Apologies for continuing the hijack here but I have been following the side discussion about Accushift and getting it to work. I've been wrestling with the same modernization question lately and I usually talk myself back into keeping the Suntour DT setup.

My two cents from experience, as an Accushift Plus 7 speed user. Not sure if this is an apples-to-apples comparison to a3000 as I think Accushift Plus was the result of some refinement of the original system - sounds like PCB or DDDD could speak to this with more authority than I.

But I imagine that the improvements in cables and chains would certainly improve any older system. I use a SRAM 8 speed chain and Campagnolo Ergo cables with DT Superbe Pro Shifters and RD and a NW freewheel. Even without HG and the floating RD pulley, my shifting is consistent and assured. The "slop" in the Suntour index works like this: There's a little "tug" or "play" when shifting in the direction of larger rear cogs, so you can kind of "pull" the chain onto a cog and then let it go once it shifts. I believe that the better chain and cable makes the whole system more precise and consistent. The key is also to adjust the cable tension in favor of shifting to the smaller rear cogs since the "slop" only works in the other direction. I've had this dialed in and this is my main road bike, several thousand miles in the past two years and has required only minimal adjustment.

Question for you fellas that seem to know: I often wonder if re-spacing a Shimano cassette or FW to Suntour 7 Speed spec would be practical. The dilemma is that early freehubs (like those 600EX Ultraglide ones) are kind of poorly designed and obsolete and would be a step in the wrong direction away from, say, decent sealed bearing FW hubs like Mavic 500's or Suzue/Suntour.