Sonic Spring .90 users...

[Y2K6GS500F]

Hi All,

I just got my GS, but I dislike the soft suspension and brake dive. So, I ordered Sonic Springs in the .90 rating (i'm 195lbs and 5'10).  I plan to do the install (lazy way, leaving old oil) as soon as they arrive. But, I'd like to cut some spacers now so I have everything ready to go together.

So, to those who are close to my size, and have the .90 Sonics installed...

What size did you make the spacers to give the recommended preload and sag?

How much fork oil was removed before adding the new springs?

Thanks in advance for any info you can provide,       

[coolboarder]

I cut between four and six inches of spacer.  If this doesent work you can ad some more washers or buy the grey pvc (it is very cheap).

I would use tie wraps on the forks to find the sag you desire before you cut spacers just in case. Be sure to clean the spacers out inside and out before you drop them in.

I do not remember how much oil I took out, but it is less than you put in.

[Y2K6GS500F]

Thanks for the info Coolboarder.   

[GeeP]

I installed the .85 springs.  I'll assume the .9 springs are the same length.  If so, the spacer length is 5.05" for .75" preload.

[Y2K6GS500F]

Excellent GeeP !  Thanks for the spacer measurement.     

Any idea how much Fork Oil needs to be removed (if any) to accommodate the new springs? I'll assume because the new springs are larger, they will displace more oil. The bike is only a year old and has low mileage, so I don't think the factory fork oil needs to be replaced just yet.

[natedawg120]

If you completely drain the fork, not the lazy way, put in 385-392ml.  I had to do mine the lazy way cause I didn't have a 7mm allen wrench to drain the fluid from the bottom of the fork, damn you suzuki.  In my case I measured how much I got out in an old measuring cup and refilled with a couple ml more becasue of the fluid that comes out while removing the old springs. 

[Y2K6GS500F]

Ok, I finally got my new springs installed.   
I just need another set of brains to verify my calculations...

I wound up cutting the spacers to a length of 5.75", based on the following measurements:

The amount of the fork cap inside the fork when tightened is about .70"
The depth from the top of the new spring & washer to the top of the fork tube was 5.70" (front wheel off the ground)
So, for Zero preload the spacer would have been 5.00" long (5.70-.70).
Adding Sonic's recommended .75" preload, I came up with a spacer length of 5.75"
Sound right? 

I also left the fork oil alone, as it is fairly new and looked ok. I  just checked the depth with a makeshift dipstick (with old springs and again with new springs), and it seemed pretty close even with the larger springs. I thought I'd have to remove some oil. But, I imagine it's because of the much smaller spacer, compared to the stock one.

Also, I didn't use any of the washers that came with the Sonic springs. I just put the new springs in, the old washer, the new spacer, and the fork cap.

Anyway, my sag is about 1.2". (difference of the front forks off the ground, to me me on bike in riding position).

Any thoughts?

[coll0412]

Well to be honest with you, you have to much preload

you want 25-30mm Free Sag(tire off the ground to just the weight of the bike)

and then an additional 25mm of static sag with you on the bike

Thats a total of about 50mm or 1.969"(you really should always use metric as most rulers it is the smallest divisions)


If I get a chance I will pull mine out and measure them, I weigh about 195lbs so we should be close, my bike has some shitty sticion due to the seals so my measurements vary alot

[Y2K6GS500F]

Thanks for the info Everyone.


I cut my spacer another 1/4" and I now have about 1.50" of Static Sag on the front.

I thought static sag was only supposed to be about 1/4 of the suspension travel, or about 30-35mm on a sportbike:

http://www.sportrider.com/tech/146_0006_susp_dialin/

[genEricStL]

*watching this post intently because i'm the same height , weight , and have the exact same springs to put in on sunday*


OR ... GeeP . Geepmeister . Geep-arino . What are ya doin' this weekend ? 

[coll0412]

It depends on who you talk to, I use 20-30mm depending on the track, I have been on MAM and BIR and both have shitty surfaces and I used about 25mm static sag

[Y2K6GS500F]

Ok, After testing various oil levels and spacer sizes, this setup seems to work best with the Sonic .90 springs, for my weight and size (5'10 @195lbs without gear, about 207lbs with helmet, boots, jacket, gloves etc..)

Total Spacer Size of about  5.65" or 143mm
(PVC cut to 5.5" and placed 1/8" thick washer on top- removable in case I lose weight  )

Fork Oil Level, as measured from top of fork tube to oil surface, 5.3" or 135 mm
(measured with forks compressed and springs, spacers, and washers removed -oil level increased about 3" with everything in)

This setup has me at a static sag of 1.4" or 35.5mm with my gear on.

