Once I Get Past A Certain Lean-angle, The Bike Wants To Keep On Leanin

[squirrels]

As I've started to pick up speed in the twisties, I've noticed a peculiar phenomenon that spooks me a little bit as I approach deeper lean angles.

 

The bike is a 2006 R1, stock. Dunlop Sportmax stock tire up front, rear was replaced by a Qualifier after I picked up a screw in the stocker a couple hundred miles ago.

 

What's happening is this...as I countersteer to lean the bike into a corner, the rate of lean feels pretty constant...up to a certain angle. Once I go past that angle, it feels like the bike wants to "fall" into the turn. The rate of lean INCREASES somewhat abruptly and I feel like I have to actively countersteer the other way to hold it from falling all the way over.

 

 

Now I really don't know what's causing this, but I have a couple thoughts:

 

-I'm a pretty big guy, 250lbs without gear, so I'm thinking that as the bike leans over, it gives my bodyweight a moment-arm to pull the bike over even faster. I'm hanging off/getting to the inside as far as I possibly can, but I can only get so far safely on the street, especially with my size.

 

-I don't THINK I'm subconsciously increasing my countersteering pressure as the bike leans, but I guess it'd be possible.

 

-Maybe the more aggressive profile of the Qualifier over the stock Sportmax tire is facilitating the bike tipping into the corner faster as the lean-angle increases...i.e. it "settles" onto the more angular side profile of the tire as the bike leans over

 

-Could be something with the suspension. I'm only riding with the stock suspension settings....I haven't done any tweaking because with the stock spring rates only being set for a 160-170lb rider, trying to set the sag or ride height for my 250lb ass would just result in me cranking all the travel out of the suspension, effectively defeating it. But I wonder if as the bike leans, the soft suspension is allowing the geometry to change mid-corner.

 

 

 

Have you guys experienced anyone else complaining of this kind of thing, a sudden increase in rate of lean-in or "falling in" to the corner as the bike passes a certain lean-angle? In your experience, what has it turned out to be?

 

Thanks in advance for any insight.

[nicenezy]

What's happening is this...as I countersteer to lean the bike into a corner, the rate of lean feels pretty constant...up to a certain angle. Once I go past that angle, it feels like the bike wants to "fall" into the turn. The rate of lean INCREASES somewhat abruptly and I feel like I have to actively countersteer the other way to hold it from falling all the way over.

 

 

I'm gonna take a wild guess but let the experts on here give you some best advice. Is your primary riding on freeways?? That front tire might be kinda worn flat if so. If it is slightly flat, then when you tip over you come up on an edge of the tire. As soon as you lop over this edge, the bike will tend to fall further.

 

But then, I'm no riding expert. Just a thought and following some of the teachings of Will Eikenberry, CSS chief mechanic.

[squirrels]

I'm gonna take a wild guess but let the experts on here give you some best advice. Is your primary riding on freeways?? That front tire might be kinda worn flat if so. If it is slightly flat, then when you tip over you come up on an edge of the tire. As soon as you lop over this edge, the bike will tend to fall further.

 

But then, I'm no riding expert. Just a thought and following some of the teachings of Will Eikenberry, CSS chief mechanic.

 

It could be the tire. A couple hundred miles ago, I picked up a nail in my stock Sportmax rear tire and replaced it with a Qualifier. I'm not sure if I first started noticing this after that...I had taken a trip to Deals Gap on the stock tires and lean always felt pretty progressive. So I've still got the stock Sportmax up front with about 3300 miles, but the rear is a Qualy with like 500.

 

Most of my riding is back-roads, but it's not hard track-style cornering...it's rather mild.

 

I've never really given it an opportunity to just settle into the lean...I don't want to lean TOO far and run off the INside.

[racer]

LOL

 

Yes, your experince is not so unusual.

