Andreani Fork Cartridge for V7ii - Experiences?

[davidmc]

Greetings,

I had a full Andreani fork cartridge system installed in my 2016 Stronello by a local professional suspension shop earlier this year.  Two of the guys in the shop have worked on it and cannot seem to get it dialed in.  This is a top rate suspension shop and I have had them work on my other bikes in the past. 

The springs that came with it (0.78) caused a metallic clunk in the forks when hitting medium or larger bumps.  They added some fork oil to prevent the bottoming and the ride became very harsh.  I'm not entirely convinced that the clunk was from the fork bottoming out.  They then put in stiffer springs (0.84 or 0.88, I don't remember) and now the ride is way too stiff and the bumps at speed are too harsh.  My weight without gear is about 165-170 lbs.  The guys don't think they can get this system dialed in any better as they have spent lots of time on it so far.

Has anyone else installed the Andreani cartridges in their V7?  No one seems to have much experience with this kit in the V7.  My shop has contacted Andreani and they simply say to send back if it's not working, which obviously is not solving the issues.  I'm hugely disappointed with this fork setup so far and I have never had a front end so harsh, this also includes the lousy stock fork setup.

I have a pair of Ohlins shocks on the rear and these are working very well.

Thoughts?  Thanks for any input!   

[severely]

Try going back to the standard springs and oil level and increasing the rebound damping. What oil viscosity and oil level is in your forks? Usually clunking is associated with too quick rebound and/or too light a fork oil. Good luck

[davidmc]

I don't remember the exact viscosity in the oil (box says Ohlins type 1309), but they originally set up the forks exactly as Andreani recommended with a 160mm oil level and it clunked with these factory specs.  But I agree, it seems like the original spring needs to go back in and the oil or shims need to be tweaked.  I was expecting it to work right out of the box with the recommended specs with any further tweaking required as minor.

[reidy]

Dave

I have not used these but remembered reading about this on an Triumph forum. 

This paragraph was of interest.
do you know the quantity of oil you used to fill the forks?
if the cartridge is air-locked you can get the correct air gap measurement but the air trapped in the cartridge does'nt have any damping to slow the travel of the fork.

did you fill the fork with oil before installing the spring and push the damper rod in and out several times to remove the air from the cartridge?

It would seem that these forks are hard to bleed and if you follow the normal procedure of putting the inserts in and not bleeding them properly you get exactly the symptoms described.

If they were mine I would reinstall the standard springs and correct weight fork oil. All fork oils are not comparable by weight. The true comparison is centistroke. Please see attached link for more detailed description and comparison. https://transmoto.com.au/comparative-oil-weights-table/

I would also ensure the forks are fully bled before putting the springs in.

Let us know what the outcome is.

Steve

[davidmc]

Dave

I have not used these but remembered reading about this on an Triumph forum. 

This paragraph was of interest.
do you know the quantity of oil you used to fill the forks?
if the cartridge is air-locked you can get the correct air gap measurement but the air trapped in the cartridge does'nt have any damping to slow the travel of the fork.

did you fill the fork with oil before installing the spring and push the damper rod in and out several times to remove the air from the cartridge?

It would seem that these forks are hard to bleed and if you follow the normal procedure of putting the inserts in and not bleeding them properly you get exactly the symptoms described.

If they were mine I would reinstall the standard springs and correct weight fork oil. All fork oils are not comparable by weight. The true comparison is centistroke. Please see attached link for more detailed description and comparison. https://transmoto.com.au/comparative-oil-weights-table/

I would also ensure the forks are fully bled before putting the springs in.

Let us know what the outcome is.

Steve

Thanks Steve, I'll let you know what happens with the next iteration.  The trapped air sounds like an interesting issue, but the oil viscosity could be off also.  I'm having a suspension shop deal with this so I assume they know what they are doing, but who knows?  Many folks seem to have experience with the Andreani cartridges on other bikes, but no one seems to have installed these on the V7.  I hope the V7 version of these forks was not just an afterthought by Andreani......

[SeanF]

For my v7, I ended up with 4wt oil in the compression (left) leg, and 7.5wt in the rebound side. 155mm air gap, without springs installed.

Springs are the Andreani kit for sport riding.

I prefer suspension on the firm-but-not-harsh side.

I am almost completely happy with it. But I am spoiled by occasional test rides on dual sport bikes with premium, long-travel suspension components.

[davidmc]

For my v7, I ended up with 4wt oil in the compression (left) leg, and 7.5wt in the rebound side. 155mm air gap, without springs installed.

Springs are the Andreani kit for sport riding.

I prefer suspension on the firm-but-not-harsh side.

I am almost completely happy with it. But I am spoiled by occasional test rides on dual sport bikes with premium, long-travel suspension components.

What size springs did you use and what is your weight?  You have the Andreani cartridge kit for the V7, correct?

[SeanF]

What size springs did you use and what is your weight?  You have the Andreani cartridge kit for the V7, correct?

Correct, this is the Andreani kit, ordered via eBay, installed on a 2017 v Special. The kit included all of the internals, including springs, spacers, etc.
I specified 80/90kg rider weight, for street/track use. I do not know the spring rate. I am about 200-205 lbs, all geared up.

I did the install and subsequent adjustments myself. The only part I farmed out was the removal of the reduction bushing @ the bottom of the fork tube.

I went to 4wt oil on the compression side to address harshness I couldn't quite get rid of.

[Warren Rhen]

Greetings,





Has anyone else installed the Andreani cartridges in their V7? 

I have a pair of Ohlins shocks on the rear and these are working very well.

Thoughts?  Thanks for any input!   

I have them in my Stornello. I weigh 200 w/o my gear but I'm affraid I'm not much help to you because I installed them 2 yrs ago, followed the instructions as far as setting go and haven't touched them since then. They work very well. I wish the ikons I installed on the back worked that good

[jpv7]

Not sure if this will help - I'm about the same weight as you and have installed the Race Tech Gold valve emulator and springs with excellent results.  Go to their site and enter your details to see what springs  they suggest and oil type and level.  Then compare to what you are using.

Race Tech know what they are doing...

[davidmc]

Not sure if this will help - I'm about the same weight as you and have installed the Race Tech Gold valve emulator and springs with excellent results.  Go to their site and enter your details to see what springs  they suggest and oil type and level.  Then compare to what you are using.

Race Tech know what they are doing...

RT recommends the exact same spring as Andreani, so that is good.  I wonder if RT would dial in my Andreani forks if needed?