Posts
4935
Joined
12/3/2018
Location
UT
US
Fantasy
3876th
Why don’t we see Showa conversions for ktm?
Upgrade to enjoy this feature!
Vital MX fantasy is free to play, but paid users have great benefits. Paid member benefits:
- View and download rider stats
- Pick trends
- Create a private league
- And more!
Only $10 for all 2024 SX, MX, and SMX series (regularly $30).
Check out Art of War suspension
Showa is a 49mm fork. KYB is 48mm like WP. I don't know that a Showa cartridge will fit in a WP tube. Showa isn't exactly known for comfort either.
I had this realization skiing today that Showa was 49mm and that’s probably why.
Pro circuit did ktm showa setups for years, but full forks and clamps.
I dont think the showa inners would screw into wp outers?
The Shop
They are out there, but as you said, not terribly popular for no other reason than I believe they were the last ones to the WP air fork cartridge market and a weak distribution network. I had the Showa GPE instagram guys hammering my DM's trying to get me to buy some kits, as I was doing a ton of KYB, 6500, and MX-Tech cartridge conversions at the time. I never did pull the trigger for no other reason than the weak support network. They have such a weak presence that I can't even remember who the US Showa importer is. I know for a minute Technical Touch was getting set up but I think there was a showa acquisition or something and parts prices were predicted to skyrocket ... anyway I think they bailed on the deal..
the Truth be told, the late 2000's showa 47's were some of my favorite forks. I spent way more time than I should have thinking about fitting the showa 47 carts in my '18 KTM airfork and whether that was a commercially viable option. https://showabygenuinepartseurope.com/en/product/cartridge-kit-showa-wp…
I just restored a set of Showa 47s last night for a CRF restoration, and man, i miss those forks. They performed great and had very few changes over the years.
As someone said above, Art of War is doing some air conversions with the kits that you linked.
I have a couple sets of KYB converted forks, and i have been tempted more than once to set up a Showa 47 conversion set. I wish their US distribution was better..
@cwtoyota
It's the threads at the top of the cartridge vs the upper fork tube.
While WP and KYB use a compatible thread size and thread pitch. Also the o-ring position and size are compatible.
Showa has a different size and pitch on their threads, so it would require some other parts.
I've honestly considered a few ways to do a Showa cartridge conversion using KYB or WP springs. Personally I prefer KYB's 25mm cartridge to all other forks I've ridden, but I recognize that some guys prefer Showa. If I ever get around to building a viable conversion I'll put it out there. It would require a similar lower adapter to the ones I manufacture for WP/KYB, plus it would require some work at the top of the fork assembly.
Teknik offers a Showa conversion kit for the WP XPLOR...
https://www.teknikmotorsport.com/KITCRXP01-Showa-Genuine-Parts-Cartridge-Kit-Showa-Twin-Chamber-to-WP-XPLOR-48-KTM-Husqvarna_GasGas
That's interesting. It has been a while since I've done anything with some Showa forks, so perhaps my memory on the Showa thread specs is wrong. The last ones I worked on were for a 2018 CRF450R and a 2019 KX450F.
We put some older Showa PC A-Kit forks on a 2018.5 Husqvarna for a friend using modified clamps. The forks never got valved for the KTM chassis, so they never worked as well as the other options. On the other hand, standard Yamaha valving in a KYB fork worked well on the same bike.
or you might be correct with the threads, and Teknik may have machined their own upper section of the cartridge.
GPE lists one in their catalog.
The showas you are talking about from the 2018 CRF and 2019 KXF are the 49mm cartidges.
The Showa's in GPE's kit are the older (and better) 47mm and i believe the upper thread is the same as the 48mm KYB.
Agreed on the 25mm inner KYB's though, they are the only forks that have compared to the 47mm showa in my opinion.
Thanks for pointing out that they're from the 47mm Showa forks.
With a leaf spring mid conversion the 24mm KYB cartridges feel very similar to the recent 25mm stuff.
It would be interesting to try that in the older 47mm Showa stuff too.
The 24mm kyb (without leaf conversion) always had a soft, top of the stroke wallow, and the showa 47 inners were firmer at the top, in my opinion, which is why i always preferred the showa..but the leaf in the 25mm seemed to correct the issue. It would be interesting to try a leaf in the showa and see what the outcome is. I have a couple sets laying around and a couple sets in use on my older Suzuki 2 strokes and a 96 CR250 restoration project...maybe i'll try it out. But my curiosity is slowly talking me into a showa/wp conversion.
I agree with that statement and usually say that older SSS stuff is more "active" than I like.
On the Yamaha 24mm forks I remove the low speed sub valve shims and firm up the main compression stack.
Then I add a face shim to the rebound and install a leaf spring mid with about 0.5mm of travel.
That combo gives a lot more confidence if the shock is set up to match.
It would be really interesting to take the Showa 24mm stuff down a similar tuning path and compare all three.
Post a reply to: Why don’t we see Showa conversions for ktm?