 

My first inclination being that you began to notice after you switched tires is that it had something to do with tire swap and a more aggressive or fresher profile on the rear encouraging you to lean further than you had been and the new angle being beyond where you were going and the front being a bit squared off, or perhaps it is a matter of a more aggressive profile in the rear simply not matching. You should be able to eyeball that by getting down low and looking at the front tire from in front of it and at the rear tire from behind it to compare profiles and you might also be able compare the unused stripes for a clue.

 

AS a rule, I always replace tires in matched sets, especially for a sport bike.

 

However, from what you say, it sounds like you acknowledge your suspension being set WAY too soft for you? You said you are riding the stock suspension "settings". Does that mean just stock suspension or that you have not adjusted the preload and sag on that stock shock/fork?

 

If it is the stock settings for 170 lbs and you are over 250 with gear...I wouldn 't even guess what is going on until you properly adjust what you have. That by itself should give you a whole new picture. I cannot emphasize how non-trivial adjusting your sag is, especially considering how far out of range you apparently are.

 

There are several threads here devoted to the proper sag and how to set it including Keith Code's you can find with the search function. If you need help, let me know and I will talk you through it.

 

Cheers,

BH

[squirrels]

LOL

 

Yes, your experince is not so unusual.

 

My first inclination being that you began to notice after you switched tires is that it had something to do with tire swap and a more aggressive or fresher profile on the rear encouraging you to lean further than you had been and the new angle being beyond where you were going and the front being a bit squared off, or perhaps it is a matter of a more aggressive profile in the rear simply not matching. You should be able to eyeball that by getting down low and looking at the front tire from in front of it and at the rear tire from behind it to compare profiles and you might also be able compare the unused stripes for a clue.

 

AS a rule, I always replace tires in matched sets, especially for a sport bike.

 

However, from what you say, it sounds like you acknowledge your suspension being set WAY too soft for you? You said you are riding the stock suspension "settings". Does that mean just stock suspension or that you have not adjusted the preload and sag on that stock shock/fork?

 

If it is the stock settings for 170 lbs and you are over 250 with gear...I wouldn 't even guess what is going on until you properly adjust what you have. That by itself should give you a whole new picture. I cannot emphasize how non-trivial adjusting your sag is, especially considering how far out of range you apparently are.

 

There are several threads here devoted to the proper sag and how to set it including Keith Code's you can find with the search function. If you need help, let me know and I will talk you through it.

 

Cheers,

BH

 

The reason I haven't monkeyed with the stock suspension settings is because 1) I have no idea what I'm doing, and 2), more importantly, from what I've read, the stock SPRINGS don't have the correct spring rate to support a rider of my weight. I posted a thread a little while back in the set-up forum about it...you responded. But I don't currently have the money to replace the stock springs. From what I've heard, the most I can do is crank up the preload, but that would take the travel out of the suspension, essentially eliminating its function.

 

I'm worried about having to dial in so much preload that the suspension will end up bottoming/topping way too easily...but I cant' afford a new suspension.

[racer]

The reason I haven't monkeyed with the stock suspension settings is because 1) I have no idea what I'm doing, and 2), more importantly, from what I've read, the stock SPRINGS don't have the correct spring rate to support a rider of my weight. I posted a thread a little while back in the set-up forum about it...you responded. But I don't currently have the money to replace the stock springs. From what I've heard, the most I can do is crank up the preload, but that would take the travel out of the suspension, essentially eliminating its function.

 

I'm worried about having to dial in so much preload that the suspension will end up bottoming/topping way too easily...but I cant' afford a new suspension.

 

 

That, the incorrect spring rate, is a valid issue and concern. As is the possibility that you will lose a good deal of range of movement and degrade the progressive nature of the spring response as well in the process of cranking down and compressing the spring too short and tight beyond its operational range.

 

However, at the end of the day, it is just as possible to bottom out a suspension that is too soft...eh?

