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ShowBizWolf's 1998 GS500E

Started by ShowBizWolf, August 10, 2016, 09:06:25 PM

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ShowBizWolf

Finally took the bike for a ride yesterday. Only 2.5 miles from my house to work but I could see the difference the shock makes. Everything on it I set to standard according to the R6 owner's manual. Figured that's a good place to start!

After work, I took it for a little bit longer of a ride. People weren't kidding when they've said in the past how it really does transform the bike. I feel much more confident now in turns. Crazy!!

A co-worker chicky friend of mine wants to take a ride with me sometime soon. I'm looking forward to seeing the difference it makes when carrying a passenger. :woohoo:
Superbike bars, '04 GSXR headlight & cowl, DRZ signals, 1/2" fork brace, 'Busa fender, stainless exhaust & brake lines, belly pan, LED dash & brake bulbs, 140/80 rear hoop, F tail lens, SV650 shock, Bandit400 hugger, aluminum heel guards & pegs, fork preload adjusters, .75 SonicSprings, heated grips

peteGS

Great news ShowBiz!!! I know it made a huge difference when I started adjusting the preload and damping on my Ikons on the 450 so I'm not too surprised to hear there's a big difference when changing shocks. Suspension is one of those things you have to get right for complete confidence  :thumb:

Now if only I could pull my finger out and change the oil in my forks... that's well overdue!
'82 GS450E
'84 GSX1100S Katana

ajensen

I took my R6 shocked and front suspension modded GS500f out yesterday through some twisting roads--big difference.

ShowBizWolf

That's awesome to hear ajensen! I can't wait to get my forks built up too.

Took my friend Alyssa last evening for a ride and it was great! I do enjoy when someone wants to ride on the bike with me. I weigh about 145lbs and she 150lbs. The shock is set on 4 for the preload and everything else according to the R6 manual for standard... can't remember the numbers off the top of my head. Only one time did I hear the inner stock GS fender hit against the hugger... but that's not good enough for me.

I am gonna do an experiment. I ordered some raising links that will raise the rear only about an inch. I'm thinking they are not going to work with the R6 shock though due to clearance issues but I'll give it a try. They were less than $30 so I figure I'll give it a whirl. Plus, since it's only an inch, the stock kickstand should still be OK to use. We'll see though :dunno_black:
Superbike bars, '04 GSXR headlight & cowl, DRZ signals, 1/2" fork brace, 'Busa fender, stainless exhaust & brake lines, belly pan, LED dash & brake bulbs, 140/80 rear hoop, F tail lens, SV650 shock, Bandit400 hugger, aluminum heel guards & pegs, fork preload adjusters, .75 SonicSprings, heated grips

BockinBboy

A higher preload will take care of that. Just kick it up a couple notches when you've got a passenger. That's why it's adjustable!  Preload is to raise/lower without changing dogbones - and you've got plenty to work with. I wouldn't  bother with changing dogbones as it will alter the geometry of the bike - I'm not sure you can raise the front to match it. Especially with squishy forks.

Anyways - Love your attention to clean. My bikes looks clean from a glance, but if you really peer at it... ugh. One of these days I'll take off everything that really keeps me from cleaning it ShowBiz style.

- Bboy




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Sonic Springs, R6 Shock, R6 Throttle Tube, Lowering Links, T-Rex Frame Sliders, SW-Motech Alu-Rack, SH46 Shad Topcase, Smoked Signals, Smoked LED Tailight, ZG Touring Windscreen

J_Walker

ohh link to these dog bones? with my 80* tall tires, hard bumps have me running into the fender under my bike, I'm debating if I wanna dog bone it, or hack and raise the rear subframe 1" or so, I hope 1 inch is just enough.
-Walker

ShowBizWolf

#366
Ahh! Thank you for the info Bboy!!

I had wondered about just cranking up the preload a bit....

I haven't had much time lately to really dig around the internet to find the information I wanted. I do enjoy searching and finding out information because I almost always find something else valuable along the way!

Jumped the gun and thought that even if I upped the preload, there would still have to be rising/falling movement when going over bumps etc...  that's why I thought I'd need to add that extra space for clearance... since my bigger rear tire + hugger combo is taking up space that would normally be there on a stock GS.

The thought of the back sitting a bit higher visually did appeal to me as well tbh... and upgrading my forks is certainly in my future... I just want to pay down my credit card a bit before buying the remaining parts I need to build them.

