Upgrading the front suspension springs

[MartinM]

Hi all - my apologies if I've asked this before in the past.

I love the SV K1 I bought in summer 05, but find the front suspension very soft.

It's off the road for the nasty salting season now, so a good time to do something about the suspension.

Someone suggested I get some alloy spacers turned on a lathe to slip into the front fork stanchions, to stiffen the suspension up, but someone else reckons this might be dangerous, if it should bottom out.
That said, I've heard that you can buy replacement "progressive" front suspension springs.
Can anyone tell me where to get them?

Martin M

[Biker Biggles]

Alf Hagon sell uprated springs and there are several other sellers.Value for money wise it's probably the best mod you can do.I would'nt bother doing the spacer thing as all that does is take up static sag causing your forks to be prone to topping out.The springs won't be any stiffer,and unless you change the fork oil,the damping will still be ****.

[Little Rich]

I did some other bits at the same time but im certain that I got a good improvement from my Hagon Spring kit, I got the oil of their recommendation too.

Their number is 0208 502 6222, my kit is the same as what you'd need and it cost me £55 inc oil and delivery, even though the oil leaked in transit..

[jambo]

Several companys do stiffer springs for the SV, if you phone the nice people at Maxton engineering or the Racetech people, they will recomend a spring rate based on your weight and riding style as well as an oil weight and air gap.

Off the top of my head the following comapnies spring to mind:

WP
Ohlins
Maxton Engineering
Hagon
Racetech

sure I'm missing a few out but essentailly it's worth checking whether the springs recomended are the same length as standard or require cutting of the spacers. I believe the Maxton ones come with spacers pre-cut for you to get the correct preload.

HTH

Jambo

[Luckypants]

Has anyone used the JHS spring kit with new spacers and preload adjusters. I'm finding as I get older and fatter, the front end needs some help!