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Front suspension tweak

4.5K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  TukanekCZ  
#1 ·
Hey guys,
I'm quite heavy guy (220 lbs)(100kg) (6"3)(192CM) and I'm looking for a cheap way to stiffen the front forks suspensions a bit. I'm not racing the bike however I ride a bit on agressive side on twisties around here. I was wondering what is the best way to choose to adjust the front forks to my weight. I'm considering adding a little bit more oil into the forks/ changing the oil for higher viscosity/ or putting preload adjusters (or basically putting some spacers inside the stock ones). I'm student therefore quite bit short on cash looking for cheap and good solution. I'll appreciate any tips!

P.S.: I wanted to consult these tweaks before considering buying new springs which is a bigger investment.

Cheers,
David
 
#2 ·
New, correct for your weight springs are always the recommended resolution. Find your correct spring weight and install. If you absolutely cannot afford springs, then cut new spacers slightly longer than what’s inside and install to get the proper sag. Schedule 40 pvc works fine. When I had my 650, I bought like 10 feet of schedule 40 for like $6 or something, cut a few different lengths and tried them all out.

different oil height and weight can help your comp/rebound damping issues but it’s all just a bunch of educated guessing, which is why I would always rather just install cartridges.
 
#4 ·
@kiko @Kojiiro Cheers a lot guys! For now I'm gonna buy the preload adjusters from ebay and try them out. I'm also gonna do the oil change for heavier density oil. After summer I'm gonna buy the springs, they are not that expensive. I thought you have to buy whole cartridge kit which is kinda pricey. Do you guys know the dimension or specifications for which size of springs to look for? OFC, besides 0.84 spring rate. I'm probably gonna go for K-tech.
 
#5 ·
I'd recommend race tech springs. I put them in everything I own. I also recommend race tech gold valve "Emulators". I think they're $169 USD, and the adapter (required on the R3), is around $20 USD. Emulators are the closest you can get to a full cartridge kit, at a fraction of the cost. Install isn't hard either. I believe you can look the instructions up on their website. Might be worth a look. Good luck-