 

I agree that for spirited riding, the ultimate solution will be new springs. At 250 lbs plus gear I'm pretty sure you're going to be 20-30 lbs over the maximum rating of a typical stock shock spring range ...when new. So, I agree that really should be addressed.

 

However, keep in mind that the manufacturer intends for a street bike to be able to operate safely with a passenger. It isn't like you are racing and need the last half a percent of performance for the ulitmate lap here. It might not be perfection, but, I have to believe that you will only increase safety and handling characteristic by at least approaching a happy medium.

 

In my opinion, adding some pre-load to approach a happy medium with what you have HAS to be better than how it is must be set now (set for someone 80-90 lbs lighter than you).

 

I am not familiar with your specific year/model, however, generally, there is a lock ring and an adjustment ring atop the shock spring which ideally you use a "spanner" style shock wrench to adjust. Often times a "spanner" style or "hook" type shock wrench should be supplied in your under seat emergency tool kit. It might be an attachment for a 3/8" ratchet or it could be something you assemble with the kit handle, but, in a pinch, a screwdriver and a claw hammer will work fine to tap the ring around, albeit carefully to not scratch the shock body or skin your knuckles...lol.

 

Again, I think most all modern sport bikes come with threaded adjusters for the front fork pre-load that will be located on top of the fork cap above the triple tree and adjusted with a crescent wrench or large socket depending on the tools at hand.

 

In a nutshell, you can wrap a zip tie around the fork leg, sit on the bike and measure how far the zip tie moves down the fork for your front sag. Some people say to "top out" the fork by pulling up on the hande bar to set the pre sag measurement (a famous team suzuki tuner told me that) some people just bounce the bike to find a static sag start point before you sit on the bike to move the zip tie.

 

For you, for now, in this case, I wouldn't get too too concerned about which way is better or proper. I think you simply need to get something closer in the ball park because I have to guess that you might have something like two inches of sag going on. Ideally, for the street, something between 1 and 1.25 inches is a general rule of thumb recommended front and rear. For you, in my opinion, even getting toward one and a half (1.5) inches should help. Of course, I don't know, perhaps you have 1.5 now or 3 inches now....I can't really say. But anything has to better than where you are now IMO.

 

I use a yard stick stood on end next to some fixed point on the rear subframe at a point located vertically above the axle. It helps to have a second person read the stick for that one or even use a pencil to mark it.

 

I don't have time to go searching right now , but, I think Keith himself did a posting here about the best method for all of this.

 

Gotta run. Lemme know how you go.

 

BH

[squirrels]

The reason I haven't monkeyed with the stock suspension settings is because 1) I have no idea what I'm doing, and 2), more importantly, from what I've read, the stock SPRINGS don't have the correct spring rate to support a rider of my weight. I posted a thread a little while back in the set-up forum about it...you responded. But I don't currently have the money to replace the stock springs. From what I've heard, the most I can do is crank up the preload, but that would take the travel out of the suspension, essentially eliminating its function.

 

I'm worried about having to dial in so much preload that the suspension will end up bottoming/topping way too easily...but I cant' afford a new suspension.

 

 

That, the incorrect spring rate, is a valid issue and concern. As is the possibility that you will lose a good deal of range of movement and degrade the progressive nature of the spring response as well in the process of cranking down and compressing the spring too short and tight beyond its operational range.

 

However, at the end of the day, it is just as possible to bottom out a suspension that is too soft...eh?

 

I agree that for spirited riding, the ultimate solution will be new springs. At 250 lbs plus gear I'm pretty sure you're going to be 20-30 lbs over the maximum rating of a typical stock shock spring range ...when new. So, I agree that really should be addressed.

 

However, keep in mind that the manufacturer intends for a street bike to be able to operate safely with a passenger. It isn't like you are racing and need the last half a percent of performance for the ulitmate lap here. It might not be perfection, but, I have to believe that you will only increase safety and handling characteristic by at least approaching a happy medium.