The ride is 10x better than stock. It's firmer, but not at all harsh, and No more brake dive. 

Ok, now some advice:

1) Before you start, get some painters tape and wrap it around the handle bars where they meet the clamps. Mark on the tape where they meet the two halves of the cleamp. This will help you get the bars back on the bike in exactly the same place they were.

2) Measure twice, cut once. But, just in case you messed up cuts or want to try different lengths, Lowes hardware store has 5' lengths of 1/2" of schedule 40 PVC for about $2. If you want, pick up some 12mm washers while your there -for a little fine tuning of the spacer size.

3) If possible, use a miter box to cut the PVC. You want to get the cuts as straight as possible. I used one, and they still were not perfect. But, they were real close. The PVC seems to melt during cutting making it difficult. I suppose it's not a big problem, as the spring will conform a bit to meet the spacer.

4) Get some old towels and layer them over your tank and gauges, because no matter how careful you are, some oil will spill out when you remove the old springs. The towels also provide some cushion, just in case you drop a tool on the tank when working. Tools tend to get real slippery when you working around fork oil.


Hope this helps!   

[genEricStL]

Doing mine in the morning , so cross your fingers hehe . I just got through mounting my Buell Dual-headlights ('cept for wiring - i need te diode and some spade clips) and Dremel'ed some aluminum stock , shaved the corners , etc ... , so i'm feeling a little more confident now that i've actually dug in and got my hands on the bike 

[Y2K6GS500F]

Doing mine in the morning , so cross your fingers hehe . I just got through mounting my Buell Dual-headlights ('cept for wiring - i need te diode and some spade clips) and Dremel'ed some aluminum stock , shaved the corners , etc ... , so i'm feeling a little more confident now that i've actually dug in and got my hands on the bike 

Hey genEricStL,

  How did your spring install go?

[Wrecent_Wryder]

Doing mine in the morning , so cross your fingers hehe . I just got through mounting my Buell Dual-headlights ('cept for wiring - i need te diode and some spade clips) and Dremel'ed some aluminum stock , shaved the corners , etc ... , so i'm feeling a little more confident now that i've actually dug in and got my hands on the bike 

Still not convinced you really need the diode... but mine haven't shown up yet, so... take it for whatever it's worth...

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

Doing mine in the morning , so cross your fingers hehe . I just got through mounting my Buell Dual-headlights ('cept for wiring - i need te diode and some spade clips) and Dremel'ed some aluminum stock , shaved the corners , etc ... , so i'm feeling a little more confident now that i've actually dug in and got my hands on the bike 

Still not convinced you really need the diode... but mine haven't shown up yet, so... take it for whatever it's worth...

I don't know about the buells, but on my custom duals, I used the diode so that on high, one both lights are on, but on low, it's just one light, and the angel eyes. Of course, I'm gonna have to rewire a new set, since someone hit me in the front/chest with a sheet of plywood on the interstate the other day, and shattered my lights... fuggers.

[Wrecent_Wryder]

Sorry to hear...

Yeah, I know, people keep trying to explain that to me, and I guess I just don't get it.

Here's what I keep stumbling over... let's pretend just for the moment that there were no concerns about overloading switches or circuits, and no relays etc. needed, just for simplicity.

Now, there's a "hot" for the low beam, and a "hot" for the high beam, and I understand that it's either/or, and if you jump the two hot wires for HIGH they're jumped for LOW as well...

... BUT, there's also (on my bike and every schematic I've seen) a brown wire for some sort of running light (unused, I think, on all US "E" models). It's live whenever the key is on...

So, load considerations aside, why not just run the LEDs ("angel eyes") and the LOW off of the brown wire, so they're live whenever the key is on, and run the HIGH off of the normal HIGH wire, not bridging the two wires anywhere?

Or, if you want to get fancy, you could run the LOW off of the brown wire, the LEDs off of the (normally) LOW hot wire, and the HIGH off of it's hot wire... so the "angel eyes" would be off when both headlights are ON, when I suspect you can't really see them anyway...

That's load considerations aside. In reality, I'll probably use the brown wire to drive the included relay to switch a new hot wire coming from the battery. That relay will power the LOW and the LEDs, leaving only the single 55w bulb (and the relay) driven off of the ignition switch, and that only when the brights are on... less load, I think, than it takes stock. Even a small chance of overloading and burning out the ignition switch appeals to me not at all.
   

