Member Contributer swimmer Posted August 29, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted August 29, 2016 For anyone that has installed aftermarket springs on your forks, what spring rate did you get and what is your weight? My Traxxion kit came with 1.1kg which, based on my un-geared rider weight of 155lbs seems a little high compared to what I think I have seen others post. I've never really been happy with my traxxion kit which I've had for about a year and I'd like to work on getting it dialed in whether that means changing fluid level, fork springs or whatever... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Yokel Posted August 29, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted August 29, 2016 That does seem high. I got 1.2kg/mm from Traxxion by way of Penske, based on a geared weight of 275lbs riding hard. Haven't installed yet, but should be about right based on the folks I've talked to. I'd think at your weight geared up, with 1.1kg springs, you might not even get sag... Maybe someone closer to your size will chime in... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNIDawg Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 check the sag to see if springs are right here's a couple of DIY (but you need 2 friends to help) http://www.motorcyclenews.com/new-rider/choosing-kit/2006/november/feb23-05-how-to-set-suspension-sag/ http://racetech.com/articles/SuspensionAndSprings.htm calculator here: http://www.theridingobsession.com/motorcycle/maintenance/tools/adjust-suspension-sag/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer VFROZ Posted August 30, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted August 30, 2016 That is too hard. I weigh 165lbs without gear and have 0.95 springs. I only need 0.9, but went a bit harder as I tour 2 up a lot and ride fairly hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Cogswell Posted August 30, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted August 30, 2016 I would agree. I had Jamie Daugherty rework my forks and shock. I weigh 205 (no riding gear) and ride moderately, sometimes aggressively hard. He put .95 kg/mm springs in my forks - I find that it works well for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lshark Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 Jamie did my forks too, i'm 265 lbs, he put 1.1 kg/mm springs in....right on the money....only had to add one turn to preload adjusters to get sag settings perfect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer swimmer Posted August 30, 2016 Author Member Contributer Share Posted August 30, 2016 So it seems like my casual observations are correct, that I got too stiff springs. I emailed Traxxion early today to confirm what my spring rates were and told him of my concern that I may have too stiff of springs and he said they user somewhat stiff springs because of the forward weight bias of the vfr1200, same as the C14 he said. He offered to swap out one of my springs for a 1.0 springs giving me an effective rate of 1.05. That seems not significant enough. I trust what Jamie does since he has so much experience with this motorcycle and a lot of satisfied customers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Cogswell Posted August 30, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted August 30, 2016 Just noticed this is in the 7th gen forum - mine's a 6th gen if thst makes a difference. Maybe drop Jamie an email and see what he has to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veeefour Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 11 hours ago, swimmer said: For anyone that has installed aftermarket springs on your forks, what spring rate did you get and what is your weight? My Traxxion kit came with 1.1kg which, based on my un-geared rider weight of 155lbs seems a little high compared to what I think I have seen others post. I've never really been happy with my traxxion kit which I've had for about a year and I'd like to work on getting it dialed in whether that means changing fluid level, fork springs or whatever... Well, 11N spring is what I have chosen for me(not installed yet because it will be full Ohlins) and I'm well over 240 lbs. Waay too stiff for you my friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted August 30, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted August 30, 2016 I installed(DMracing) the .95 and they went flat after 9 months, if you ride hard alot I would install the 1.00. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted August 30, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted August 30, 2016 PS I am 200lbs with gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer swimmer Posted August 30, 2016 Author Member Contributer Share Posted August 30, 2016 1 hour ago, Switchblade said: PS I am 200lbs with gear. Your profile suggests 6th gen though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted August 30, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted August 30, 2016 2 hours ago, swimmer said: Your profile suggests 6th gen though. Yeap and a RC51 Kyle Racing has a fork upgrade for the big girl. Our Products >> SELECT YOUR BIKE >> Honda >> VFR1200F VFR1200F VFR1200F Ohlins 30mm NIX Cartridge Kit We are custom installing the latest & greatest Ohlins 30mm NIX Cartridge Kits into the OEM SHOWA forks on the VFR1200 Subscribe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer swimmer Posted August 30, 2016 Author Member Contributer Share Posted August 30, 2016 That kit looks nice but after having bought the traxxion kit I'd like to get that to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veeefour Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 Eric, I will be upgrading my front suspension shortly. I'm considering Traxxion as a first choice, ohlins as a second. Please tell me, does your Traxxion kit has a compression adjuster in one fork leg and rebound adjuster in second fork leg? Or there's only rebound? Ohlins cartridge is adjustable just like that. Maybe you can even take some pics for me? P.S I might take your 1.1 springs as this is correct value for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer swimmer Posted August 30, 2016 Author Member Contributer Share Posted August 30, 2016 Yes, rebound adjustment in the right fork, compression in the left. Not much to photograph though as the OEM fork caps are retained. I had one issue (I think) with the install which I can describe later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer swimmer Posted