 

In my opinion, adding some pre-load to approach a happy medium with what you have HAS to be better than how it is must be set now (set for someone 80-90 lbs lighter than you).

 

I am not familiar with your specific year/model, however, generally, there is a lock ring and an adjustment ring atop the shock spring which ideally you use a "spanner" style shock wrench to adjust. Often times a "spanner" style or "hook" type shock wrench should be supplied in your under seat emergency tool kit. It might be an attachment for a 3/8" ratchet or it could be something you assemble with the kit handle, but, in a pinch, a screwdriver and a claw hammer will work fine to tap the ring around, albeit carefully to not scratch the shock body or skin your knuckles...lol.

 

Again, I think most all modern sport bikes come with threaded adjusters for the front fork pre-load that will be located on top of the fork cap above the triple tree and adjusted with a crescent wrench or large socket depending on the tools at hand.

 

In a nutshell, you can wrap a zip tie around the fork leg, sit on the bike and measure how far the zip tie moves down the fork for your front sag. Some people say to "top out" the fork by pulling up on the hande bar to set the pre sag measurement (a famous team suzuki tuner told me that) some people just bounce the bike to find a static sag start point before you sit on the bike to move the zip tie.

 

For you, for now, in this case, I wouldn't get too too concerned about which way is better or proper. I think you simply need to get something closer in the ball park because I have to guess that you might have something like two inches of sag going on. Ideally, for the street, something between 1 and 1.25 inches is a general rule of thumb recommended front and rear. For you, in my opinion, even getting toward one and a half (1.5) inches should help. Of course, I don't know, perhaps you have 1.5 now or 3 inches now....I can't really say. But anything has to better than where you are now IMO.

 

I use a yard stick stood on end next to some fixed point on the rear subframe at a point located vertically above the axle. It helps to have a second person read the stick for that one or even use a pencil to mark it.

 

I don't have time to go searching right now , but, I think Keith himself did a posting here about the best method for all of this.

 

Gotta run. Lemme know how you go.

 

BH

 

Thanks for the heads-up. THere are a lot of posts drifting around about setting sag. I've heard, though, that compression damping should be increased as well whenever preload is added to help keep the suspension from bottoming out. Any truth to that? Or should I just leave the compression damping as-is?

 

Also...can just the springs in the forks and the rear be replaced without spending thousands of dollars on aftermarket suspension parts?

[racer]

Thanks for the heads-up. THere are a lot of posts drifting around about setting sag. I've heard, though, that compression damping should be increased as well whenever preload is added to help keep the suspension from bottoming out. Any truth to that? Or should I just leave the compression damping as-is?

 

Also...can just the springs in the forks and the rear be replaced without spending thousands of dollars on aftermarket suspension parts?

 

 

I was going to leave the damping discussion until after the sag discussion because it is a whole nother ball game.

 

 

The basic function of the spring is to support the bike and you and absorb bumps by going bouncy bouncy bouncy.

 

The basic function of damping is to limit the the bouncy bouncy bouncy to just one bouncy and control the rate of the bouncy to prevent the wheel from traveling further than it needs to on the way up and to come back down fast enough to keep the wheel in constant contact with the pavement.

 

For the soft spring, I think you will need more compression damping, and but probably less rebound damping.

 

For the harder spring I think you will probably want less compression damping and more rebound damping.

 

Does that make sense?

 

Assuming a good shock with good oil and such, chances are the stock settings will be a good starting point from which to experiment.

 

Once you have the spring in the ballpark, you should take each damping control in order, say start with rebound and whack all the way in and go for a ride. Then whack it all the way out and go for another ride to get a very clear idea of how each extreme feels to start to get an idea of how to feel the diference betwen minor adjustments and what they mean.

 

Then do the same for compression.

 

But do only one at a time. I repeat...adjust one thing at a time. Do either compresion and only compression at either extreme, then do rebound.

 

If you start doing them together you will chase your tail around and never get a solid idea of what to feel for. Again make large adjustments to get a real idea and feel for what it does.

