progressive springs

[AndyBrad]

Ok folks, Im off to YC’s tonight to drop some springs in the front of my bike. There progressive suspension springs for the 1999 curvy (no adjuster cap). Ive have a look at the instructions and it says trim the spacer to suit. Nowthen. Just so I know in my own mind what were doing im thinking that this means we need to shorten the spacers already in there. However I ve measured the springs and there significantly longer than the stock spring length. So is it just a case of shortening the spacer so it’s the same overall length? Or do I have to measure my weight and do some calcs?

Cheers.

[dizzyblonde]

your not a fat bum, so i doubt you'll need spacers, but YC will sort you out anyway...hes got a load that came out of one of mine ;-)

which incidently I didn't know there were spacer already in there...hope he put summt back in *confused blonde look*

ps don't worry about them being longer than stock. Mine were too

[Luckypants]

No doubt Y-C will sort it out for you, but the spacers need trimming so that the preload on the spring is right for your weight. Normally done by sitting on the bike in riding kit and measuring.

[AndyBrad]

Ok got these fitted at yc's lasst night with 10w oil. Nowthen im not too sure what improvement i should be looking at. However it is definaly less crashy over bumps and potholes (of which they are many) are much less of an issue. It also seems to handle corners better and has a little less wobble if i brake or accelerate mid corner.

Nowthen it also apears to have a bit more travel than before. We set the air gap to 140mm as per the springs instructions but i know 110 is standard. Could somone tell me what this air gap does? Also it rattles on about preload. Now we set them to the same length (overall) as the standard one but there appears to be a little more travel? not too sure though. Would sticking a couple of washers in there help this?

Oha nd does anyone have some of those adjusters that would fit a curvy? Not that i actually will be needing them but just bacause i havnt spent any money on the thing in the last 12 hours :)

[AndyBrad]

oh and what to stick on the rear? thats cheap!

[dizzyblonde]

oh and what to stick on the rear? thats cheap!

just swapping the rear could counteract the teething probs with the front. You could look on ebay for a stock shock with very very few miles on it. I've just put one on with 1500 on it, and its improved the pogostick style down, and taken a little more banging off the front. I now know that putting 10w oil in last time was a mistake, but we kinda knew that. If your not into chopping stuff up, Hagon is a direct replacement, but they cost 250 quid new. I've got the full lot on the yellow SV, and they work perfect in tandem. You may be lucky to find a low mileage one on ebay, I know Pmapp did.

[yorkie_chris]

We fitted them with effectively 30mm of preload from relaxed state.

Oil air gap, as I understand it, acts like a second spring which is in parallel with the main spring so the rates basically add up. This affects the rate under hard braking when the forks are compressed.

Changing the springs does NOT affect the total travel. Total travel is distance between the top out spring and the hydraulic lock piece (bump stop). If the forks had 100mm of range before they still have the same.

Rear shock depends on your weight and inside leg.
SRAD750 is nice, but soft and tall.
ZX6R is harder, better damped and not much taller.

do the cable tie trick like I said, go and brake hard and see how much travel you are using. I have never had much luck taking sag measurement on the front.

[AndyBrad]

What about srad 650?
Ill give it a go tomorrow if my legs still work after tonight :)

[yorkie_chris]

no such thing as an SRAD 650 :-P

SRAD600 is really tall. Not sure if it's too tall.

[AndyBrad]

Oh ok. Ive taken a quick look at a zx6r and there only about 35 quid. Any year to go for? And what are they like to fit?

[yorkie_chris]

Easy enough but you need a different bolt somewhere along the line.

03-04 (B1H model) or the 05-06 C1H.

There is a little bit of butchery to fit them.

[mister c]

I used a 1st gen ZX6 shock, bit harder to fit than the later models.
Quick link to how I fitted it http://forums.sv650.org/showthread.php?t=113667
Wasn't too bad tbh :)

[AndyBrad]

JUST CHECKED ON THE WAY IN. ITS GOT ABOUT 70MM OF TRAVEL UNDER NORMAL RIDING. aNY USE?

[stuballs]

Make absolutely sure it's a ZX6 shock you're getting if you go down that route. I did the rear end swap but after I started dismantling and making spacers and ripping skin off my knuckles it soon bacame apparent that my shock was not a ZX6 unit. It might be a ZX10 cos it's way too hard and with the standard front end the bike handles even worse than before.

I'm now saving for a proper aftermarket shock.

[Luckypants]

Make absolutely sure it's a ZX6 shock you're getting if you go down that route. I did the rear end swap but after I started dismantling and making spacers and ripping skin off my knuckles it soon bacame apparent that my shock was not a ZX6 unit. It might be a ZX10 cos it's way too hard and with the standard front end the bike handles even worse than before.

I'm now saving for a proper aftermarket shock.

ZX-6 and ZX-10 have same strength spring, practically the same shock. ZX-6 and ZX-10 are only suitable for curvys, will be too stiff for a pointy. If it is a ZX-6/10 shock, have you checked the preload is not wound up too much? Did you set the rider sag with the new shock? Have you checked that the damping adjusters are not screwed right in and so over damping the shock making it 'stiff'?

EDIT: If none of the above, did you get sent a Hayabusa shock in error? Those are well stiff and only suitable for those of larger size or who take a pillion all the time.

[stuballs]

ZX-6 and ZX-10 have same strength spring, practically the same shock. ZX-6 and ZX-10 are only suitable for curvys, will be too stiff for a pointy. If it is a ZX-6/10 shock, have you checked the preload is not wound up too much? Did you set the rider sag with the new shock? Have you checked that the damping adjusters are not screwed right in and so over damping the shock making it 'stiff'?

EDIT: If none of the above, did you get sent a Hayabusa shock in error? Those are well stiff and only suitable for those of larger size or who take a pillion all the time.

Mine is a curvy. Preload is set about halfway up. Not had a chance to set the sag as been doing it on my own so far. But I reckon it's about 30mm. I've tried a few damping settings. Currently set on the soft side. I'm going to double check the tyre pressures cos it actually feels like it has a flat front tyre. Like it's going to tuck beyond a certain lean angle. Most baffling.

No idea if I have a Busa shock. That might explain it. Not sure how that would have happened when I asked for a ZX636 B1 shock. Perhaps I'll post a picture and some of you helpful folks could identify it for me?

Sorry for hijacking this thread!