[genEricStL]

Tonight I worked on mine and totally flaked . Being an HVAC guy , i misunderstood why I needed a diode , thinking that - as in A/C voltage , that my ground wire would conduct hot through and light the 2nd light at all times . No , it doesn't lol ... one light comes on with low , one light comes on with high ... which wouldn't be bad IF one light was brighter than the other . I went by Radio Shack and the only 12v diodes we found that would work were tiny Zener diodes that handles milli-amps ... they'd pop as soon as I applied power .
I too had the thought about using the running light in the center to fire a relay (even bought the 7 dollar relay) , but the simple fact is that if the wires to both lights are bridged together coming out of the relay , they'll be bridged together regardless of which wire the power comes in on ( ie : through the relay , it'd have to fire both hot wires to light both lights . The low beam light would be connected to the single light , but also , through the relay , it'd be connected to the other light also ....


Wait ...

Disregard what i said above .... I get what you're saying . Use the "extra" switched lead that's made for running lights , fire my relay with it , and that one light only (leaving the white "low-beam" wire disconnected . Then , hook the other bulb to the yellow "high beam" wire . So that way , when the bike is running , the running light circuit is actually powering my relay in turn powering my single beam . Then , when the high beam switch is hit , it only fires the 2nd bulb ... the 1st remaining lit because it's on the running light circuit

Let me summarize , as I KNOW this will work with a relay (it might work without , but I wouldn't chance drawing too much amperage through that "running light" circuit) "

Hook black (ground) from the bike to both black wires on the headlights . Run another black ground wire over to one of the "coil" terminals of an automotive relay
Use the optional "extra" switched wire from the headlight bucket (it had a stripe - someone will have to tell me the color and i'll edit my post to include it) , hook it to the other sie of the "coil" of your relay (when the ignition is turned on , the relay will click and make contact across the other two terminals on your relay)
Hook a hot wire to one of the "switched" terminals of your relay (i'm doing it by running another wire from the positive terminal of the battery ... make sure to include an inline fuse) . Hook the white wire from the new headlights to the other "switched" terminal of your relay .
At this point , when you turn the ignition on , the relay will fire , connecting the two switched terminals and lighting up one headlight

Next , insulate the white wire coming from the bike - this is your "old" low beam light , and will not be used

Next , take the yellow lead from your bike ( the high beam wire) , and hook it to the yellow wire coming off your new lights . This way , when you hit the switch for high beam , the 2nd light will light up ... as long as your ignition is on , the other beam will already be lit , so there , you now have both headlights blazing 

- Eric

p.s. - i'll try and take pics ... at least make a drawing , maybe we can update the wiki 

[genEricStL]

Doing mine in the morning , so cross your fingers hehe . I just got through mounting my Buell Dual-headlights ('cept for wiring - i need te diode and some spade clips) and Dremel'ed some aluminum stock , shaved the corners , etc ... , so i'm feeling a little more confident now that i've actually dug in and got my hands on the bike 

Hey genEricStL,

  How did your spring install go?

It was pushed off yet again til either wednesday or sunday - the dude helping me is a bike mechanic with tons more experience than me , and is also a lead guitarist that wants to play with me and my drummer ... we're trying to coordinate an audition with a bass player at the same time . So , we have 4 people's schedules to work around for the practice , and time it so we can do my springs before practicing hehe . I was gonna attempt them myself , but I chickened out when the neighbor told me that hanging it from the tree in the front yard would be easiest because the exhaust is under the bike , prohibiting using his ( the neighbor's) bike jack . I may end up just getting some new exhuast gaskets and taking the exhaust of anyway 

[Wrecent_Wryder]

Wait ...

Disregard what i said above .... I get what you're saying .

Giving allowances for my not knowing the color scheme of the new headlights (still haven't gotten mine), it sounds like you've got it. Again, I haven't done it yet- but I can't see a problem with it.

As an alternative to running the LEDs off of the relay (always on, with ignition) you could run them off of the bikes LOW positive, so they'd be on except on "bright" when both headlights are on (when I expect they're not noticeable anyway). Probably doesn't make much difference, but I'll have to play with the lights in person to really know.

It has the advantages of not overloading the headlight switch or the ignition switch (actually reducing the current handled by each), not having any voltage lost to one light because of the diode, and using only hardware that's in the kit (I'm told it includes a relay, an in-line fuse, and a lot of wire... may as well use it).

Hope it helps.