 

Actually, you know what...scratch that. For just getting a feel for what damping is about, you can whack everything to zero and then everything to ten to get a good idea for damping and no damping. And then start to break it up.

 

When making adjustments for finer tuning, making one adjustment at a time becomes critical. And you still want to go a bit more than you think you might need to at first to get a good feedback until you develop a finer sense for it to be able to really feel what one click does to your rear compression damping going into a hundred mile an hour sweeper.

 

My nickel.

 

Actually, you can do that now, before sag. But you really need to get the sag done. That is the basis and foundation for proper suspension adjustment

 

BH

[racer]

Oh, I haven't priced srpings lately.

 

The last time I bought aftermarket racing srpings for my old FZR from Progressive they were fairly inexpensive...like $50 dollars. That was probably fifteen years ago. Try googling progressive for a start. but remember, you need a srping for the street that is properly rated...not a race spring. Although, if you can't find the OEM equivalant option two spring, you may end up getting whatever works.

 

There are several good suspension gurus around. What part of the country are you in. Or are you in the USA??? doh

 

The other option is to go to the dealership or one of the mail order discount places that carry OEM stuff. A good parts guy can see if there is an optional OEM spring available but it will almost certainly be more expensive than aftermarket.

 

Actually, I dont' know about that anymore. Some for the discount OEM places are really high dicount..you'll need to make some calls and research.

 

Some other riders/racers here might be able to suggest current aftermarket spring sources.

 

If you have basic mechanical aptitude, I think you can swap fork springs yourself.

 

But you'll probably need a press to release the spring keepers on the rear shock and install the new spring though.

 

In any case, it really shouldn't cost more than a couple of hundred for new springs without install labor. I could be wrong though. If you pay someone to do the labor, I think that will be a couple of hours on the book at most. Again, call a shop and ask. I don't work in the industry anymore, I hav no idea what rates are these days

[squirrels]

I appreciate all your input. I want to get clarification on one more thing, though.

 

Cranking up the preload may help me get close to the proper sag figure, but I'm concerned if I have to go all the way to the end of the preload adjustment, I'm going to take too much travel out of the suspension and compromise its ability to do its job.

 

I don't know if I have money to upgrade the suspension right now. (Figures...you buy a 10-grand racebike and then they tell you that you need to spend 2-3 grand more to make it work with your weight)

 

Assuming all I have to work with is the stock suspension, how far can I increase the preload before I start compromising the travel and functionality of the suspension? Should I leave 2-3 lines of adjustment regardless, or just crank it all the way down and suspension travel be damned?

 

What's the proper compromise between suspension travel and proper sag setting?

 

Thanks

[racer]

Who told you you need to spend 2-3 grand to make it work for you?

 

If they are trying to sell you an Ohlins fork or shock, I suppose you could spend something in that range...if you were contesting the national championship and had a suspension tuner on the payroll ....

 

Seriously, upgrading your springs shouldn't be more than a few hundred or so at most in my opinion.

 

 

As for your question regarding "just how far is too far?" to go trying to work around what you have...

 

I don't know if there is a firm specification on how far you can go before you reach a point of diminishing returns or where the travel will become too short to be effective, but, what I would do first is start by measuring your sag where it is now and see how far off you are.

 

I think it makes sense to get a good idea of where you are now before trying to go somewhere else.

 

If it is set for someone of 170 lbs now and the range for optimum performance is something like 125-225 lbs you are probably somewhere in the middle of the range right now and surely have some room to work with to improve your situation.

 

I recommend measuring your sag now to have a very clear idea of what you are looking at.

