good suspension shop in columbus?

[Rassilon]

Hi all,

Just picked up my new(ish) sv650, and it is immediately obvious that the suspension is rubbish (not that it came as a big surprise or anything).

Is there a good shop around dublin/columbus that can upgrade the forks? Im thinking of cartridge emulators, springs and heavier weight oil.. (i know a lot of folks swap to a gsx-r front end, but i think this will be slightly more cost effective for my needs).

Probably going to replace the rear shock as well, but thats something i can handle myself (im not really equipped to drop the forks and tear em down, etc).

Cheers!

[yotaman88210]

Gsxr front end wha wha.

[rusty]

call brian 614-282-4409

[TSB67]

Who is this Brian and what all does he do?

[Moto-Brian]

Don't take it to Brian. Take it to a guy with training and that understands internals and how they work. A guy with a year of novice racing isn't an expert.

Call Reuben at 35 Motorsports. Tell him I sent ya. He also gives 20% discount to OR members.

[rusty]

Who is this Brian and what all does he do?

hes full name is brian evans .he upgrade my forks on my 848,he can set up your suspenssin too.

he got all the tools and he knows what he doing.to sttbrian he dont know much,i think different.to sttbrian people who dont race long enough they dont undertand bikes.

[Moto-Brian]

hes full name is brian evans .he upgrade my forks on my 848,he can set up your suspenssin too.

he got all the tools and he knows what he doing.to sttbrian he dont know much,i think different.to sttbrian people who dont race long enough they dont undertand bikes.

Rusty, I love ya, but Brian isn't a guy that can justify charging these guys $75 to essentially check suspension.

I've said it before, I'll say it again - if ANYONE on this board wants to set sag, set the suspension for whatever application they are using it for, I will do it FOR FREE! $75 is what guys with YEARS of experience and who have gone to schools, have been at the races getting the newest technology, getting the most recent updates, etc. charge to do the same thing. If you're gonna pay, get someone qualified to do so. If you are going to someone like Brian to do it, I can guarantee I know more and will do it for free.

If Brian was charging say, $25 or actually, in my mind since he is not qualified, $0 to help people out, I wouldn't be upset.

Here's the way to look at it.

Take three people:

-Mike at Thermosman

-Reuben at 35 Motorsports

-Matt at Indy Ducati

Compare to Brian Evans...

The top listed three people have been doing this for a long time. They've been racers, been around high level racers and have been hands on via seminars, schools, tech briefings, etc about and concerning suspension. They didn't read a book, they didn't race for a year and all of a sudden know everything, they have garnished YEARS of knowledge that can be used to sort your issues out. Suspension is something that cannot be understood solely from a book.

The comment where you stated that I believe that if you don't race long enough, you don't know bikes is true. Brian came to me last year and asked if I would help him one on one with getting faster as a racer. Now, he all of a sudden in one years time, has moved up to a suspension specialist and will tell you how much racing and how good he is. Look at his Facebook picture for God's sake... Now, sit around WORLD champs, regional champs and everyone in between. The ones that spend more time telling you about their accomplishments are the ones that probably have less accomplished... You are a friend of Brian's and I respect that. You both have Ducs and I am sure that in passing and talking, you feel confident in allowing him full access to your machine...

However, my feelings are that if someone is going to have something done as serious and as intricate as suspension done and ARE CHARGING WHAT TOP TECHS CHARGE to go through and simply set suspension, he better be qualified. I cannot allow a person to go to someone and spend that kind of money when they can go to one of the three I mentioned above and get BETTER service and get better, more in depth knowledge.

[HomeSlice]

Where is Reuben? Is he located in Ohio or would we need to send him our forks?

[Cheech]

Where is Reuben? Is he located in Ohio or would we need to send him our forks?

Indianapolis.

[Kosmo]

South of Cleveland Doug Duane

http://mphohio.com/

well I have good things about them but not so good things in this board so feel free to discuss.....just suggesting

[e-flores]

I'm with Brian here... Take it to someone who has had years of experience. Suspensions not something to tinker around with. Especially when it's the same price. It's not that much work to pack up some forks and send them away on a ups truck.

[Rassilon]

thanks for the tips guys.

Is there anywhere more local to columbus?

Also, any opinions on the Department of Suspension guys? They set up the stock suspension on my CBR at a mid-ohio track day last year, and seemed quite good.

They are also near my company's office in michigan, so i can think of an excuse to go up there and expense the miles

[APCh8r]

thanks for the tips guys.

Is there anywhere more local to columbus?

Also, any opinions on the Department of Suspension guys? They set up the stock suspension on my CBR at a mid-ohio track day last year, and seemed quite good.

They are also near my company's office in michigan, so i can think of an excuse to go up there and expense the miles

He hasn't had a good history with people as of recently...check the WERA forums along with many others.

[walther_gsp]

thanks for the tips guys.

Is there anywhere more local to columbus?

Also, any opinions on the Department of Suspension guys? They set up the stock suspension on my CBR at a mid-ohio track day last year, and seemed quite good.

They are also near my company's office in michigan, so i can think of an excuse to go up there and expense the miles

Jason does great work, but he's notoriously slow. Like APCh8r said, he's had some serious business/personal issues in the past year and if you could get ahold of him, I wouldn't recommend it at this time.

Go with any of the 3 that Brian mentioned and it'll be worth every penny

[Dubguy85]

DUDE... SHIP THEM TO REUBEN! Best around BY FAR! Its worth it... Heck.. I'll drive them over to him for you for free... Its not worth someone messing with it who isn't a trained professional!

