lookin for a suspension dood

theskaz

I am all that is BACON!
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locally-ish. i dont mind a little ride but i need a guy who is good with suspension. i have taked to peeps around here and they say all of you are retarded for thinking this big bike's front springs are not stiff enough for 230+ guys. and im a tad of a gearhead but im completely lost when it comes to suspension. im eventually going to do track days on this bike and i have a little extra money right now so id figure id get that looked at.
 
i am more lost than you but it makes sense to me that our bike's suspension is set up for a rider around 5,9 180 ish. If i were alot lighter or heavier and I wanted to do a track day I would definetly spend the bucks and get a custom setup. Supposed to make a big difference. Good luck and let us know how it turns out for you
 
Get harder front springs and you be happy. Read Jinxster's thread on the topic.
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talk to the guys at your local track. They're are normaly plenty of guys there that can help you out or point you in the right direction. Changing the front springs is needed. The guys at your track know the track and what kind of suspension setups will give you a good base line for that track.
 
At 230+, you won't be able to get the correct SAG setting with the stock springs. There are things you can do to make it better than in comes out of the crate without swapping out parts, but you won't be able to get it correct. Ken at superbike Superbike Suspension, Motorcycle Suspension, Ohlins, Elka | Superbike Italia is who I recomend. He isn't local to you, but you can talk to him and if you decide to have him do the work you can send the forks/shock to have the work done. I tried using the local guy for suspension work, and was very disapointed.
 
You are indeed a bit on the heavy side for your stock suspension if you intend to use the bike as a track weapon. For everyday riding and doing the twisties, heavier springs probably won't do much to improve your riding.

This is what I would recommend................ place a zip tie around the lower tube of the right fork leg. Push that puppy up against the dust seal and take it out for a test run. Ride it as hard as you like. When you return, check the tie's position. If the tie is all the way to the bottom, you are ready for heavier springs (That is, if you have your compression damping set properly).

You probably won't bottom the forks out unless you are using the brakes agressively.

You can make your stock suspension ride pretty well with proper set up. You most likely won't get the sag set much better than about 40mm with your weight but that's okay as long as the suspension is not bottoming out.

When you take the beast to the track and learn what the brakes are used for, that's when you'll find the need for a suspension upgrade.

Keep in mind, if you go to 1.0 or 1.05 springs, you will overwhelm your stock valving. I would recommend upgrading the valving along with the springs.

Dave at GP Suspension in Portland Oregon is a real Guru at this stuff. You can easily ship your forks to Dave and have them back in ten days ready to ride. Dave is also a great source of information if you simply want advise on what and how to go about your upgrades.

gpsuspension.com

You'll find lots of information on his website along with a phone number.
 
thanks for all the suggestions. i have already read over the jinksters thread half a million times but it isnt sinking in to well. i have looked at GP suspension and traxxion. traxxion is in GA while GP is in OR. Barber is the closest track at 4 hours away. i have never been there nor do i know how to get a hold of someone there for suspension. keep in mind that this wont be a "track bike" but more like 90% touring/twisting 10% track (95%/5% is probably more realistic) i will have to wait till monday to call either of those companies and Tufbusa, i do bottom out when braking somewhat hard. but otherwise i dont.
 
Yeah, most Track Days are on the wekends. Sometimes you can find them during the week right before a pro race, but that seems to be the exception.
 
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