timothy st.john
Cruisin' Guzzisti
My pleasure. I've combined your post with the Suspension thread referenced here.
Post your weight in street clothes, then I can make a better referral from there.
Andy above has it correct. Mupo is for the Marzocchi forks only, and the Matris Kit is for the Kaifas. I've only seen one set of Marzocchi on a '13 V7R, and that happens to be mine for the RentAGuzzi.com fleet. All others have been Kaifa, so I can't imagine that a '14 wouldn't have Kaifa.
I now have a set of take-off Kaifa's to test, but of the seat time I've spent on many that have been here at my shop, they are marginally worse then the BiTubos that come on the V7R. I have little time to take to put them on to measure, but I will if I find the time. I was hoping someone could measure them for us and post.
Again/as always, feel free to reach me via direct email for the quickest response; Todd at GuzziTech.com - or I'm often on the Live Chat feature on the Store pages.
Thanks for posting and putting me back in touch with this lost thread. As I said, I only had a vague 'sense' that someone had suggested that they had a Mupo kit for their Kaifa fork; which seemed to contradict the threads trending. A further search failed to identify one. I guess these little manufacturers can't manage sufficient commitment to support the community until their numbers grow legion in a not too distant future. I have, as you reiterate, the Kaifa fork derivitive on my 2014 Racer, which would seem to suggest that there is no other choice for me at the present time except for the Matris.
I must admit to being very curious now to find out for myself just how bad these front forks actually are, because the community really has a hate on for them. However, seen from a philosophical blind, it seems to me unlikely that MG would build to a price point that is not supported by the sophistication of its intended purchasers, because they know how to ride over there as well, if not better than we do. Additionally, they love motorcycles at least enough to build them, while we don't. It just may be that they overestimate North American willingness to experience the thrill of 'working' at, and 'winning' an exhilarating ride at lower speeds; after all, its not a sport bike. A desire to eliminate risk and pursue enjoyment through sheer speed, has caused the Japanese to engineer most of the fun out of everything (cars included) that we once took up for just that reason.
Maybe too many new Guzzi enthusiasts are comparing their new riding experience to rides on recent model (last 15 years) Japanese 'sport' bikes, rather than to the tamer offerings from those manufacturer's stables. I rode a lot of what are now classic Hondas and Kawasakis in the 70, and I have a sneaking suspicion that what many of you are calling poor handling attributes, are what I might call an invitation to low speed thrills; an intended part of the design and handling qualities that Guzzi intentionally put into what is essentially just a more mechanically reliable version of a bike from the 70's, which is still true to a 'type' (down to the low speed ride characteristics). It is however a little disconcerting that many of you seem to suggest that MG dealers can't seem to dial them in better for you. I'm going to check mine now for myself, and see how they've done. I'll report back.
As a gesture of respect to the community, I think I'll still move ahead, despite advice to 'play the ball as it lies first', and acquire the Matris fork upgrade in acknowledgment and gratitude of their collective posted opinion. Thank-you all for giving back!
Timothy St. John
PS By my experience, there is nothing more dangerous than a motorcyclist who 'flirts' with speed only occasionally. You need to shake hands with it firmly as a matter of ritual, and make regular acquaintance of it at the track. Failing in that, its no friend of yours. If you want to...need to...or have to go fast, because you bike drives you to it, go to the track. The road is not the track; ever! A different type of riding requires a different type of bike, or it just becomes boring. That's why I bought this bike. I expect it 'not' to foster a desire for speed, because every mile it reminds in one way or another, that on a motorcycle, I'm shaking hands with the devil at the best of times. Ride safe!