| Author | Message | ||
     Rocketsprink |
I asked a Buell engineer friend why the Pro Series Suspension kit won't work on a 03 9R. I know the fork springs won't because the the 03 is 41mm and the kit is made for the 43mm forks. As for the rear spring, he was not aware as to why the spring wouldn't fit the 03 shock. I don't know either. Anyone here aware of the reason? I can only come up with they sell as a set and they don't offer the stiffer springs for the 41mm forks, so they don't offer the rear spring. Any idea's? | ||
| Schmitty |
Hey Rocket, the rear spring is the same across the board, but your out of luck unless you can find an '05 or newer front end. I have the kit on my bike and it makes a huge difference! My rear preload setting went from 6 out of 7 to 2 out of 7. The other alternative would be Racetech to get some custom rate springs for your weight. Price is a little higher though. Schmitty | ||
| Slaughter |
Contact a suspension specialty shop. A place that does suspension set-up and tuning. I had Max at Traxxion Dynamics do my 03 forks originally. He's not the only game in town but he does know the Buells from the early tubers up to today's stuff. I know it'll be pricier than the original race kit springs but you CAN get a good spring rate match to your weight. Have you hit up your dealer to see if they can still order New Old Stock spring kits for you? You might be surprised at what you can still get. (Message edited by slaughter on October 21, 2007) | ||
| Cataract2 |
Got a question regarding the pro series suspension. What is so good about the single rate springs vs. the stock ones? How would this work out on the street? | ||
| Blake |
My understanding is that the stock rear shock spring has an increasing rate to accommodate passengers (two-up riding) or any scenario where the loading approaches 100% of the bike's rating. That's not going to be optimum even for aggressive riding when you are only pushing 50% of the bike's rated load capacity. The stock rear spring starts out compliant then gets much stiffer the more it is compressed. For one-up riding, this results in a much harsher ride over rough roads and bumps, especially when leaned over and tackling the turns aggressively. For one-up riding it tends to limit the useful stroke of the shock since the rising rate spring, being so stiff when approaching full compression, tends to prevent an average one-up rider from ever fully compressing the rear shock (using the full range of the shock). The Pro-Series spring is configured for optimum one-up rider (at around 50% max load rating of bike) performance, so over it's full range of motion, it may start out a bit stiffer, but over the full range of motion it will be more compliant (less stiff). Basically the Pro-Series spring better allows exploitation of the full stroke/travel of the rear shock where the stock spring is unlikely to do so for an average rider, even in aggressive riding conditions. Damping action would also benefit. It's kinda like the stock configuration has helper springs like used on pickup trucks to help prevent the rear suspension from bottoming out under heavy loads. If you don't have the heavy load, the helper springs just tend to make the ride more harsh. They prevent the rear shocks from being exercised throughout their full range of motion. Much the same is applicable for the front fork springs. I'll try to find the actual spring rate specs. This is very interesting stuff.  |
