Thread: CTR Suspension link??

Originally Posted by eyauch

Not sure if this belongs in this forum or not but feel free to move...

Anyone use CTR suspensions services lately? I can't seem to find a workable link to Jon's website. The last one I had was Concentric(R) .

I am re-doing my forks and am comparing Dan Kyle to Jon by way of price. I have talked to both in the past and both have great reviews and are nice guys to deal with. I would be pleased to go with either person. The catch is having one of them show up to a track day for tuning purposes. I think Jon is the only one who has done that locally. (Grattan)

I did use "department of suspension's" Jason E. Nice guy over email but have not met him in person before.

I don't want to start a huge this suspension guy over that guy thread.

Dan Kyle came to our annual event (at Grattan) a few years ago and helped several people.

Originally Posted by eyauch

I knew that from the Fireblade days of past, but Jon was here last year. Thats how I got to talk to him. I did not think Mr. Kyle would come out just for my benefit at the Grattan days this year, although if he did I would be extremely happy Now if you could persuade Mr. Kyle to come out this year........

I'll ask him.

You may want to consider Thermosman, also. He's been good to several people on here, self included.

Anyone know if any of the suspension guys (Thermosman, Kyle, CTR) recommend revalving the forks on the '07 gsxr 600? Or is the only fix to drop in those hellaciously expensive Ohlins 25mm kits? Stock stuff isn't bad, actually. I may just get it set up and continue to use it next season.

Originally Posted by HondaGalToo

Anyone know if any of the suspension guys (Thermosman, Kyle, CTR) recommend revalving the forks on the '07 gsxr 600? Or is the only fix to drop in those hellaciously expensive Ohlins 25mm kits? Stock stuff isn't bad, actually. I may just get it set up and continue to use it next season.

Call Mike and talk with him. 770-500-6445

On the RC Thermosman put a Ohlins valve kit in my RC (not the cartridge) and it was quite reasonable. He could have left the Honda ones in but said the Ohlins would be smoother (yes I know he is biased) Very low pressure one way or the other but I am VERY pleased with the work. You could call him and ask, he was hard to catch at home but seemed to have a cell phone implant . I do somewhat agree on using a local person as that was part of why I went Thermosman (he is near Atlanta) I think this is more important for a racer as he doesn't seem to go to many track day events (unless he is actually escaping to ride )

I used the link you posted and sent my suspension off to Jon a couple of months ago. Here's the contact info I have from the invoice:

CTR Suspensions
1408 Mt Vista Dr.
Knoxville, TN 37920

(865) 567-5687

ctrsuspensions@aol.com

Originally Posted by Hammer

Call Mike and talk with him. 770-500-6445

Thanks! Winter project!

Originally Posted by eyauch

Maybe I should back this thread up a bit. I have had suspension work done by Department of Suspension at the suggestion of another fast guy on this board nicky66. I went with the $350 option of modifying my stock forks with oil,springs and minor revalving. It got me down to 1:30 @ Grattan. But I think now I would like to go with the 20 mm Ohlins option from say Dan Kyle. I believe that job runs $650 for my bike plus shipping of the forks.

My biggest concern is help with set up. Which is why I would like to support whom ever does the fork work for me. Hammer do you know if thermosman ever makes his way to Grattan for any trackdays, not race events?

You can call him, butI doubt that he does trackdays at Grattan. His schedule is very hectic during the season as he does WERA and AMA races. But he is very approachable, just ask him about his schedule. But usually he can get you pretty close over the phone. I have called him at trackdays and he has answered my questions right on the spot.

Extremely approachable he even tolerated a noisy sheep while he did a set of RC forks. Only laid one trap that failed and had a TT track so had to be good people

What made you rule out Elka?

The guys on the nesba board seem to really like the double-clicker Penskes...they think they're plenty good enough. Easier to set up and better support. I'd probably consider one for my gix. I have the Ohlins triple clicker on my 929 and for me, that high speed compression is just a waste, as no one has touched it during any set ups I've had done. I'd probably save a few dollars and go with a double clicker next time.

Traxxion Dynamics had some good things to say about the Elka. Cal-Sportbike is a dealer for them. Todd said that one of the nice things about the Elka is that they custom valve them to match the spring rate and your preferred riding style where the Ohlins and Penske's all come with standard valving unless you have it done by an actual tuner.

Originally Posted by eyauch

Something to the effect of lacking tuning help support. I like the look of the shock personally. But if I am going to shell out the money I guess I would like to go with something proven.

I picked up an Elka for my VFR through a group buy. They designed, tested and built it based off the group buy plus to complete the order, I had to send them my weight and info about how I ride. They sprung and valved it specifically for me. All that for only $700.

Now I just have to get around to installing it.

Originally Posted by eyauch

By the way Seamus, would you consider putting an Elka on your track bike? Or do you think you would go with the Ohlins based on what you see the majority of riders using? Thats what has got me stumped. I feel if the Elka was a great shock than lots of racers would be using them due to the cost savings.

Personally, and I'm being 100% truthful here, other than having my RR sprung for my weight and getting the sag, compression and rebound settings correct, I'm not good enough to notice small changes. I played with my compression and rebound settings after getting it resprung and setting the sag correctly pretty much all last year and other than the obvious changes as the settings got way to far from "correct", I couldn't tell the difference while riding.

For me, if someone had two equally setup bikes, one with an Ohlins rear and one with an Elka, and it was set up for my weight, I don't think I'd be able to tell which was which.

When I see people talking about taking out or adding half a click here or half a turn there, I look to see who's saying it. If it's someone like Abtech, BDA or LTL saying it, I keep reading or listening hoping I'll learn something or finally feel a difference. But there are a lot of people out there that will talk down something only because everyone else is doing it.

I'm not saying Ohlins doesn't make great stuff but if you're at a level like I am where Ohlins v Elka isn't going to make you awesome or even make a small difference, why burn the extra couple hundred bucks? Especially when that extra couple hundred bucks can get you to a track school or be the first couple hundred bucks saved towards a school like Freddie Spencer's.

To answer the question, yes. I'd put an Elka on mine. I'd even go so far as to respring the stock rear for my weight and roll with that for now. But, Thermosman told me the RR comes with the heaviest spring straight from the factory and I could only go down in weight. So I cranked it up a bit and it runs perfectly well for me. Until I can throw some more time and money at track schools anyway

Originally Posted by ND4SPD

You may want to consider Thermosman, also. He's been good to several people on here, self included.

I'm one of those, and I'm pretty loyal to him. He UNDERsold me services last year and spent about 30 mins on the phone helping me w/ some things. After all of it earned exactly zero direct business. However, now that the season is over my forks and shock are with him right now for service.

Here's a story. Another local racer sent his shock to T-man for service and put a note in the box asking him to contact him w/in a few days for payment, otherwise he'd have to wait 3 weeks as he'd be on his honeymoon. When he got home there was a package on his door from T-Man. T-man wouldn't accept any payment, and considered the work done a wedding gift.

Probably not much help, but I think your asking the right questions. From my point of view it's more about the availability of a good suspension tuner and their willingness to work with you. There are plenty of good products and people who know their stuff, but finding a good match for your individual needs is the key.

another think you might consider is just calling your local guy (whoever it is you see at Grattan most often) and just asking if they can help you with an Elka should you choose to get one. They all work in the same basic way. I would assume if you tell the guy your bike is doing such and such a thing they most tuners would know ok add in a little rebound or compression.