Walker, here ya go: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Suzuki-GS500-E-GS500-F-Jack-Up-Kit-Dog-Bone-Suspension-Linkages/370319010452?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649
I found 35mm ones too. They are more $$.
Superbike bars, '04 GSXR headlight & cowl, DRZ signals, 1/2" fork brace, 'Busa fender, stainless exhaust & brake lines, belly pan, LED dash & brake bulbs, 140/80 rear hoop, F tail lens, SV650 shock, Bandit400 hugger, aluminum heel guards & pegs, fork preload adjusters, .75 SonicSprings, heated grips

J_Walker

awesome. Sometimes I look at the stock ones and go "those look like cast aluminum to me. I bet I can make new ones out of mild steel bar stock" I mean, it is 2 drilled holes, rounded corners optional.  :icon_lol:
-Walker

ShowBizWolf

Superbike bars, '04 GSXR headlight & cowl, DRZ signals, 1/2" fork brace, 'Busa fender, stainless exhaust & brake lines, belly pan, LED dash & brake bulbs, 140/80 rear hoop, F tail lens, SV650 shock, Bandit400 hugger, aluminum heel guards & pegs, fork preload adjusters, .75 SonicSprings, heated grips

BockinBboy

Yeah, upping the preload notch (which is actually decreasing preload) will give you more downward travel before the tire hits the stock inner fender . But that also means you'll have less upward travel which can make for a pogo ride if the load isn't heavy enough to keep it from topping out. The idea of preload is to set it in the middle of spring travel for the given load. Let that spring breathe and you'll have a taller bike that should easily handle a pillion.

I've gotten comfortable changing the preload often depending on if I'm solo, solo with a loaded topcase, two up, two with loaded topcase, etc. It just depends on weight so that I don't bottom out or top out the spring - neither feels fun and neither is scratching up your rear hugger!

I had originally lowered my bike and installed a rear hugger - that hit hard no matter the preload when riding two up.  Later I installed the r6 shock, sonic springs, returned to stock height. That hugger doesn't come close riding two up now, and I have more preload to give if it did.

I'd hope you would see similar results, but I couldn't say for certain. I have stock rear tire size and my hugger doesn't add hardly any additional clearance to the tire... I'm sure myself and others will be interested to see where you land solving your clearance issue - you aren't alone with taller tires! I know it will end up looking perfect without a doubt!

- Bboy


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Sonic Springs, R6 Shock, R6 Throttle Tube, Lowering Links, T-Rex Frame Sliders, SW-Motech Alu-Rack, SH46 Shad Topcase, Smoked Signals, Smoked LED Tailight, ZG Touring Windscreen

peteGS

Yep, the tip is... increase preload when carrying a passenger and ideally increase tyre pressure a couple of PSI too.

This may be stating the bleeding obvious but if you're planning on raising the rear an inch, just remember that will be a drastic change to the steering geometry! Go too far and she'll probably turn a lot quicker but at the expense of stability and potentially becoming a touch twitchy.
'82 GS450E
'84 GSX1100S Katana

ShowBizWolf

You guys are the bestest. Thank you for all the help and info! :kiss3:

I will for sure keep all this in mind. I'm glad I should be able to prevent the fender from hitting the hugger with just some clicks of the shock collar... especially since I still don't think the shorter dogbones will work because there won't be enough room.

They might end up in the FS section or back up on eBay for someone else! But I'll be sure to post what I find... especially in the wiki section for the R6 shock.

So if I'm beginning to understand this... increasing the preload number (going from setting 4 up to setting 7 for example) actually increases the space that the spring can travel? Therefore allowing more clearance?

Haha derpity derp
Superbike bars, '04 GSXR headlight & cowl, DRZ signals, 1/2" fork brace, 'Busa fender, stainless exhaust & brake lines, belly pan, LED dash & brake bulbs, 140/80 rear hoop, F tail lens, SV650 shock, Bandit400 hugger, aluminum heel guards & pegs, fork preload adjusters, .75 SonicSprings, heated grips

Big Rich

#372
Not exactly....

Let's say that when you sit on the bike alone and the setting is at 4, the rear of the bike drops 1/4" (that would be your "sag" btw). If you left the preload at 4 and add a passenger, the rear of the bike could drop 1". If you only have 4" of travel, you can see how just the passenger sitting there takes up a larger bit of travel (and think about the suspension when it takes a bump with the added weight!).

Changing the preload to 7 might change the sag with you & your passenger back to 1/4", so the suspension is basically back to how it was by yourself. But if you leave it at 7 and ride by yourself......it will remind you with a very harsh ride!

Edit to add: in case it wasn't clear, I totally made up all those numbers. I have no idea how much travel you have, or what your sag numbers should be.
83 GR650 (riding / rolling project)

It's opener there in the wide open air...

ShowBizWolf

That helps soooo much! Thank you thank you!

