Springs

[Wess]

Thinking about doing the front end thing and would like some input from those that have been there and done that not jsut a buch of opinions that someone read in an earlier post. I am 6'0 235 and Pearl is manily set up for touring (knees savers and bar risers) so not a lot of hard cornering. Type of springs? straight or progressive Oil type and weight? Method to do it? Vacumn out or remove and drain or any other way? Tips tips tips and are there any tech sessions in the midwest in the next few months. As always thing you for your input and I do realize that any grief is given with love Respectfully Yours! Wess Heavner 2009 Hard Luck Award Winner! COG #8010 CDA #0239

 

[Gerry B]

Wess, you've met me and know my size... I installed the straight springs from Sonic Springs. I chose the 1.2's and used 15 wt oil. It works great. The front end was immediately more "planted". I lost all that dive in braking and it made a huge difference. I highly recommend them. I think I got them from our main man Murph. I didn't remove the forks to replace the oil. I used the Mity-Vac to get the majority of the stuff out. Just be aware of the quantity of oil. From what Mr Buck explained at the national rally, the oil level is a fairly critical issue. It's scary when you start making the same noises As your coffee maker.

 

[jaxrider]

+1 on what Gerry B said... I'm a little lighter but used the 1.2's with real good results. I disassemble the fork legs using an air impact when I was taking the front wheel off for a new tire, so it was not a lot of extra work. I also cleaned out the f

 

[ghabel]

I am 160 lbs and chose the Sonic 1.1's. I have the rear shock set at #3 and about 20 lbs preload for 1 up riding; no load. I love the way it rides with no po-going and the front/rear are nicely balanced. When I go 2 up (rarely), I put 50 lbs preload in the rear shock. I pulled the tubes from the bike to drain them. I would recommend drawing marks on the tubes around both the lower and upper triple T's. This will help you get them back into the right spot when you put the tubes back in. I order the fork oil and springs from www.murphskits.com. Also had previously bought the fork oil measuring tool from Murph. Greg H from Mass, Connie Droppers Anonymous Awards Dude COG# 7010,a Tracey CDA 120 (2.0) 99 Connie "Herrin Christabelle", 05 Ninja 250

 

[smithr]

6'1 170-220 I have progressives with 15 wt. I suck my oil out put some fresh in, work it about and then suck that out too. Works for me. ---------------------------------- South Central Area Director Email scad@cog-online.org

<p align="left"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20211686@N05/">My Photos<br

 

[Cap'n Bob]

Wess, I went the opposite way. I did mine with RaceTech springs and emulators. I dropped the front end of the bike about a 1/4" by raising the fork tubes in the triple tree's. I also installed a KB fork brace and Avon Azaro tires. I couldn't believe it was the same bike. The front end was so good that it now showed how bad the rear shock was! Now you being more of a touring kind of guy, and like to ride pretty mellow "just like me" , you could probably get away with Gerry's set up. It would definitely be cheaper. But would definitely be a noticeable difference. Bionic Bob COG & AMA member First C14 CDA member #0220 2008 C14 & 2003 Mean Streak

 

[slybonesjesse]

Wow all that huge improvements and not a single down side? 2003 Concours, 53K COG #6953 IBA 28004 http://mysite.verizon.net/slybones/Concours/connieMain.htm

 

[jaxrider]

Your wallet is a little lighter and you'll have worked a Saturday to get it done.... David in Jax COG# 7898 NE FL AAD & COG Vendor www.dreamjobresumes.com preparing resumes for COG members and friends I ride a KAWASAKI ZZR1200 - it Euro Review http://www.motorbikestoday.com/reviews/Articles/ZZR1200.htm US Review http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/roadtests/2002_kawasaki_zzr120

 

[slybonesjesse]

