So I finally decided to do this. When I bought the bike used in June, it was two years old with 180 miles on it. Experienced buddy recommended swapping out the stock springs immediately, but the shop recommended riding for a bit to see what I thought of the stock springs. Unusual for a shop to turn money away, so I gave it some time. Seeing as how I was a new rider, I wasn't sure what I was looking for. Well, two months and 4000 miles later, I think I have found it. Hard braking on anything but a glass smooth surface and I am bouncing the forks against the stops (or whatever you call it). Very disconcerting when you are trying to avoid a car that just turned in front of you to have the front of the bike doing something other than braking and steering.
So,,, shop ordered the springs for ma and will install them. Not sure about the switch in the oil from 10-15 as the spring mfg says to use the stock weight. I will let you guys know how the upgrade goes.
i just ordered myself a set of the progressives too. i opted for the 15w oil. they should be coming in today actually :D
I just dropped mine off at the shop this morning, complete with new Progressives, fork seals, and 20W oil. It has only taken me a month of ownership and 1,000 miles to get tired of smacking the bumpstops. We'll see how she feels when I get her back :D
IF your complaint with the stockers was bottoming-out during hard stops, then get linear wound springs and not progressive or dual rate. If your complaint was harsh ride, then the softer section of the progressive or dual design would give you some cush on small bumps, while the more standard wrappings would be a compromise to handle the larger bumps. The Progressive brand springs may still let you dive too much. I have not seen the OE springs, but I bet they are alreacy dual rate or progressive; just to wimpy-wimpy-wimpy. The slightly heavier oil "might" help increase dampening enough to slow the slam into the bottom, with a damper rod design you can go pretty heavy and still be complient enough to keep rubber on the road.
prs
I upgraded the springs on mine used stock oil. I do all I can to make my bike fat friendly. people said anyone larger than a 160 pound Asian should replace the springs and after doing it I agree. This week I am swapping out my front sprocket to a 14t should be fun.
Eric,
Shoulda taken a spin on mine on Saturday, I've got the Progressive springs and 15wt oil. FWIW I'm 185 lbs and can't recall bottoming out the forks.
jeff
You might just try 20 wt oil first. I weigh 180 and put 15 wt. in and it seems to make a real difference. I never noticed mine bottoming unless I hit a speed bump or somethings like where the street meets my driveway and I hit it to hard. You might try Sonic springs, I think that's what I would go for instead of Progressives.
My 2 cents
Jeff,
I'll take you up on that. If I want them to do the oil swap, they'll need to really rebuild the thing and it'll cost me 50-100$ more in labor. Is the heavier weight oil worth it?
I like mine, but it really is quite stiff (I'm using 15W and sonic springs) but as far as spending $50-100 bucks, popping off the front wheel, loosening the forks and pumping out the old oil yourself will only take an hour to two for your first run.
Peace,
Peter
^ +1. It can be done entirely with hand tools. The only specialized tool is the "monster" damper rod allen wrench, which you can build for about $8. And you only need that if you're replacing the seals. If you're just replacing the springs and oil, you could easily do it in an hour.
I've never ridden a GS with a stock suspension.
Wait... There was that one time when a friend snapped her clutch lever off, and I got her GS home....
I've only ridden a GS with the stock suspension once.
IMO the front end of the GS is sh!t because the dampers aren't up to the job. Weak springs just make it worse/noticeable. Ive got .85kg/mm springs (suggested by Racetech's calculator for street, and I've lost a few pounds since then) in the front and have experimented with various oil weights. The end result is always a bumpy ride over slight imperfections and still bottoms out under hard braking or on rough roads. I've been told this is can be helped by installing cartridge emulators. For me thats a little over the top for street so I live with it. However if I do ever dedicate my GS to track-duty I'll be looking at either the emulators or a front-end swap.
For track use, I'd go with a front end swap. The GS braking system is a little weak for track use IMO. With the right pads, it delivers enough stopping power... But the parts take a lot of abuse.
Emulators are relatively inexpensive, easy to install, and work fine on the street. I'd go for it.
im 200 pounds and with 35mm spacers in the front i bottom out alllll the time
i think to make this bike even rideable it needs new springs
what a shame
FWIW, heavier than stock oil can be a little dangerous. At highway speeds hitting a bump in the road can result in the fork not rebounding quick enough (keeping the tire in the air).
The most I've ever done was mixing a 3:1 mix of stock weight / heavier weight.
OK, the springs are in and they upped the setting on the back shock. Things seem a little uh... bumpier today, but there is much less dive in the front when braking.