front fork kits..........

Any first hand comparisons between Fauth, Landsdowne, Cosentino, Progressive and Coventry?
I've read threads on each individualy, but no comparo's.

JD

jeffdavison said:

Any first hand comparisons between Fauth, Landsdowne, Cosentino, Progressive and Coventry?
I've read threads on each individualy, but no comparo's.

JD

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That would take quite an effort to make that happen. Thank you for volunteering to purchase all the kits and trying them out. :mrgreen:

swooshdave said:

jeffdavison said:

Any first hand comparisons between Fauth, Landsdowne, Cosentino, Progressive and Coventry?
I've read threads on each individualy, but no comparo's.

JD

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That would take quite an effort to make that happen. Thank you for volunteering to purchase all the kits and trying them out. :mrgreen:

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I would guess the cosentino are the best if price is a guide..$850? Not tried any, Covenvent? i would personaly forget them. Fauth sound Good, and low price.
I cannot see anyone who as tried all three :!:

All it takes is a few different riders who get together, each with a different kit, compare notes and swap rides. It would take but an afternoon.
Now where in the world can we get these riders together? Where's the highest "Commando Density" where the likelihood is greater that each kit might be installed?
It would make for a great afternoon for the riders involved, and a wealth of information for the rest of us.

Is cost really a factor as to which is best? Throwing $ at a problem "seems" like an easy solution... but look at the US Government...not always a viable working solution.
"Cheaping out" can also lead to an equally bad situation..... but a less expensive alternative may actual be a "giant killer" and the highest price solution mught be just diminishing returns.
A high dollar solution may give the "placebo effect" to the buyer that he has the best... but really?

Is there a "technically", "on paper" best front fork kit? Is there a best "real world riding" best kit? are they one in the same or are they polar opposites or does the answer lay somewhere in the middle?


JD

I of course believe the Fauth kit is best bang for the bux, going from me and about everyone mentioning hunting for holes and lumps to guide over unncanty nice w/o annoyance and about any angle and power. I know how to test a bike to it limits and recover before it crashes, so have a fined tuned pucker meter. Someday I'll give the others a try and rate the sphincter spikes on my test courses.

hobot said:

I of course believe the Fauth kit is best bang for the bux, going from me and about everyone mentioning hunting for holes and lumps to guide over unncanty nice w/o annoyance and about any angle and power. I know how to test a bike to it limits and recover before it crashes, so have a fined tuned pucker meter. Someday I'll give the others a try and rate the sphincter spikes on my test courses.

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OK, ya got me wondering. What units of measure are you using for the pucker meter and sphincter spikes? Wait...wait...I don't want to know.

There are so many variables in setting up a good suspension that I think it would require a good bit of time to really evaluate the cited systems in a way that would be a fair comparison. Perhaps all systems tested on the same bike, on the same track, with preload, rebound and compression dampening set the same. So, who of us is going to fund the test?

Not on Ms Peel, I can feel what everything is doing and going on or about to happen and how much. I have yet to crash turning at speed. I have crashed more times than I can count anymore, going slow like under 15 mph. As I said I have learned to press into crashes on purpose by leaning loss of traction, fork turn too much for traction and combos of these yet recover, because I did it on purpose, not accidentally.

A favorite practice of mine, because its scary and kinda dangerous, is to start zig zagging in my lane, 30ish mph, sharper and sharper, faster and faster till frame wraps up/springs back and one end or both end begin to fling off surface. Upsets onset about 45 mph at about 45' leans when about 45' to road.

Even better/worser on low tire air. Forks will definitely twist and balk back if not really up to snuff. The other is making front dive as hard as I can and not fly over the bars. If I can't bring my self to do this from my pucker factor, then I'm not up to riding in and out of limits that day, so put tail between legs and simmer down.

Whenever I get my hands over some other fork innards I'll be able to tell pecking order rather quickly. I don't have much respect for the high end forks
Ive ridden or ridden against, so have doubts similar or identical modifications can top Peels Roadholders. Plan to do track days for timing, not that hard to change forks to try on same conditions and bike and pilot. Something I look forward to.

My guess (but that's all it is) is that if you lined them up by price, you'd get a pretty fair proxy for performance. I'd further venture that each one is well worth the money. It's just a case of how much money you've got to throw at it.

