Dropping in some 0.90 straight-rated springs from Sonic, and have a rear Inertia Valve shock being built for me that should be ready this week. Can't wait to try the new parts out...but, it's really, really cold here. My understanding is that if the temps are much lower than perhaps 40 degrees F, it's not very useful to try and tweak suspensions (unless you will be riding at less than 40 degrees F!). Sonic Spring Guru suggests an 11mm hole drilled in the compression port of the damper rod makes the setup even better....I'm going to wait to see how it rides first. I really look forward to warmer weather so I can do some testing!

not to say it wouldnt work without, but i second that - it just ensures the stock system no longer does any of the damping - all pass to the intiminator - obviously that means your migration to intiminator or emulator would be permanent

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Finally a bike like Strom i could have as a concubine and my wife doesnt object!

Wait and try it stock first. I've ridden Ace's bike and my old K6 has well set up Race-Tech emulators - both were very good and my 2012 DL feels at least as good as both those, a little different, but very capable.

The front end on my bike feels a bit firmer than I'm used to, but I'm getting used to it quickly. It's also softening up as the days pass. A few days commuting through stuff that'd make a good MX track is pretty convincing that it's good. (The roads are being torn up to put in railway tracks - excitement every day ).

Cheers
Pete

I really appreciate all the good info from you guys. No way could I have learned the things I've learned by just venturing out blindly trying things! I don't have that much time, that much money, nor that much understanding of all the nuances of suspension variables.

Finally, the temps got up to 20 F today, so, I was able to try out my .90 Sonic springs with the Intiminators. I have no extra pre-load screwed in the adjustable caps at the moment....just the little bit of preload that equals everything I could do to get the spacers/springs pushed down enough to get the fork caps back on.

It's too cold to do a really good evaluation, but, I couldn't believe how well the bike took hits! I honestly think it's smoother than with the stock springs. I was expecting it to be a bit more "jiggly", especially with the cold temps, or, at least stiffer-feeling over the smaller bumps...but, it was a smooth as could be! I'm glad I went with the .90 after all.

The Sonic Guru really knows his stuff. Can hardly wait for warmer weather to really give them a work-out. In April, I have a big ride to Goldpoint, Nevada, where we usually do an off-road "death-ride" (it's not as hard as LA-Barstow-Vegas desert ride, but, we did have someone almost die on it a few years back...hence, the name). Having experience on that ride on my KLR650, I bet this 2012 Adventure will do just fine with this setup.

Now, to get the Intertia valve on the rear!

I have the Intertia-valved shock in my hand! I hope to get it installed this weekend and, if it's not colder than 20F...I'll give it a little test-ride. If it improves ride quality and traction half as much as it did on my 2006 KLR, I'll be thrilled!

Waiting ?

Pete

Man-o-man, me too! It finally got above freezing today, but the roads are so wet, and the salt is still all over the top of the asphalt, I just can't stand to take the bike out in all that mess!

What the heck. I'm going to do it anyway. I'll just wash it when I get back. Stand by!

I'm back. I hit potholes that felt like they had been repaired. They haven't been repaired. Choppy section was almost smooth. The bigger the hit, the more surprising it was that I just didn't feel it. If you like the Inertia valve in the front, you'll be in love with it on the rear. I sold a DR350 that had suspension upgrades when I found that my KLR with Inertia Valves would outclimb the DR. It would also beat the DR in a figure 8 dirt course that took 65 seconds per lap on the DR, and I could break 60 seconds perlap on the KLR...at a lower heart rate on the KLR.

It's a Magic Carpet Ride quality. I can hardly wait until I get to take it through some washboard off-road terrain....that's when the KLR was unbelievably superior than ANY other bike I've ridden, in regards to being able to hold a line and stay on the throttle through that stuff. This DL inertia valve rear shock felt better on the road than my KLR did. I couldn't be more pleased!

Congrats, sorry about the salt.

If it's any consolation, we have the tail end of a cyclone passing through right now.
No salt admitted, but 50mph winds and insane rain. I'm crazy, but not suicidal

Thanks for the update.

Pete

Thanks for all the info on the Intiminators. I think I'll try a couple of the mods on mine during the upcoming fork seal replacement. One seal is leaking.

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2004 DL650 "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." ~Dr. Seuss