| Author | Message | ||
     Captain_america |
While I'm getting the fork seal replaced on my CR I was thinking of changing the height of the forks in the triple, Seems like the perfect time to do so... I just wanted to get a consensus on what height you guys are running if you have varied from OEM spec. I'm not sure I really need to mess with it, just curious if I can get some additional high speed front end stability without the addition of a stabilizer. I don't really need an opinion weather or not I should do it.... I am fully capable of making decisions myself .... I would just like some feedback/results from those of you who have actually done it and what it has done for the handling of your bike. Oh! also Give the measurement of the height of the fork in the clamp if you can as well  | ||
| Drawkward |
I plan on lowering my triples about 2mm down the forks to get faster turn in on the track. It will obviously lower the front end and allow me the full use of my front tire. I'm not sure what would give you more front end stability though. | ||
| Captain_america |
From what I have read here I've gathered that: Lowering the triples increases turn in (decrease wheelbase)= less stability Raising the triples decreases turn in (increase wheelbase)= more stability | ||
| Jdugger |
It's easy to confuse what lowering and raising means when talking about forks. It's sort of like asking "Hey, turn the Air Conditioning up!" Well, OK, but did you want the temperature to rise or fall? If you don't have an issue with the handling of the bike, I would recommend you leave it alone. Lowering the front end of the bike relative to the ground will make it turn faster. Raising the bike's front end will make it more stable. The opposite takes place on the rear end. Unless you have switched tire types and you are trying to adjust the bike's handling, I got back to recommending you leave well enough alone. | ||
| Drawkward |
Good point Jdugger, good point. I am however not completely satisfied with the turn in handling...perhaps I'm just not skilled enough yet, but I'd like to see what it does for the next track day. The track I run it on doesn't see high top speeds (maybe 95mph) so I should be ok with a 2mm drop. But thanks for the clarification, it spiked my confidence level in doing it  | ||
| Moosestang |
I lowered mine 3mm, which is about all you can without raising the clubmans up some more. If you want more stability up front without a damper, try torquing your head bearing to 50 foot lbs. (warning, may cause premature bearing failure). | ||
| Captain_america |
Yup Jdugger, I described it the same as you... In looking for high speed stability... Doesn't need much, just a lil more up front would be nice. I've got the rear preload at minimum right now so thought about playing around with the front end | ||
| Dannybuell |
Drawkward; Do you weigh 170lbs? If you weigh more or less than that you need different springs and valving. This is not the HD one shock fits all world, not with these short wheelbase high HP bikes. Did the dealer make any effort to adjust your bike when you took delivery? Have you done anything with the front forks? If your weight is less <= 170lbs and you want the bike to turn in faster at the lower leg back off each screw 1/8 of a turn, just the screw not the anodized nut leave it alone. This will allow the front end to collapse easily as you turn in, thus lowering your front end. Only problem with that is braking, it might upset the balance of the bike when the front end collapses so easily. Springs and Valving. dannybuell | ||
| Family_buells |
"I plan on lowering my triples about 2mm down the forks to get faster turn in on the track. It will obviously lower the front end and allow me the full use of my front tire. " Not sure what you mean by "full use of my front tire" If anything, lowering your triples (in relation to the top of the forks) will use up ground clearance and prevent you from leaning far enough to use all of your tire. Captain America, keep in mind that your spring rate and sag also can have a huge effect on steering head angle. If your forks are set up on the soft side then you are using up travel and steepening the effective steering head angle. | ||
| Family_buells |
Never mind Captain, It sounds like you have already thought of that....I missed the end of your last post. (Message edited by Family_Buells on March 02, 2010) | ||
| Captain_america |
Both my front end and rear are set up for the <170 per the manual... I weigh 160 | ||
| Gas |
I dropped the forks a full cm. hoping to increase stability. It only works in a straight line. If you are in a bumpy sweeper, high or low speed, you will feel hardly any improvement at all. All in all, I think I will go back to the original hight, as it was cornering stability I was looking for. | ||
| Tbowdre |
captain america-- I am about your size with gear and have been playing with my suspension since purchase. Mostly due to stiff springs and improper/inability to set sag as recommended by everybody and their brother (30-35mm front and 25-30mm rear). My bike seems to oversteer and feel loose, where the inside bar moves towards the "tank" and the rear tire feels less than planted. Also not stable at speed >130mph. What I did has been an improvement but still not my previous bikes stability (2003 GSXR-750) I have no idea where I am with sag measurements and would love to hear what the other lightweights are up to these days as I have posted about this before Front preload 4 turns in from minimum, compression is and extra 1/2 turn out from maximum and rebound is an extra 1/4 turn out from maximum front tire is at 34psi Rear preload is 4 clicks out from minimum, compression is 24 clicks out from maximum and rebound is out and extra 1/4 turn from maximum rear tire is at 36psi AND i raised the triple clamp, lowered the forks to the next line... like 2mm at the most. I have basicly backed every setting off except rear preload and damn if the bike doesn't feel better with more rear preload. Since i just moved the forks i might move back down to buells recommended position 3 for my weight anyway,,, WHERE YOU AT? oh i should also say mines an R todd | ||
