Is the front Progressive springs upgrade worth it?

[wiltse]

I am stunting my gs and I ride pretty aggresivly will the straight springs be better for me.... anyone?

[judokia]

I put Hagon progressives in my 2005 gs500f about two weeks ago and was amazed at the difference that they made. Not only is the bike more stable in braking with less dive but is also more stable under hard acceleration. Take your time and remove forkls drain and refill to correct level you will be glad you did.This was the best £65 i ever spent. took me and my brother a morning to complete.

[tulebox]

I have progresssives in front and I initially put the .75" spacer in and was happier but tried a few different length spacers and settled on a 1.25" spacer. I am 225 and it IS a night and day difference. Very happy with the result. Now to get the Kat shock in and I'll be set.

[Farakin]

Great another thing I have to convince my gf that I should spend money on   First is to get rid of my weather checked front tire.

[lamoun]

I am stunting my gs and I ride pretty aggresivly will the straight springs be better for me.... anyone?

I guess the initial softness of the progressives would be welcomed when stunting.
A more willing bike to nosedive when going for endos, and a softer touchdown from a whellie (I dont know if that is a good thing though)

[scratch]

I use the softness of the stock springs to teach me to be smooth on the brakes.*  Too abrupt on the brakes can upset the bike and overload the front tire.  Plus, you'll want softer springs if you ride in the rain (it is better for the suspension to give, than the tire to give (or rather slide)).

This link will help in the rest of the setup:
www.peterverdonedesigns.com/introduction.htm

*oh yeah, I'm 125lbs.

[galahs]

A front spring upgrade is the first mod I'd recommend to any GS500 owner.

Be it progrssive or straigh rate, the stock springs are just too damn soft.

I went with 0.85 kg/mm straight rate Sonic Springs and it completely transformed the bike.

[NickyNumbers]

Bumping an old thread, got a question. 


http://www.amazon.com/Progressive-Suspension-Fork-Spring-11-1128/dp/B000WK3PFA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1303491473&sr=8-1


Is that the same kit?


I'm going to buy them and I'm curious as to why they are 30 bucks cheaper than on Progressives website.   

http://www.progressivesuspension.com/prodSearchResults.aspx?yearID=2002&makeID=45&modelID=617

[bigzpgh]

If they are the same a $30 savings is awesome!

[burning1]

Springs up front and a Kat / R6 shock in the back is the first thing I'd do to any GS500. In fact, I'd done the front and rear end on my bike before I'd even ridden it.

[NickyNumbers]

Springs up front and a Kat / R6 shock in the back is the first thing I'd do to any GS500. In fact, I'd done the front and rear end on my bike before I'd even ridden it.

Yea thats my plan right now.  Do you think that kit above is the same? 



If so, I'll have my suspension upgraded by next week.  Getting brake lines done as well.   

[DoD#i]

Is that the same kit?

I'm going to buy them and I'm curious as to why they are 30 bucks cheaper than on Progressives website.  

Yes, it's the same kit; 111128. Shop harder and you might even find it for $2.50 or so less. Your free hint is mawonline, though it's always possible that someone else is even cheaper than they are this week. Just a happy customer back when they were $3 cheaper than they are now. Keep an eye on shipping cost for your total cost, but that's no bargain from the Amazon link.

Why is it cheaper than Progressive's own site? Standard business practices. Unless Progressive wants to only do direct sales, they will be wholesaling the things for (typically) half the suggested retail price, and they will be selling at the full retail price so they are not seen as undercutting their own MSRP. Doing THAT makes for unhappy wholesale buyers, and wholesale buyers buy a lot more springs than you and I do. What any individual company that buys them wholesale cares to sell them for retail is up to that company, though with some products there may be a minimum advertised retail price set as part of the agreement to sell things wholesale.

As for "should I do it" type questions - unquestionably, yes. Whether you choose the Progressive Suspension or the Sonic or some other real spring, getting the stock springs out of the forks is the very first modification you should do on a GS500 unless it's already been done before you got the bike. The stock springs are pathetic (on a 1990, even more pathetic than the pictures posted of newer ones.) I'm no lightweight and the progressives totally cured bottoming over railroad crossings, etc. so I fail to be convinced by the "must have Sonics due to weight" arguments I see here - you should buy Sonics because you prefer Sonics and don't mind paying the extra scratch for them. Plenty of people do. I bought Progressives because I've been happy with them for 20+ years in other bikes, but then, I've never tried Sonics (or other straight-rate replacement springs), so I don't have anything bad to say about them - I've just never felt a need to replace my Progressives.

[burning1]

See my signature BTW. I'm selling the complete front and rear end from my GS500 race bike. Premium parts, and all the installation work is done for you (saving at least an hour of time, or $120 in shop work.)

[4strings]

Absolutely!

[Nightdrive89]

Racetech straight springs ive found to be much better, much more predictable. Stiff yet compliant. Im 125 lbs and i use .85kg/mm.

[burning1]

Did you measure how much suspension travel you were using? What oil weight? Those springs seem like they should be way too stiff for you.

[fraze11]

Single best upgrade ever.  This is a decent price;

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/PROGRESSIVE-FORK-SPRINGS-PAIR-30-45-111128-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem35b17915c3QQitemZ230610769347QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

[NickyNumbers]

Did you measure how much suspension travel you were using? What oil weight? Those springs seem like they should be way too stiff for you.

How would one do that?  I'm mechanically inclined but I haven't seen a procedure for determining weight and oil.  Unless its on the wiki.

TIA

[burning1]

The oil weight is whatever you put in the forks when you installed the springs, assuming that you changed the oil - just like you put 10w40 into your engine, you typically install 15 or 20 weight oil in your forks.

Suspension travel can be measured by wrapping a ziptie around one of the forks legs. Ride the bike, and measure how far the ziptie is pushed up the fork. Do this with the front wheel off the ground, for the most accurate measurement. IIRC, the GS500 has about 103mm of travel.

[NickyNumbers]

The oil weight is whatever you put in the forks when you installed the springs, assuming that you changed the oil - just like you put 10w40 into your engine, you typically install 15 or 20 weight oil in your forks.

Suspension travel can be measured by wrapping a ziptie around one of the forks legs. Ride the bike, and measure how far the ziptie is pushed up the fork. Do this with the front wheel off the ground, for the most accurate measurement. IIRC, the GS500 has about 103mm of travel.

The springs haven't gotten to me yet but I will change the oil/seals when I do get it.  Once I determine the travel, I guess I'd pick a spring with a constant close to my weight.  Any suggestions for a rider who is 5'9 weighing about 160.