[Mr P]

Fitted Matris Fork kit F20T142K & Wilbers Shock 640. Wow what a difference they've made. They both came with recommended settings and I've got some alight adjustments to make but already those pot holes are smoothed out and no more front fork pings. Apparently the matris fork kit was not easy to fit but no issues once installed.
Got the forks from bike torque racing in UK and the shock from Wilbers direct.

 

[Atopper]

Jealous!

 

[MoxyDave]

Great to hear it's working well. I'm still waiting on my Matris full set. Hopefully it will come soon

The roads around here suck and I get bucked off the seat regularly. It's getting old fast.

 

[AstroBobber]

What was the Matris install like? Any video or instructions? Seems like a lot of work for similar installs that I've seen and I'm already happy with the Bobber front end, just curious to see what it entails.

 

[atomsplitter]

What was the Matris install like? Any video or instructions? Seems like a lot of work for similar installs that I've seen and I'm already happy with the Bobber front end, just curious to see what it entails.

I ran up against problems with the install and ended up taking the forks to MotoMonkey in Argyle (Tx) to get the work done by suspension pros. They billed me for about 4 hours of work. The snag I hit was the left leg emulator when bolted in had a 1/4 inch of play and would not seal. I thought the stock bolt was too long or the threads in the emulator weren't deep enough. Recognizing I'm not a suspension guru I took it to someone that was. The difference in ride quality between OEM and aftermarket is similar to the difference in riding a hardtail to a Goldwing.

 

[Mr P]

I ran up against problems with the install and ended up taking the forks to MotoMonkey in Argyle (Tx) to get the work done by suspension pros. They billed me for about 4 hours of work. The snag I hit was the left leg emulator when bolted in had a 1/4 inch of play and would not seal. I thought the stock bolt was too long or the threads in the emulator weren't deep enough. Recognizing I'm not a suspension guru I took it to someone that was. The difference in ride quality between OEM and aftermarket is similar to the difference in riding a hardtail to a Goldwing.

absolutely right .
I took mine straight to a guy who does all the work for me. And he said the Matris were a proper pain to fit. He said the same thing about the threads on one side. He also said the instructions were * and that the bolts differed. And he needed two spring clamps on each side to get the **** in. Compared to removing the stock which he could do by hand. “Not a DIY job” was his view.
Quality good.
The other thing he called out was that it was weird that Matris shipped it with 5w oil. He said he’d have gone for 10 and that the five was simply a lubricant. After a few more miles gonna drain and replace with 10.

 

[Mr P]

Great to hear it's working well. I'm still waiting on my Matris full set. Hopefully it will come soon

The roads around here suck and I get bucked off the seat regularly. It's getting old fast.

The wilbers/rear shock stops the bucking. And now I ride at bumps and pot holes to see the difference.
Traction control kicks in a lot less.
Main thing I notice is the bike feels like it’s I one piece rather than the tail bouncing around and then the front smashing against something unseen.
Instead the whole thing stays together over the bumps.
It ain’t smooth as that’s not the point of this bike but you just feel a lot more confident of what’s gonna happen next
IMO obv

 

[MoxyDave]

****, I can't wait to get the suspension done! Even though it's 30 degrees F today I still want to go for a ride. I just love being on 2 wheels

 

[AstroBobber]

Still deciding what rear shock to grab. Once the motorcycle garage I'm building is done, hopefully I will have picked one.

 

[atomsplitter]

Still deciding what rear shock to grab. Once the motorcycle garage I'm building is done, hopefully I will have picked one.

The best one you can afford......

 

[AstroBobber]

I can afford any of them.

but.. last I considered the reservoir Wilber’s I didn’t know if it was too much shock and then I got burnt out lol

 

[Chico]

I'm not sure what you mean

I can afford any of them.

but.. last I considered the reservoir Wilber’s I didn’t know if it was too much shock and then I got burnt out lol

I'm not sure what you mean by "too much shock". I don't care for the look of the reservoir, I got the Matris without it.

Chico

 

[atomsplitter]

Most of the rear shocks being offered for the Bobber are adjustable for preload and rebound damping only. Also the companies want to know your weight so they can fit the correct spring. So there isn't going to be an enormous difference between shock brands. That narrows the search to brands that have great warranties, or are rebuildable, or have great customer service. Pick an attribute you like and then spend the money. ALL of them are better than OEM.

If you are in the sweet spot of load for which the OEM shock was designed then good on you, that shock is perfect. For the rest of us where that isn't the case, the bike rides better and handles better with engineered (adjustable) suspension.

 

[MoxyDave]

but.. last I considered the reservoir Wilber’s I didn’t know if it was too much shock and then I got burnt out lol

I looked at the ones with a separate reservoir as well. I decided that the Bobber is such a minimalistic machine, the tiny bit of additional adjustability wasn't worth the expense or the space. Also I read a few comments about clearance problems, etc for the reservoir.

If you get the right spring and set the preload correctly this shouldn't matter too much. The extra reservoir is typically used for long-travel shocks to increase fluid volume and heat dissipation. Since the Bobber has so little suspension travel to begin with, this isn't a concern.

Just some food for thought ...

 

[lopsided]

@Mr P and @atomsplitter thank you I'm glad I'm not crazy!

I struggled so hard with this, I had a local shop do the install but they strugged and made their own mistakes and the whole adventure cost way too much!