[2bigalow]

Hey Squirrel,

 

 

A numberof factors could be causing the problem. Being that we teach riding techniques, I would suspect you are counter steering subconsiously while leaned over, but you seem to be sure that your not. That being said, next time out riding, trying leaning into a right hand corner and let go of the left bar to see where the bike goes. You may be fighting your right hand by playing out a back and forth battle with your left hand. Then consiously think about what the right hand is doing. You should be looking for a light touch with only enough pressure to turn the throttle. Do this after you've lean the bike to an acceptable lean angle for the corner at hand. See where the bike goes.

 

Onto the tires. Tires can make a huge difference in feel. 3300 miles on a sportmax is just about the time for a replacement. As posted earlier, flat spots can affect the handling of the bike quite a bit. To give you an example, I was riding a school bike at Willow springs and kept complaining about the handling to Will (School Mechanic and ubber fast rider) He made a few adjustments, but the bike still rode like (insert proper adjective). The next morning we replaced tires on all the coaches bikes. During the first turn in of the first lap the bike turned in so fast I nearly fell over. The handling problem went away. We then compared the profile of the worn tire (way worn) to the new tire and the comparison was soooooo obvious. The right side of the tire was nearly flat.

 

Now the suspension side of it. Racer has given you very solid advice about suspension adjustment. As far at the preload, crank it down. You are a big dude and really need to get the bike's geometry correct. The adjustments are there, so use 'em. If you can afford minor suspension upgrades, by all means do it. Just up grade your stock stuff. Rear shock spring and revalve / service cost maybe 200.00-300.00. Fork springs with install are slightly less.

 

I would try to correct the problem that order.

 

 

Cheers,

JR.

[racer]

Hey Squirrels,

 

If you are still around, check out the 06 636 thread in "set up and handling". EA6BMECH posted some really good info for you there.

[2bigalow]

One other thing. Have you checked your tire pressure lately? Sometimes the obvious can be overlooked. Like why the bike wont start...then someone flips the kill switch

[racer]

One other thing. Have you checked your tire pressure lately? Sometimes the obvious can be overlooked. Like why the bike wont start...then someone flips the kill switch

 

 

LOL ... I hate when I do that.

[squirrels]

I check my tire pressure just about every time I ride.

 

I think it's rider error. I was riding today and got leaned over past my "comfort threshold". The bike felt stable at first, even at that lean, but as soon as I started getting "scared", I felt the wobble. I think it's a combination of things...part of it is the feeling that I'm too close to the ground...I may be crawling back up on the bike a little, which has the opposite effect of hanging off in that the bike leans further. That and I may be stopping my throttle roll-on.

 

As far as sag goes, I "guesstimated" it as best I could by myself, on the front anyway, and it looks like maybe 1 1/2 - 2 " in the front. Rear, I can't really tell without help. And it still has more adjustment. I might be OK. Once I can get some REAL numbers, I'll see if I can dial it in. I don't want to adjust one side unless I can adjust the other, since it could alter the overall geometry.

[racer]

You need a zip tie (or what may officially be called a "wire tie" by some folks) to put on the front fork tube. I'm sure you can get cheap ones at the hardware store, building/electrical supply or home depot type store. You wrap one around your fork tube and you don't need anyone to do anything. The zip tie moves when you sit on the bike and the fork compresses. Then you measure the distance to where the fork goes back to when you get off the bike. To be perfectly perfect, you want to be in your proper riding position with your feet off the ground, but even sitting on the bike and picking your feet up for a moment or two should get you close.

 

You only need to zip tie one fork tube, and then look at the adjusters and count the lines to make sure they are even on both forks. And you only need to think about geometry front to back, not side to side. In any case, considering where you are now, you will only make it better.

 

I hate to give you a specific number without being there, but, from what you have said, I'd think you could put a half an inch on the forks and shock and still have plenty of way to go while still getting enough of a difference to really help for a start. I would not put it off or ignore it. It really is important. And don't worry about adjusting things that are meant to be adjusted. That's what they are there for. Worst case scenario, you re-adjust it. When I rode on the street, I used to adjust my damping rates every other day depending on what kind of riding I was going to be doing.

