I had been postponing the replacement of Front Fork Springs and Rear Shock for some time now (99 GS500E). Both of these completely bottom out whenever there is a sudden bump, so I believe (after reading about them here) that they are in need of a replacement.
For the Fork Springs - I am inclined towards buying the progressive ones.
For the Rear Shock - I am planning to mod by Katana 600 rear shock.
Any suggestions against / for the choice? best places to buy?
I don't mind straight my rate front springs. 0.85kg/mm
I weigh 80kg
I have Progressive brand springs in my fork. It was a good mod. No more bottoming. Better feel under braking and in turns. I had to go to slightly thicker fork oil to increase damping, too. Highly recommended. :whisper:
I just dropped in .90 Sonic Springs in the front and swapped in a Katana750 rear shock w/external reservoir. My weight was 230 when i did it, and now I've dropped to about 218, so the setup is a tad stiff.
I plan on dropping the rear pre-load a bit to drop my sag back to normal and also throw in a hair shorter spacer in the front.
But these are BY FAR the most amazing upgrades I've made to the GS. The thing handles like a road/track bike now rather than a sloshy commuter. Which is great, because you want your suspension to out-perform the bike's capabilities. For instance, the only "performance" mod that I've done to mine is drop in 1 washer on the needle of each carb to raise it a tad. That's all... I did, also add new Avon RoadRider tires to the bike that are a step up from stock and the biggest that the GS will support, a 110/80-17 front and a 150/70-17 rear. These tires mate perfectly to my suspension upgrades for the style of riding I do. Super sticky at normal riding speed, and they barely need any warm up.
The first thing you want to consider is your weight, and the style of riding you're going to be doing. If you're going to be running on a track or are simply a heavier guy the setup listed above is a perfect starting point. Also, this setup is good if you actually want your bike within proper sag limits. A 180lb rider will far over-shoot the normal sag limits of the stock GS suspension by at least 20mm front and rear. "Normal" sag being 10-15mm in the front, 10 max in the rear. Now, sag is the suspension's compression with rider sitting on the bike in the riding position. To measure this you'll need a buddy to hold you up and a buddy to measure sag front and rear from fully decompressed to w/rider. There are MANY posts on this, simply search and something will pop up.
But, if you're not looking for a SUPER tight suspension or super adjustable suspension you can always go with the progressives and a Katana 600 rear shock. This is perfect for commuting, city riding, twisties, and will probably NEVER bottom out like the stock suspension under normal riding.
Do a few searches for upgrades on the rear shocks and see what pops up. There's a lot of info here and in the Wiki.
A word of advise... do NOT use the SV650 shock. It is a pain to install and changes the geometry of the bike in a very negative way if you don't have at least an upgraded set of springs in the front end. It'll make the bike feel like it wants to dive into corners and throw you off under heavy breaking.
Dan
I put the suspension mod off for a year as well. This is my first bike so i really didnt have anything else to compare the ride to. Now i understand that ive spent the past year riding a pogo stick.
I went with progressives as i commute, and only get to go for canyon rides every now and then.
Quote from: Danny500 on January 19, 2009, 01:22:20 PM
I just dropped in .90 Sonic Springs in the front and swapped in a Katana750 rear shock w/external reservoir. My weight was 230 when i did it, and now I've dropped to about 218, so the setup is a tad stiff.
I plan on dropping the rear pre-load a bit to drop my sag back to normal and also throw in a hair shorter spacer in the front.
But these are BY FAR the most amazing upgrades I've made to the GS. The thing handles like a road/track bike now rather than a sloshy commuter. Which is great, because you want your suspension to out-perform the bike's capabilities. For instance, the only "performance" mod that I've done to mine is drop in 1 washer on the needle of each carb to raise it a tad. That's all... I did, also add new Avon RoadRider tires to the bike that are a step up from stock and the biggest that the GS will support, a 110/80-17 front and a 150/70-17 rear. These tires mate perfectly to my suspension upgrades for the style of riding I do. Super sticky at normal riding speed, and they barely need any warm up.
The first thing you want to consider is your weight, and the style of riding you're going to be doing. If you're going to be running on a track or are simply a heavier guy the setup listed above is a perfect starting point. Also, this setup is good if you actually want your bike within proper sag limits. A 180lb rider will far over-shoot the normal sag limits of the stock GS suspension by at least 20mm front and rear. "Normal" sag being 10-15mm in the front, 10 max in the rear. Now, sag is the suspension's compression with rider sitting on the bike in the riding position. To measure this you'll need a buddy to hold you up and a buddy to measure sag front and rear from fully decompressed to w/rider. There are MANY posts on this, simply search and something will pop up.
But, if you're not looking for a SUPER tight suspension or super adjustable suspension you can always go with the progressives and a Katana 600 rear shock. This is perfect for commuting, city riding, twisties, and will probably NEVER bottom out like the stock suspension under normal riding.
Do a few searches for upgrades on the rear shocks and see what pops up. There's a lot of info here and in the Wiki.
A word of advise... do NOT use the SV650 shock. It is a pain to install and changes the geometry of the bike in a very negative way if you don't have at least an upgraded set of springs in the front end. It'll make the bike feel like it wants to dive into corners and throw you off under heavy breaking.
Dan
Thanks Dan, I think I am more into commuting, city riding and twisties. I also weight something like 170lb, so with your suggestions the ones on GStwins, progressives and a Katana 600 rear shock seems the best.
That should work perfectly for you and give you plenty of adjustability to get it where you need it.
Good luck!
Dan
I replaced the fork springs about 2 weeks after I got the bike. It made a HUGE difference. I used Progressive brand springs, and would highly recommend them. I bought some heavier oil, but I've been too lazy to change it out.
Yeah, be careful if you do change your oil with your swap. I did bump my fork oil up to 15w when I upgraded the springs. When I went to drain the old oil, regardless of inverted, pumping, shaking, letting hang for 20 minutes up-side-down... all of the oil does NOT drain out of the forks. When I went to put the stock amount of oil back in it was GROSSLY over-full and un-even between the forks.
When the caps are off and the forks are completely compressed the oil level should be almost exactly 5" from the top of the tube. I just used a ruler taped off at 5" and used that as my gauge and a turkey baster to remove the unwanted oil.
Dan