I actually went about two steps softer on the spring rate than what RT's calc suggested (still 54% stiffer than stock). Some people have suggested that the extra damping control of the Intiminator might work better with springs that are a little softer than what you'd normally use.

Second this, I have racetech emulators in the track bike and just correct weight springs, spacers, and fluid in the street bike and it actually feels pretty decent. Get the correct weight springs and you don't have to try and force the fluid dampening to correct for it.