Like you, I'd love to hear from anyone who has a true basis for comparison.

Yep that's exactly how I used to think, but not no more. i just don't know for sure and as its not academic to me I will explore pecking order someday.

Pucker meter and sphincter spikes are both measured on the "Brown" scale.

As with any cartridge fork kit, these are parts that are only going to work well if properly set up. A very expensive kit with high tech internal parts, wont work as well as a cheap one if the cheap one has closer settings, and the costly ones a long way out.

lets just assume all kits are correctly set up.

JD

Not that easy to do as weight of all riders is not likely to be the same, and even if it were what was good for fast riding on twisty roads or racing, would be entirely different to the ideal set up for a heavily loaded bike used for touring.

Carbonfibre said:

As with any cartridge fork kit, these are parts that are only going to work well if properly set up. A very expensive kit with high tech internal parts, wont work as well as a cheap one if the cheap one has closer settings, and the costly ones a long way out.

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I agree, Expensive "stacked shim type" or simple flow control via tapered needle, i never intended to produce a "all singing" damper..just something that is easy to adjust,long lasting and cost effective.....QUOTE'S ..John Dunn [tec adviser for the norton owners club] Remarked after testing...."perfect no pot hole could make these top out"

Mike Gray "No more clanking and banging...now sweet" Reggie..." Felt better straight away" Duncan Fitchett " Purfect, just get on riding now" Guy Wong, after hitting a carpark curb.." Bike responded with a slight thump after hitting a 6i nch curb, i think i would have fell off with the standard parts" Nuff Said...unless you require the other riders comments.
JRB

Well, you can't beat the customer service of our fellow forum member john! Haven't had the opportunity to test them yet, but I am sure that they will be far superior to the stock setup. No one who has purchased a set from him has complained or had any negative comments to my knowledge. Considering the membership of this site and the experience of some of its members, that says a lot.
If you've been following the other thread, my shipment arrived damaged. Not johns fault, but he is helping me anyway. That's AWESOME customer service! Extremely hard to find in this world of mass produced, outsourced, cheapest materials, sell it and forget it, crap world we live in.

What we have found around here (about 24 active riders here in Michigan with the Fauth kit), is that the bike handles about as well as any modern bike that we also own. To do the test right you need a good rider who has no horse in the race to ride all the bikes in one day over the same ground. That is a lot more work than you might think. I have done some testing not all that much fun. I will help with a kit if someone steps up.

norbsa48503 said:

What we have found around here (about 24 active riders here in Michigan with the Fauth kit), is that the bike handles about as well as any modern bike that we also own. To do the test right you need a good rider who has no horse in the race to ride all the bikes in one day over the same ground. That is a lot more work than you might think. I have done some testing not all that much fun. I will help with a kit if someone steps up.

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norbsa. "we" are working together, updating and improvement, Norton owners are enjoying the long hours we have spent in the workshop..i spent 6 months ..some days 10 hours before MK 4 was born.
Keep up the good work!

The bikes must be about identical in their other handling features to get true sense of forks worth. I'm aiming to take on elite bike track records, so I don't care whose forks allow me to do it. Ms Peel at Barbers may be best bet to compare pavement and my Gravel paths and pasture runs on Peel are my best bet to know what the facts are. I have a 'sense' a assymetric combo in each slider might be tops.

I've ridden dialed in forks by Kieth Code's main mechanic and my SV with shop installed adjusted Race Tech cartridges and trials and MX bikes and want nothing more to do with those handling and comfort limiting forks, compared to Peels Roadholders. About anything is better than crappy factory "Commando" Roadholders so who yet knows what the best kit is yet.

What is a fauth kit?

Its what hobot came up with and had to argue with Greg for 12 weeks to believe me over his own deep experience and past 35 yrs of Nortoneers being stumped, till he became such a believer he decided to offer them. My miracle light bulb was to use a spring spacer rather than a solid one, duh. Can make you own custom progressive springs and sag height and retain 6" travel and real silent stops. With some sand paper on damper rod can obtain progressive dampening too, which is not same thing as hydrualic lock stops.
Its a rather minor innovation compared to the rear link and its two helpers.