Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Help with fork upgrade please

I know this is a dead horse topic, but I've read and read and researched this for hours.

Have a 2011 Speedmaster, and looking for the best "bang for my buck" upgrade for my front suspension. Rears will remain stock for the time being. I'm currently standing at 5'9" 275#, ride mostly for commuting, and get a couple of joyrides here and there. This is my first bike, and will be my 5th season riding, so not looking for or expecting track performance. I'm mainly looking to stop nose dive when braking, keep the front wheel planted in long turns on less than smooth pavement, and possibly make the ride a little more "plush".

So far I've considered:
Progressive (Hagon) spring swap, but seems most recent opinions on progressive springs have swayed away from "this is great" and are that it's a band-aid and not an actual fix.
Linear springs to my weight (.9?) with better fork oil. Haven't researched this too much, but am open to the option.
Ricor Intiminators, which seem to get great reviews, until people start bringing up oscillation/pogo stick problems. Seems that me being on the much heavier side of the people complaining, it might not be an issue? This is the route I'm leaning more towards.
YSS and Racetech Emulators also seem like a good option, and cheaper than the Ricor, but you have to make permanent changes to your fork dampers.
Full cartridge mode is out of my budget, and desire really.

You can adjust the Ricor by shortening the spacer or by using more/less shims on the actual valve. Rico techs can help you figure out what to do.

Im 360# and get great results from them. Never had any "pogo" effect.

Dollar for dollar if your not as big as I am then springs should do you just fine.

I'm not exactly a small guy either and I have never experienced this Pogo Stick phenom either and I have Ricors on 3 Speedys. The last set I bought was from a vendor on EBay for $156 delivered, not an unreasonable sum, for the results aquired.

Best bang for the buck are Ricor Intiminators with adjustable fork caps, PVC spacers, and OEM springs. If you follow Ricor's directions then bliss awaits. You cannot - and I mean cannot - skimp on flushing the old fork oil and using the correct Amsoil 5w fork oil. It really is that simple.

Thanks for the replies guys. The Ricors are where I was leaning the hardest, and with it being the easiest option (not counting progressives), and adjustable to my needs, I think I'll go for it.

Big tax time plans this year for the bike, with a TTP tune+breathe on the way, just fitted a new windscreen, and hopefully a few other farkles as well. I'll post everything up when I get it going.

"looking for the best "bang for my buck" upgrade for my front suspension"

I'm sure the Ricor setup is superior but I have to say that $79 for Progressive brand front springs was the single best bang-for-buck mod I ever made, it's as simple as withdrawing the old and dropping in the new. The Progressive brand is the same length so no need to cut new preload spacers. You can do a more thorough job by pumping out and replacing the old oil (and you probably should) but you can do the entire job in 15 minutes and the upgrade is remarkable.
This in no way disses what is reported as the superior performance of the Ricor, it's just that you said bang-for-buck. At least $100 less and maybe more.

^ BTDT.