[Thor]

I cannot believe that this thread is going on like this! This has got to be the most retarded bunch of mental masturbation I have ever read!

 

If your bike is falling over mid turn, speed up!!!!

 

I'm sorry, but the "keep it simple stupid" principle should have been applied early on here.

 

Seriously, has anyone else ever had this problem?!!

 

(Sorry I blew up.)

[squirrels]

I cannot believe that this thread is going on like this! This has got to be the most retarded bunch of mental masturbation I have ever read!

 

If your bike is falling over mid turn, speed up!!!!

 

I'm sorry, but the "keep it simple stupid" principle should have been applied early on here.

 

Seriously, has anyone else ever had this problem?!!

 

(Sorry I blew up.)

 

So you're saying I need more speed to carry that kind of lean?

[racer]

Hi Thor,

 

Thank you for your opinion regarding the steering issue.

 

Thanks,

 

racer

[Cobie Fair]

Squirrels---I just got on to this thread. If you need some suspension help, Dave Hodges at GP suspension has been very helpful, give him a ring. (503) 723-7793. Springs front and rear, and sometimes rebuilding shocks/forks are not that big a deal.

 

Tires can be an issue if worn, and make the bike mis-handle. Also, did I miss it, but how about your tire pressures, that was brought up earlier too. What pressure are you running, and are you confident your guage is accurate?

 

Best,

Cobie

[squirrels]

The factory recommendation is like 36 front, 42 rear. What I run is more like 32-33 front, 38 or so rear. (not very precise with it) I've got a dial gauge, not one of the little spring-pen POS gauges.

 

Is GP Suspension anywhere remotely near the east coast? I'm in Baltimore, MD, so if it's a shop in California, there's no way I'm gonna get my bike all the way down there.

 

I've been meaning to set the sag...it's just a matter of finding the time and working up the guts to tinker with it. That and it's hard to find someone to hold the bike up while I measure. The forks I can do with a zip-tie like Racer suggested, but the rear shock I need to think of something a little more creative.

[jrock7896]

Its most likely the profile of the tire your using. My brother almost crashed when he changed from Dunlop to michies due to a steeper angle on the front tire. The dunlops where predictable and the michies hit a certain spot and then turned in faster. Look at the profile of your tire on the front end. Is it steep or nice and round?

[racer]

The factory recommendation is like 36 front, 42 rear. What I run is more like 32-33 front, 38 or so rear. (not very precise with it) I've got a dial gauge, not one of the little spring-pen POS gauges.

 

Is GP Suspension anywhere remotely near the east coast? I'm in Baltimore, MD, so if it's a shop in California, there's no way I'm gonna get my bike all the way down there.

 

I've been meaning to set the sag...it's just a matter of finding the time and working up the guts to tinker with it. That and it's hard to find someone to hold the bike up while I measure. The forks I can do with a zip-tie like Racer suggested, but the rear shock I need to think of something a little more creative.

 

 

36 F / 42 R ?

 

I am not familiar with newer tires since 2004 but that sounds pretty hard. Can you be more specific? Is it perhaps max pressure for a certain load?

 

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=m...amp;btnG=Search

 

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=m...G=Google+Search

 

 

A well-trained bike mechanic should be able to swap the springs and get it set up ok. I noted a post for you in another thread about a spring manufacturer and prices. If you really can't find anyone to hold the yard stick, send me a PM and you can ride up to Pittsburgh and I will help you. I'm not a suspension guru but I'm closer than Cali....lol.

[squirrels]

36 F / 42 R ?

 

I am not familiar with newer tires since 2004 but that sounds pretty hard. Can you be more specific? Is it perhaps max pressure for a certain load?

 

Sounds bizarre, doesn't it? I'm looking at the owner's manual right now and they recommend 36F/42R for all loads, all types of riding. I figured that was ridiculously high, so I started running 33F/39R as a compromise, and have been slowly creeping down.