Sonic Springs and Race Tech Emulators intall

[glib]

So I rode for four hours today on smooth and some horrible pothole patched roads to test my new settings and I think I have it dialed in perfect for me now. The 1.0 Sonic springs matched with 1.5 turns on the 64# (yellow) emulator springs seems to allow the front to blip right over small bumps, railroad tracks and such but remain a tight ride overall. Still not fun on the patchwork back-roads but much better than it was stock. That's not where I want to ride anyway. This setup instills a great deal of confidence and I have to watch myself because higher speed is more comfortable and relaxed now.

This has to be the best mod for the money.

[dorkburger]

Glad to hear. Just got in from working on mine. I noticed my Sonic spring is much shorter. I'm guessing the PVC spacer serves double duty to make up for the difference and set preload / sag?

[glib]

Glad to hear. Just got in from working on mine. I noticed my Sonic spring is much shorter. I'm guessing the PVC spacer serves double duty to make up for the difference and set preload / sag?

Yes. I read that the shorter length has to do with the quality of metal available now.

[limeex2]

When replacing fork seals, it is highly advisable to replace the bushings also. The bushing can get worn causing the leakage due to a sloppy fit. With all the nice work your doing on your front end, have you serviced your steering head bearings? With the forks out, its pretty easy to service and will help the overall feel to the front end.

[RichDesmond]

Glad to hear. Just got in from working on mine. I noticed my Sonic spring is much shorter. I'm guessing the PVC spacer serves double duty to make up for the difference and set preload / sag?

Yes. Although be careful with the "make up the difference" part. You don't want the new spring/spacer total length to be the same as stock.
That's one of the reasons the new springs are shorter, to force people to cut a new spacer. If the were the same as stock most people would just thrown them in there without following the "Note A" section of the instructions.
Typically, the stock setups on older bikes had a lot of static preload, due to the very soft springs they all had. If you use that much preload with the new springs you'll end up with not enough sag and a harsh ride.

[glib]

When replacing fork seals, it is highly advisable to replace the bushings also. The bushing can get worn causing the leakage due to a sloppy fit. With all the nice work your doing on your front end, have you serviced your steering head bearings? With the forks out, its pretty easy to service and will help the overall feel to the front end.

I did not replace the bushings and although I'm pretty happy so far, I do wish I had because it would have been cheap and easy and now I can't know if I have the best result until I go back in and do it. Same story on the steering head.

[GRAND ROUGE]

Glib.... PM sent

[dorkburger]

Rich and Glib, thanks. I'll start with the spacer that came with the forks from the PO and go from there.
Hopefully I can find a sweet spot that enables use of the use of the preload setting cap in the fork.

[RichDesmond]

Glen, see the Note A section here:

http://sonicsprings.com/catalog/damper_rod_forks_tech_article.php

That will help you get to 15mm of static preload with the caps in the middle of their range.

[dorkburger]

Thanks Rich. Hoping to get to this this week. Everything is cleaned, rods drilled, PDF units modded to provide free flow and eliminate the need ($) for block off plates and ready to go back together.

Race Tech says to either leave the anti dives in place or use plates with a crossover, but I figured gutting them to provide consistent flow couldn't hurt.
I appreciate your info and input for completing this job.

In other not related, but mentioned here items.... Federici's had a fire. Not a total loss, but they will be closed for a while. Good thing I got 1kg springs and not 1.1.....

[RichDesmond]

Thanks Rich. Hoping to get to this this week. Everything is cleaned, rods drilled, PDF units modded to provide free flow and eliminate the need ($) for block off plates and ready to go back together.

Race Tech says to either leave the anti dives in place or use plates with a crossover, but I figured gutting them to provide consistent flow couldn't hurt.
I appreciate your info and input for completing this job.

In other not related, but mentioned here items.... Federici's had a fire. Not a total loss, but they will be closed for a while. Good thing I got 1kg springs and not 1.1.....

Oh geez, that's terrible news. Hopefully they can get reopened pretty quickly.
In the meantime, Mom and Dad are going to have to find another Friday dinner spot.

[dorkburger]

Just noticed this last night .... .95 springs.

[glib]

Just noticed this last night .... .95 springs.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]53932[/ATTACH]

So bring on the ravioli but hold the French bread?

[TxGSrider]

Just noticed this last night .... .95 springs.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]53932[/ATTACH]

Sorry Glen,
I bought and installed the springs a couple years ago, and now that I think about it, I believe I had ordered 1.0 springs but Sonic was temporarily out of them and suggested the .95. I hope hat didn't mess up your build plans or anything.

[dorkburger]

No worries. Even if they are a bit light, im sure it will still be worlds better then stock.

And Glib, the restaurant mentioned, while really good overall, is especially noted for its absolutely wonderful thin crust pizza. Yum.....