[Moto-Brian]

thanks for the tips guys.

Is there anywhere more local to columbus?

Also, any opinions on the Department of Suspension guys? They set up the stock suspension on my CBR at a mid-ohio track day last year, and seemed quite good.

They are also near my company's office in michigan, so i can think of an excuse to go up there and expense the miles

Hey man, either Dub can do it or I can do it, too as I go through Indy once in a great while now... Also, an option is to borrow the fork case I have and UPS them to him and he will send them back. Maybe $30 round trip... The only thing you really need to do is wrap well in bubble wrap, stick in a FedEx triangular shipping tube and blast off to Reuben. Check the sponsor page on here for his info, but his number is 317-850-3884.

As for the other info shared here - Doug has done some good things at MPH. If you insist on Ohio, he's probably the best bet at this time. Dept of Suspension? Same thing here - Jason has some issues. He DOES know suspension and has worked with some really good guys with successful results. Rusty gets pissed because Jason would charge $50 to set sag and click the knobs at the track. However, he did understand things and even developed stuff like triples for Duc 999s... Things that were needed and were never done before...

Again, take it to someone that knows about suspension. The guy Rusty wants you to take it to is going to do basic stuff to. He isn't going to tear it down, change the fluids and then set it up for that money. Hell, Reuben will replace the fluid, set the forks up and everything for not much more than that... We can help you set sag, understand the clickers and what they do and where to start.

If you do track days, we can actually help you by having you stop by and we can assist at the track and dial it in... Racers are here to help and not gouge you for stupid money...for basic things...

[Moto-Brian]

See comments. Aparently, I was wrong in thinking it was just sag and adjustment... It is full service - remove forks, replace oil and seals and reinstall. Also includes returning for future adjustments, as well... All for $75.

But, I will still suggest the three I mentioned for the same reasons I stated...

Check the full story here:

http://www.ohio-riders.com/showthread.php?p=524688#post524688

[Moto-Brian]

Oh, and to echo Rusty - I don't know much...

Do what you feel is right and fair to you. If you wish for ANY help from me, just shoot me a PM. I can try and help with pretty much anything and if I cannot, I know someone who can.

[Rassilon]

Cheers guys!

I'll be giving Reuben a call sometime soon.

Thanks Brian and Dub for the offers of help. I may try to drive over there myself, depending on timing and work schedule, but I'm sure i will at least want to pick your brain for setup/etc soon (and that'll be x2 if/when i get some more suspension work done on my CBR for the track)

[SAMBUSA]

I'd take it to 35 Motorsports, they sponsor OR

[owndjoo]

i can help you with the SV. you'll need emulators and a gold valve kit at a minimum with springs to match your weight. get a penske shock to match. i've gone VERY quick on an SV with this setup... national championship quick

[owndjoo]

yes, go to rubin. i'd trust him with ANY build. he built my '07 gixxer 600 supersport bike, both of 'em, and they were AMAZING.

[flounder]

Reuben (aka 35 Motorsports) did mine and I wont send them anywhere else.

Edited July 14, 2010 by flounder

[vw151]

I've heard over and over again on here that Rubin is good.

I have had Matt Carr over at Ducati Indy set stuff up on both of my current bikes and he is good and a great guy in general. A guy he used to work with Jason Etter (department of Suspension) is also very knowledgeable. Not sure where he is though. Used to see him at the Mid-OH STT events and he clearly knew his shit.

I have also heard great things about mphohio for not only suspension but geometry and straightening. They have one of those mega-M.A.X measurement systems that can do some things a lot of the other guys can't since they can literally measure and adjust the entire bike based on the way your exact frame is. I had a lengthy discussion with the guy over there once and he was very helpful and interesting to talk to. Some guys swear by his system and systems like it.

I haven't heard of this Brian guy but if he really tears the forks and shocks down and rebuilds them for $75 then that is a hell of a deal as long as he is competent. I honestly don't doubt he is. I don't buy into suspension being voodoo magic. You need to start with good forks and shocks sprung for your weight then get everything else adjusted. Once you have done that you are way ahead of the game. The really competant guys are gonna get you that last bit though I do believe that

There is also JD Horde of Horde power up north. I don't think he's a slouch and is a little closer to Columbus.

Having said all that. For Sag, geometry and just general discussion about how to set your bike up STTBrian is actually really cool in person and helped me out some with my gixxer. You can usually find him at Mid-OH or elsewhere if KTM is around. His truck and trailer are hard to miss as well once you see it.

Edited July 14, 2010 by vw151

[vw151]

Dept of Suspension? Same thing here - Jason has some issues. He DOES know suspension and has worked with some really good guys with successful results. Rusty gets pissed because Jason would charge $50 to set sag and click the knobs at the track. However, he did understand things and even developed stuff like triples for Duc 999s... Things that were needed and were never done before...

Mike (Fastduc) has a set of offset triples that Jason is selling for his 1098 as well. Pretty high quality and neat stuff.

The stuff Jason writes up on that shit is very interesting to read, unfortunately I can't find it anymore.

however it seems he has fallen off the face of the earth. The first link you get if you google him is a wera thread bashing him. Kind of sad. I liked the guy. I hope whatever he is going through get's resolved.

Holy hell, I didn't realize all that crap was going on. #1 hit on google for Jason is this thread.

http://forums.13x.com/showthread.php?t=239908

What a mess

Edited July 14, 2010 by vw151