Well, between Sunday night and today, I've logged about 200 miles on the Intiminators. These little doodads replace the factory valves in the front forks and supposedly isolate wheel movement from chassis movement.
Let's get this out of the way....No matter what anyone says, there's not a suspension product out there that will completely smooth out your ride, and if there was, you wouldn't want it. You want to feel the road, and you want to know what the front tire is doing at all times. The Intiminator isn't magic, and it doesn't defy the laws of physics. My bike is still a 900 pound behemoth with an antiquated damper rod front suspension.
But it's pretty impressive what the Intiminators can do. Small wheel movements are pretty much erased. There's a sensation of the wheel doing something, but it's muted. Big wheel motions still come up through the bars, but the harshness is gone. Whack a pothole, or a really rough section of road, and it's pretty much what you're used to, though not quite as harsh. I hit an old farm road on my way home today at really ridiculous speeds. This road is downright punishing on the Night Train, and only slightly less so on the Limited. Bumps that would put the bike in the air and my butt off the seat at 40mph were shocking at 70, but the front end stayed on the ground.
One side effect of this is that it highlights what a poor job the factory air shocks do under extreme circumstances. I'm going to try it tomorrow with less pressure in them to see what (if any) difference that makes. That'll have to do 'till the Ricor rear shocks come in.
Overall, the effect of the Intiminators is kind of like Ibuprofen; the bumps, like the pain, are still there, but they're muted enough to make them much more tolerable. I have to believe that between the valving and the lighter fork fluid (Amsoil 5wt), the front tire will stay on the ground better than with a heavier fluid or a stiffer spring.
For the $220 that they cost, they're a must-have for any bike retaining the factory forks as far as I'm concerned. Short of blowing your wad on a set of inverted forks or a Traxxion setup, the Intiminators are probably the best you're going to get out of your front end. The Traxxion is undoubtably a better riding and handling solution. Is it $1,000 better? I can't see that, especially not on a 900 pound touring bike.
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Let's get this out of the way....No matter what anyone says, there's not a suspension product out there that will completely smooth out your ride, and if there was, you wouldn't want it. You want to feel the road, and you want to know what the front tire is doing at all times. The Intiminator isn't magic, and it doesn't defy the laws of physics. My bike is still a 900 pound behemoth with an antiquated damper rod front suspension.
But it's pretty impressive what the Intiminators can do. Small wheel movements are pretty much erased. There's a sensation of the wheel doing something, but it's muted. Big wheel motions still come up through the bars, but the harshness is gone. Whack a pothole, or a really rough section of road, and it's pretty much what you're used to, though not quite as harsh. I hit an old farm road on my way home today at really ridiculous speeds. This road is downright punishing on the Night Train, and only slightly less so on the Limited. Bumps that would put the bike in the air and my butt off the seat at 40mph were shocking at 70, but the front end stayed on the ground.
One side effect of this is that it highlights what a poor job the factory air shocks do under extreme circumstances. I'm going to try it tomorrow with less pressure in them to see what (if any) difference that makes. That'll have to do 'till the Ricor rear shocks come in.
Overall, the effect of the Intiminators is kind of like Ibuprofen; the bumps, like the pain, are still there, but they're muted enough to make them much more tolerable. I have to believe that between the valving and the lighter fork fluid (Amsoil 5wt), the front tire will stay on the ground better than with a heavier fluid or a stiffer spring.
For the $220 that they cost, they're a must-have for any bike retaining the factory forks as far as I'm concerned. Short of blowing your wad on a set of inverted forks or a Traxxion setup, the Intiminators are probably the best you're going to get out of your front end. The Traxxion is undoubtably a better riding and handling solution. Is it $1,000 better? I can't see that, especially not on a 900 pound touring bike.
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