A Comet with the stem kit, including the link bearing mod........A hydraulic steering damper, a pair of shortened 45 Lb springs and a soft shock of some sort will give the best riding Vincent you can have.........The only Vincent twin i have done where the front end was fabulous was the twin racer on my picture to the left.........This with the fully sprung rear solo seat and the back jacked up using one of the 270 mm coilover shock absorbers and a 300 Lb spring was amazing.........easily out turn any Featherbed racer........Bill you mentioned the Spax shock........I had never seen one until recently and they do appear to be a really great shocker.........nice soft action and adjustable........ But yes the welded on ends look horrible......such a shame........They would have worked very well i think on these bikes.........The big down side to jacking the rear is the drive chain looks like it will fall off, well until you sit on the bike and push it into corners..........Remember to with David's springs, they go in with almost nil pre load.........The springs for the stem kit do need pre load but not much, certainly with the 45 lb ones I have done..........I have 4 bikes in the workshop all 4 with the modified front end..........One Rapide, 2 Touring Shadow's and an enclosed 'D" Prince..........seems to work well on them all.........