I thought that's what sag was but now I know for sure.
Superbike bars, '04 GSXR headlight & cowl, DRZ signals, 1/2" fork brace, 'Busa fender, stainless exhaust & brake lines, belly pan, LED dash & brake bulbs, 140/80 rear hoop, F tail lens, SV650 shock, Bandit400 hugger, aluminum heel guards & pegs, fork preload adjusters, .75 SonicSprings, heated grips

peteGS

If you want a read on how to set it up properly, here's the Racetech guide...

http://racetech.com/articles/SuspensionAndSprings.htm

And no I most definitely have not done this on my 450  :D

I should, but there's no adjustable preload or damping on the forks. I'm definitely planning on adding spacers to preload the springs after finding the limit of them yesterday in some high speed sweepers (started getting a speed wobble).
'82 GS450E
'84 GSX1100S Katana

ShowBizWolf

Wow thanks pete! I will most certainly be paying attention to that.

Yesterday I decided to trim part of the stock inner rear fender that was hanging down near the hugger/shock. I realized that it isn't really needed anymore because of the hugger.




Also, the fender is finally painted and cleared! I didn't think I had enough of the "Pearl Novelty Black" paint left in the can so I was gonna just paint it black... but then I figured oh well, let's try something. I sprayed it with regular black paint (Rustoleum Ultra Cover) gloss black and then sprayed over that with the pearl black, then did the clear. It worked!




Here's a good pic of why the stock color isn't just black.


Two more:




I'll take a picture of it on the bike when it's cured. I don't think I can actually keep it on the bike though until I get my forks rebuilt :technical: The oil line on my forks goes up higher than the clearance between the nose fairing and the center part of the fender that goes over the fork brace :icon_rolleyes:

And then, last week I finally got tired of my chain making so much noise. The whole time I've owned my GS, the chain has been noisy. Finally got it (along with the sprockets) replaced two years ago and it still makes a racket. I thought maybe it was just cause that's what they all do... but I haven't been happy with the chain lube I have nor the wd-40 + a rag cleaning method.

Found a thread where twocool talked about using kerosene and a soft paint brush... using a whole bunch of it really and letting it rinse the chain clean. Loved the idea so I figured why not. Had to go to 3 different gas stations here before I found one who sells kerosene but I need an approved blue plastic container for it. Went to Walmart and they didn't have any so I went home and looked around online. Searched the Tractor Supply site but found this Kerosene fuel product instead for $9.99... went up the next day and just bought it. Said it was low odor too so that was a selling point for me!
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/crown-1-k-fuel-grade-kerosene-1-gal?cm_vc=-10005

I could not believe the amount of black dirt and crud that rinsed out and off of the chain. It was super gross, especially for a chain that isn't that old and has less than 2,000 miles on it. I've cleaned and lubed it probably too many times in that span of time because of the noise it was making. Each time I'd clean and lube it, the noise would quiet down a bit but only for a short while. I kept thinking, "Maybe I didn't clean it well enough..." or, "Maybe I didn't do it right..." etc

I should have taken a picture of all the crap that washed off... and also a before picture of the chain but I didn't.




Waited a few hours for it all to dry really well while I did some other things around the house, then sprayed white lithium on the chain instead of the watery old chain lube I had been using all this time.


Rolled the bike around in my garage and holy crap I can't hear anything anymore! I'm getting ready to head to work soon and if it doesn't rain, I'm taking the bike and hoping the clicks and clacks stay gone.
Superbike bars, '04 GSXR headlight & cowl, DRZ signals, 1/2" fork brace, 'Busa fender, stainless exhaust & brake lines, belly pan, LED dash & brake bulbs, 140/80 rear hoop, F tail lens, SV650 shock, Bandit400 hugger, aluminum heel guards & pegs, fork preload adjusters, .75 SonicSprings, heated grips

cbrfxr67

"Its something you take apart in 2-3 days and takes 10 years to go back together."
-buddha

Big Rich

Great job on the fender!

I don't know how you managed the nasty drippings from the chain, but I always lay down cardboard under the length of the chain to collect everything. The cardboard is usually good for 2-3 cleanings, and is easy to dispose of (burning in my case).
83 GR650 (riding / rolling project)

It's opener there in the wide open air...

ShowBizWolf

Cardboard is indeed great for it! You are right Rich. I like to recycle mine at the center right near my house.
Superbike bars, '04 GSXR headlight & cowl, DRZ signals, 1/2" fork brace, 'Busa fender, stainless exhaust & brake lines, belly pan, LED dash & brake bulbs, 140/80 rear hoop, F tail lens, SV650 shock, Bandit400 hugger, aluminum heel guards & pegs, fork preload adjusters, .75 SonicSprings, heated grips

twocool



I use a pizza box!


Cookie


Quote from: Big Rich on August 21, 2017, 05:23:19 PM
Great job on the fender!

I don't know how you managed the nasty drippings from the chain, but I always lay down cardboard under the length of the chain to collect everything. The cardboard is usually good for 2-3 cleanings, and is easy to dispose of (burning in my case).

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