| Captain_america |
Wow Todd What a shark! Haha thanks for the input... Best so far! How tall are you? I'm a little over 6'1" bare foot. Man, I Feel exactly the same way!, with the steering, as I am always pushing the inside bar away from the tank through the turn, counter steering. And that is also where the stability goes away at >130mph. My CR is set to: Front Preload 6 turn in from minimum. Front Compression 1.75 turns out from max. Front Rebound 1.78 turns out from max. Rear Preload @ 3 clicks from min. Rear Compression 20 Click out from max. Rear rebound 1.25 turns out from max. Bikes at HD so I don't know what the stock fork height in the triple is (sticking out of the top) but I've read here that 14mm is a good number. Also I have not checked the tire pressure!  oops haha guess I should do it. Thanks for reminding me again  | ||
| Moosestang |
Todd, I have mine setup up similar to yours as far as preload and I also lowered the front 3mm. I have zero preload set up front and 4th ramp position on the rear. When you say an extra 1/4 turn, is that from the owners manual recommendation or just a 1/4 turn from max? With the preload set this way, I get about 32mm of sag up front and 28-30 out back. I plan to swap the front fork springs when the oil needs changing. I weigh 140-145 lbs. | ||
| Family_buells |
Speaking of tires, How many miles do you have on them? Is the rear getting a flat spot in the center? | ||
| Captain_america |
Normally they would as I commute 130 miles a day on the frwy... Not much twisties there :-( I'm still on the factory front tire and the rear lasted 3k so now the rear has only 1100miles on it. | ||
| Tbowdre |
moosestang - the extra 1/4 is from factory recommendation I tried less front preload after the last "suspension thread" went around and I felt less neutral steering. maybe my body position on the bike is messin' me up? I raised the front! (ie) less fork is showing above the triple clamp. todd | ||
| Xtreme6669 |
I slid my forks down in the clamps to 10mm of fork above the clamp... made the bike less twitchy in town and more fun for me. I have since swapped to the high bars so I might put them back to stock to see if it feels better now that there is less of my weight on the bars. | ||
| Pwillikers |
If you decrease front compression damping you will increase front end dive during hard braking and effectively lower the front end under braking. Doing so will enhance turn in. The appeal of this path over raising the fork tubes is that straight line stability will not be compromised. | ||
| Rockstarblast1 |
I have mine wrote down at home I weigh 135 140 and I can't get it right messed around all summer still nothin. Bike either feels like I have to force it to turn or its wayyy to squirley and wallows thru the turns... I'm pretty sure a steering damper would help along with a re valve.... also u guys weigh like 150 ish u have the back spring on 4 clicks???? Iv always didn't the lowest maybe 2.. | ||
| Moosestang |
Rockstar, with mine set to 2 for the rear pre-load, I get more rear sag than front sag, which slows turning. I weigh 140. If I could change the front springs to something softer, then I could set the rear preload to 2 and be fine. It's a shame that even buell is embracing the fatties! | ||
| Louisiana_xrider |
It's a shame that even buell is embracing the fatties! dude i'm 5'11" @ 215lbs. and not sure what you consider fatties but i am no where near that status. Some people have Well BUILT, well EARNED meat on there bones. | ||
| Moosestang |
Healthy weight for a man that's 5'11" is between 146-184 lbs. You can be a body builder and still be unhealthy. These bikes are sprung for heavy riders compared to the Japanese bikes. I sat on a gsxr-600 the other day and it actually lowered when I sat on it, lol! Made me feel 30 lbs heavier. (Message edited by moosestang on March 05, 2010) | ||
| Drawkward |
I'm 6 foot 260...I could stand to lose about 25 to 35 pounds though...in my peak boxing weight I was 225. Aaaaanyways....I set my suspension up as per the service manual. However I didn't like how stiff it was at the preload settings so I went one step down. I'm not saying the bike doesn't have amazing handling...but I'm not spending big time bucks on a new suspension set up for once a month track days. Just not happening. So I figured I'd shortcut it and lower the front end 2mm. As for the dealer, NO. When I first set up the bike it was so far out of spec I was actually worried. It was set up for probably someone who weighed 100 pounds. The dealer I bought it from is completely closed down now and didn't care much about the bikes...they just wanted to get rid of them. I think I have my suspension setting written down at home so I'll post them up if I can find them. | ||
| Dannybuell |
Drawkward posted on Friday, March 05, 2010 - 04:30 pm: "Aaaaanyways..." Sounds like me same height,weight and humor. LOL 2x |