Well I started with the fork brace, then added Sonic 1.1 and 15wt oil, then did the rear shock with 15wt oil using one of Murph's kits, then added Racetech emulators and finally a ZZR1200 rear shock. Brake Dive: Even with the stock front brakes ( versus my 6-pots ) the stock front suspension had horrible brake dive. I cannot imagine how that would be with the 6-pots. With the stock calipers, the Sonic 1.1 springs and 15 Wt oil seemed about right. With the 6-pots the Sonic 1.1 controlled bottoming OK, but still a little faster dive that I liked with decent braking. With emulators and 1.1 springs even the 6-pots are nicely tamed. The aftermarket suspension wins hands down in the brake dive department. Not even a contest. Large/Slow Bumps: Going down the freeway and the large slow dips that make the suspension really compress are soaked up way better with the aftermarket suspension. Here the firm, taut ride works wonderfully. Fast / High Speed Bumps: This one is a toss up. Compared to the front suspension with just the Sonic 1.1 springs and 15wt oil, the stock suspension wins on the fast / high speed bumps. Although read the comments about tires. And while I liked the suspension in these other areas, its a bit harsher ride on the fast edges that made me go and purchase the emulators. Again tires do make a differnece. Road Irregularities: The firm, taut ride of my Connie seems to follow the road irregularities more and give what feels like a bit rougher ride. I am describing this this way as I am not talking about sharp edges or bumps that make the suspension compress at a high rate of speed. Nor am I referring to large bumps out on the freeway for example. But roads are not always smooth and flat. It seems to me that over these transitions and irregularities the stock suspension with its softer ride soaks these up a bit. Where the firm, taut ride seems to follow it more, and transmit more of that to the ride. Some people might think of that as more road feel or feedback versus rougher ride. This will be personal preferences. Wallowing / Porposing: I only had my Connie with stock suspension get porposing on me one time. Loaded with camping gear, saddle bags and Givi full, taking a sweeper at 80 over in eastern Montana. The rear end really got bouncing and I had to slow down and real it in. It was a strange experience. I have never had that with the ZZR rear shock. Tires do make a difference: This observation is from my own experience. But I noticed when switching from the Hard Metzeler ME880's to the Michelin Pilot GT's, the GT's rode way more smooth than the ME's did. And it was even smoother going to the Dunlop 205's. Most people focus on the mileage versus traction debate when talking about softer/harder tires. And thats true, the point for this thread is there is also a ride quality factor to the harder/softer tires debate. 2003 Concours, 53K COG #6953 IBA 28004 http://mysite.verizon.net/slybones/Concours/connieMain.htm

 

[Wess]

You folks rock! I do have a set of 6 pots to install and I am currently running a set of new GT's. Looking at the progressive it looks like the further it compresses the stiffer it gets where as the others have constant compression resistance. I just do not understand the difference in "feel". My main concern is when braking and thru corners where I am not that aggressive. What is an emulator and what does it do? All this time I have been thinking it was the brakes when maybe it was the front end either way as stated above the brakes are gone. Respectfully Yours! Wess Heavner 2009 Hard Luck Award Winner! COG #8010 CDA #0239

 

[slybonesjesse]

Our old tech forks are dampening rod forks. More modern sport bikes and sport tours have whats called cartridge forks. With cartidge emulators you remove your dampening rods in the existing forks and drill holes in them, forever remove them from doing anything. No going back unless you get new rods. Then you install emulators in the forks. $170 current prices. http://old.racetech.com/popupwindow/GoldValveCartridgeEmulators.asp 2003 Concours, 53K COG #6953 IBA 28004 http://mysite.verizon.net/slybones/Concours/connieMain.htm

 

[turbojoe78]

I'm 5'9" 180lbs and felt the stock bike had way to much brake dive and too spongy of a feel in corners and on the highway. I went the frugal route by removing the springs and cutting 4" off the soft end, sucking the old oil out and replacing it with 15wt fork oil, reinstalled the cut down springs with a 4" schedule 40 3/4"PVC spacer and large washer between them. This cut most of the brake dive out and the bike rides and handles like a whole different bike now, much more stable in corners and still smooth enough over the bumps. I went this way figuring if I didn't like what I got from cutting the springs down, (which didn't cost anything) I could always replace the springs with something else. I'll be leaving the front end just like it is now, I got a much better riding bike and all I paid for was the fork oil. OBTW before I did the springs I replaced the front calipers with 4 pot Tokico calipers which made the brake dive much worse than with the stock set-up. Cutting the springs was a real nice addition to the new calipers. 1968 Honda 160 Scrambler, Sold / 1979 Kawasaki SR 650, Traded in for next one / 1978 Kawasaki KZ 1000 Z1R Turbo / 1986 Kawasaki ZX 1000R Ninja / 1999 Kawasaki Concours COG memb# 8645