Swapped out the stock springs and spacer for a set of Sonic Springs, holy crap what is up with these little pansyazz springs? I swear it looks like Suzuki bought a few hundred cargo containers full of Chinese box springs (bottom mattress springs) for a nickel apiece and put them in the fork tubes, thinking no one would notice!    I am APPALLED beyond words!    I've had hand grip exercise thingies with better springs! I meant to take photos for those who have not modded their fork springs yet comparing the two side by side. Forgot during the ensuing head scratching trying to figure out okay, measure these 3 places, then these two, then subtract this to get this much = preload.. and this much for oil level. I understood it but was having "Quality Motorcycle Project Time" with my Dear Husband, and we both got tired of trying to reconcile 4 different sets of intructions (2 here, manual, Sonic) and his complete lack of knowledge of the metric system. I explained that part so he could measure correctly, then left and let him wing it; he did a great job via instinct and all those years in motorcycle setup long ago.

Between the new springs and the new tires, we now have the bike this should have been off of the showroom floor. A nice steady effortless neutral position in the bike's forward handling; predictable, balanced and solid cornering, sucks up the bumps without jolting the rider's teeth, and feels perfectly balanced front to rear and side to side. Smooooooth. 

Maybe this is what you really want for Xmas??
Drop hints NOW!

now go upgrade the rear shock to a Katana... and you'll be in business.

how much do you wiegh and what spring rate did you go with?

145 in full gear depending on how much crap is in my pockets, and .85s with 15wt fork oil, I didn't cut the spacers so I'll have to ask again for the size. 382ml oil each tube, stock for a 2001, it feels phenomenal (well, after stock, but really!), but I can't do anything too drastic too fast, because of need to scrub in and settle out new tires. Riding buddy is 160 in full gear so it fits us both should he start taking it out, he has become quite enamored of this bike and it's been 20 years since his last sportbike. I think when it's good to rip in the twisties, he will be leaving his DR650 at home more often! He finally understands the throttle on this bike and where it is happiest in it's revs, 5K and up, he didn't believe me until today. He said holy cow, it can really squirt! And I said yes, it pushes me down in the seat, and that is addictive!.
Very, very pleased with this bike's dramatic improvement.   

I have a Katana rear shock on the wishlist, funds are now low, but I just read that it will make the bike taller behind? Is that true?? I can only flat foot on one side at lights, otherwise I have to toe it. What does anyone think about the billet fork brace, I was coveting it, but don't need the front any stiffer now... ?

Glad you liked the springs. 
If you still have any preload, spacer or oil questions just let us know, either here or through the contact link on the Sonic Springs web site. Always happy to help.

Think about when i took for a test drive with a Katana Front End  with Progressives , Hagon Rear Shock , 150 Bt 45 on a 4.5 inch rim ,

I couldnt believe it was the same bike!!, is all about the tweaks to the old girl 

you went with .85's??   damn... is that not to stiff?   I weigh 165 and it recommended between .74 for street and up to .85 for racing....   I was gonna go with .80's.    Maybe I'll go a little higher...   

Quote from: Foximus on December 10, 2007, 11:36:59 AM
you went with .85's??   damn... is that not to stiff?   I weigh 165 and it recommended between .74 for street and up to .85 for racing....   I was gonna go with .80's.    Maybe I'll go a little higher...   

You might want to use the calculator on our site, it let's you tailor the settings a little more closely to your bike type and riding style than the Race-Tech one does. FWIW, I weigh about 155, 165-170 dressed to ride, and use 0.85s in the SV street bike, which weighs just about the same as the GS does

So what you're saying is that my being 200 lbs means I can have a brand new bike for $50 + shipping ?

I'm having trouble imagining the gs handling better. Guess I need to order springs and a kat shock.

finally ordered some springs
once i get this and replacing the jets out of the way.   

Hi Rich,

Awesome springs, thanks! 

Y'all have to add in the weight of the bike WET plus any add ons to the bike, plus you and all your riding gear, plus your riding style. Because I will share the bike on occasion with my best buddy, who has only 15 pounds on me (tall and very skinny), and he's the super twisties rider, we picked the .85s as a compromise for "aggressive street" and I am very happy with them. I'm used to dual sports, and I always drove trucks too, not Cadillacs, so they seem really fine to me.   

Yeah, new bike is right! 

But if you only have $50, you're only going to get Progressives, unless I didn't get the GSTwin family discount from Sonic...   
Hey, RICH!!!   

       

Very good point about wet weight, some people use the maufacturers listed dry weight, which is a work of fiction.   The GS weighs about 420 with gas.
No special discounts, we just charge everybody the same low price all the time without making you know any codes or secret handshakes. If you compare our prices to the ones of similar products (Race-Tech, Traxxion, Eibach...) we're quite a bit less.

perhaps its just me... but i couldnt find your spring calc....

Quote from: Foximus on December 11, 2007, 09:01:46 AM
perhaps its just me... but i couldnt find your spring calc....

Go to www.sonicsprings.com and in the left sidebar (under Information) click "Find your spring rate." 

It's just you.

ah... i was looking under tech articles