Thread: Bouncy Bits
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Old 19-05-05, 09:34 AM   #8
johnnyrod
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Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Doncaster, oop norf
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My twopenn'th, also being built like a rake...

The fork springs as stock are too soft for anybody, replacing them with stiffer ones and preload adjusters (definitely) is worth a lot more than an end can (you really need the other bits to go with the can anyway so it's not that cheap). The fork damping is fine on rebound but too soft on compression and also a bit crude in its action. Emulators will take care of the crudeness and lack of comp damping, but just whacking in thicker oil won't be great as you'll still have basically crap compression damping and now too much rebound, especially as you weigh so little. Fudmeister has a table of figures for the forks:

http://forums.sv650.org/viewtopic.php?t=16938

I fitted the emulators a year before the springs, and both are worth it. The springs are the biggest benefit of the two if you can only afford one mod.

As for the back end, the rear shock isn't that bad (but at 14k it could well be scrap), and considering it's around £400 for a worthwhile replacement you'd be well advised to buy sticker tyres instead and experiment with the preload adjuster (4 out of 7, or 5 on the track as a starting point). After a lot of thinking and saving I've finally bought an Ohlins shock, barely ridden it since but it does feel good. Much like the emulators, I imagine it'll feel quite similar until you reach a nasty bit and it glides right over. Hagon is basically a stock replacement so is cheaper. There are lots of threads about fitting GSXR/ZX6/whatever shocks but I have my doubts that any of these are much better than stock, often with these things people notice a difference and call it an improvement. I don't know if they work, just take it all with some consideration.
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