suspension
 

Hi guys just after some advice regarding my shock. My bike is a 2002 sv650N recently converted for track day/ race use and i am around 12 stone when kitted up. Have linear springs and heavier oil in the forks and currently standard rear shock:thumbdown:. Had a practise day at east fortune on sunday and front end felt quite good but the shock was really bad. Couple of people said that they noticed how much it was bouncing me about, anyways i know i will have to upgrade. The problem is i am an apprentice so have very little in the way of a budget:D so cant really go for a brand new ohlins etc. I have read that a zx6r/gsxr shock is quite good for the road but dont know about the track? i could maybe stretch to a second hand aftermarket shock.

Any help would be greatly appreciated and also if anyone has a shock i could purchase then get in touch. Thanks, Gav

Re: suspension
 

yc has a penski shock going cheap

Re: suspension
 

Gav, were you on a black curvy naked with chrome handlebars, at the east end of the pits? If so, I saw your suspension problems in the flesh! :)

C

Re: suspension
 

Yeh mate that was me with the chrome handlebars! Was it noticable then? was my first time at east fortune and second ever on track so was probably holding you up!lol. Are you running a curvy or? will have to speak to you next time im down. Hmm that penske shock sounds interesting!

Re: suspension
 

yorkie chris is your man he's on at the min

Re: suspension
 

PM'd :)

Stock forks and shock can be fairly comedy bouncy. Doesn't take much effort to get the shock so aerated it just loses all damping.

Re: suspension
 

Buy the Penske! and treat yourself to some springs in your weight and some 15 weight Oil! that'll mske s huge difference

We were watching you come over the concrete section and into the right hander and your bike was taking ages to settle after the concrete. right into and past the apex! It was very noticeable compared to the (dozens of) other minitwins out there with you. I was in Solos 3 so got to watch the other groups.

What tyres were you running and what were your pressures?

C

Re: suspension
 

yeah im goin for the penske now (thanks yorkie chris), already have 0.90 ktech springs and 20 weight oil in the forks just now.

Yeh the bike was bucking me about on that concrete section. Think the esses after that were my favourite part of the track though. Was running part worn pirelli supercorsas at 30 psi? think i shall be running part worns all season as just cant afford new tyres.

Also what gearing do you use, i definatly need to drop a tooth on the front as i was running the standard 15-44?

Have to save up the pennies for my penske now.
Cheers, Gav

Re: suspension
 

Not sure on the Sv gearing. I was running on tooth up on the rear from standard on the GSXR600. I'd have been happier with one tooth down on standard on the rear so the gear change points were different. I was having to change gear on two of the bumpiest parts and dropping two teeth would have moved than point on about 8-10 yards.

I'd also say that your front fork oil is too heavy for East fortune. I backed off the compression damping both back and front for the track due to the bumps and the diference was very noticeable. As you don't have that option, dropping to 15wt would make it ride the bumps a lot better. Maybe even 12.5

I also found that the GSXR liked the front end loaded for th track. I was riding a lot further forward than I would for other smoother tracks.

C

Re: suspension
 

14 on the front is likely a but too much, add a tooth or two to the rear instead. 15/45 or 15/46 should see you fine on most tracks. Bear in mind that you may need to replace/alter the chain if the length doesnt suit.