Matris was very unhelpful, I'm sorry to say, and the dealer I purchased from (AF1) really wasn't much help as they had no experience with this kit.

I'm waiting for Matris's reply, I finally bothered to record a video showing the two fitment issues: Compression side bolt receptacle too shallow and threads too thick; Rebound side cartridge too wide. Solution is to shorten the OEM compression bolt and to lathe the inside of the OEM rebound side oil lock piece.

Glad to hear the thoughts about the 5W oil. I had noticed nearly no rebound damping unless I cranked in the clickers very far. Lots of pogo-ing over bumps. I'm planning to bite the bullet and pay for suspension tuning to see if it's just my noob-ness or if in fact I need to change oil thickness and/or valving..

 

[Mr P]

hey Lopsided, here's a few thoughts/suggestions.

I would check the weight you gave to Matris and return all the settings to those on the card they provided. I wonder whether the guys who installed it delivered it with those settings.
My mechanic advised me only to adjust one setting at a time and test ride it and not to adjust more than 2 clicks at a time.
He was surprised at the 5w oil but went ahead with it because matris were quite specific about only using the oil supplied.
In the end i only made minor adjustments (2-4 clicks) to get the desired set up. it did take a few days (spread over a couple of weeks) to get it right.
he's a cool guy and could have taken some more of my well earned pennies when i asked him to help me set it up - he said YOU are the best person as you know what you want and that i would be paying him to try and explain what was wrong. he says the most common mistake he sees on track days is riders doing four or more clicks and/or adjusting compression and rebound and so on.


overall the front is much stiffer than it was (def not a pogo stick) but it rides the pot holes and bumps really well, without any of the topping out i used to get with the OEM showas.

The plan B. If having "fiddled" with making major adjustments without the right result, he was going to up it to 10w to improve the dampening.

he had the same issue with the compression side bolt, but no other issues other than his summary that they were "***king difficult to fit - not a job for a DIYer"

 

[Mr P]

@lopsided i think i have found your issue. I messaged the mechanic and he says the two cylinders are different sizes. So we reckon the guys who fitted it put the wrong cylinder in each side. therefore one too big and one too small. Take it back to them to check. ironically given your tag

 

[lopsided]

I definitely thought of that but there is no way to mess up the left/right (nice work on Triumph for making the sides different and easy to tell apart) since the bolts are different diameters and therefore impossible to mix up.

Funny

Sigh, finally got a reply from Matris, another example of "Blame the Customer" LOL

Compression side cartridge.
(about time 1'40") screwed bolt on lower support without considering original component thickness (hydrostop) and fork leg thickness.

It is suggested to lubricate screw before starting.

The biggest problem is that the bolt receptacle is too shallow (as @atomsplitter also discovered) and you have to cut off the bolt in order to make it fit. Lubrication doesn't make a bolt shorter or the receiver deeper.

Rebound side cartridge.
(about time 8'30") the component of our kit self-centers inside the original component when the lower bolt is screwed in.

Okay so completely ignore my point, that unless you lathe the oil lock piece the base won't fit all the way in and the forks end up 4mm different length.

So you are posting a video that doesn't properly represent our product.

This application has been produced and sold for some time (it is the same application supplied for years for the Bobber Black) without any assembly problems or inconveniences.

Yeah, I have a lot of spare time and this is how I have fun, making up issues that don't exist. The professional mechanics at Monkey Moto and Superplush Suspension can disagree with you on that. (LOLOL)

You are trying to assemble the kit without actually mounting it on the stock fork.
Every professional mechanic would not make this error of valuation.

Really makes you want to buy Matris again right? I can say this debacle is exactly why I switched to Nitron for my Ninja and will not be buying Matris again or recommending them unless they admit these issues and update their instructions to show that these modifications are required. It's just dishonest to say your kit is "drop in with no modifications required" when you need to use a grinder and lathe to properly fit it.

 

[Mr P]

I definitely thought of that but there is no way to mess up the left/right (nice work on Triumph for making the sides different and easy to tell apart) since the bolts are different diameters and therefore impossible to mix up.

Funny

he said the cylinders were also different sizes. He had to machine the bolt. But didnt have to lathe anything

 

[atomsplitter]

I definitely thought of that but there is no way to mess up the left/right (nice work on Triumph for making the sides different and easy to tell apart) since the bolts are different diameters and therefore impossible to mix up.

Funny

Sigh, finally got a reply from Matris, another example of "Blame the Customer" LOL



The biggest problem is that the bolt receptacle is too shallow (as @atomsplitter also discovered) and you have to cut off the bolt in order to make it fit. Lubrication doesn't make a bolt shorter or the receiver deeper.



Okay so completely ignore my point, that unless you lathe the oil lock piece the base won't fit all the way in and the forks end up 4mm different length.



Yeah, I have a lot of spare time and this is how I have fun, making up issues that don't exist. The professional mechanics at Monkey Moto and Superplush Suspension can disagree with you on that. (LOLOL)



Really makes you want to buy Matris again right? I can say this debacle is exactly why I switched to Nitron for my Ninja and will not be buying Matris again or recommending them unless they admit these issues and update their instructions to show that these modifications are required. It's just dishonest to say your kit is "drop in with no modifications required" when you need to use a grinder and lathe to properly fit it.

About what the guy at MonkeyMoto said when he installed the kit when I ran into these problems. On the flip side the emulators are a brilliant piece of kit.