August 30, 2016 Author Member Contributer Share Posted August 30, 2016 13 hours ago, Cogswell said: Just noticed this is in the 7th gen forum - mine's a 6th gen if thst makes a difference. Maybe drop Jamie an email and see what he has to say. I contacted him this morning. Jamie suggested 1.0kg. That also seems higher than what people here are suggesting. Hard to dismiss his suggestion though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veeefour Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 55 minutes ago, swimmer said: Yes, rebound adjustment in the right fork, compression in the left. Not much to photograph though as the OEM fork caps are retained. I had one issue (I think) with the install which I can describe later. Oki doki - seems that it would be Traxxion for me. Any feedback on these? Besides way too hard springs if you can tell something at all at this condition? I also thought they offer some nice custom fork caps? Any input appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bayarearider Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 10 hours ago, swimmer said: I contacted him this morning. Jamie suggested 1.0kg. That also seems higher than what people here are suggesting. Hard to dismiss his suggestion though. I don't mean to skew the consensus here much but riding at close to 195lbs geared up, a Givi V47 box and V35 sidebags (rarely), I'm riding on Öhlins 1.1kg springs with Andreni valves. They feel pretty good to me and even better two up. My question to the crew that went the DMr route, for the OE shock rebuild, Any feedback on the rebuild feel and adjustment availability would be appreciated. I currently run just a few clicks before full lock clockwise-solo, and full lock when two-up. I know that the Öhlins HO013 recommendation from Kyle Racing would solve the problem. I want to know if DMr's solution is viable at 1/3rd the cost. Btw-Kyle does Not recommend rebuilding the OE shock and don't believe they offer that service. Decisions... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer swimmer Posted August 31, 2016 Author Member Contributer Share Posted August 31, 2016 6 hours ago, bayarearider said: I don't mean to skew the consensus here much but riding at close to 195lbs geared up, a Givi V47 box and V35 sidebags (rarely), I'm riding on Öhlins 1.1kg springs with Andreni valves. They feel pretty good to me and even better two up. Mine also feels better when riding 2up. I think I am going to go ahead and order the .95kg springs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lshark Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 i did the DMr fork upgrade on both my VFR and my Valkyrie......the results are beyond my expectations....if i didn't have an Ohlins in the VFR already, i wouldn't hesitate to do Jamie's rear shock upgrade Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Duc2V4 Posted August 31, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted August 31, 2016 42 minutes ago, lshark said: i did the DMr fork upgrade on both my VFR and my Valkyrie......the results are beyond my expectations....if i didn't have an Ohlins in the VFR already, i wouldn't hesitate to do Jamie's rear shock upgrade Although he seems to work more with Showa than Ohlins, I'm sure he can tailor the Ohlins to suit you. He rebuilt my Penske that I have on my 5 Gen and I'm very happy with the results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogue_Biker Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 10 hours ago, bayarearider said: I don't mean to skew the consensus here much but riding at close to 195lbs geared up, a Givi V47 box and V35 sidebags (rarely), I'm riding on Öhlins 1.1kg springs with Andreni valves. They feel pretty good to me and even better two up. My question to the crew that went the DMr route, for the OE shock rebuild, Any feedback on the rebuild feel and adjustment availability would be appreciated. I currently run just a few clicks before full lock clockwise-solo, and full lock when two-up. I know that the Öhlins HO013 recommendation from Kyle Racing would solve the problem. I want to know if DMr's solution is viable at 1/3rd the cost. Btw-Kyle does Not recommend rebuilding the OE shock and don't believe they offer that service. Decisions... I have a 6th Gen and I had DMr rebuild my stock rear shock. Since I only just did this 400 miles ago, my memories of the old shock are still fresh so here goes. OLD OEM Shock: I had my preload usually adjusted to the #2 position with the rebound damping about halfway. This gave me a comfortably firm ride and damping. This setting was very comfortable in the freeway until you hit big bumps, wherein the shock took two cycles up and down to settle. Big enough and sharp enough bumps will often kick me off the seat. I could soften the shock settings up to take away the harshness but it compromised fast riding in the canyons too much. So I kept it at this setting. But even here, the rear end would wobble a bit when ridden aggressively, at high lean angle, with bumps. Hit a big enough bump when leaned over and the bike transmitted the harshness of those bumps direct to me and it was usually enough to tense me up and upset my groove. This did not inspire confidence at all when the roads were twisty AND bumpy. Smooth roads, it was just fine though. DMr Rebuilt SHOCK: The preload position is set to #1 (softest) and the rebound damping still at halfway. This setting is comfortably firm just like the stock. But hit some big bumps and the suspension soaks it up with no harshness. The rear also recovers very quickly from any movement. So in the freeway, even those with uneven joints, the bike remains calm and controlled with no hobby-horsing effect. The lack of any harshness when I hit a big bump has taken away the “cringe factor” I had with the stock suspension. Since I no longer anticipate that harshness, I’m more relaxed. This makes it much easier and more fun to ride the bike hard and fast. I specified to DMr that I did sporty rides on my VFR more than anything so my suspension is tuned more to be sporty. The shock raised the rear a bit and now the bike turns in quick and linear whether I’m on the brakes or accelerating. This consistency in steering feel no matter what I was doing, along with the quicker response to my input, as well as the fast recovery, takes away any worry when I’m about to hit the apex at higher than normal speeds. The bottom line, I feel like I can ride the bike to MY LIMITS and it will consistently deliver what I expect it to, whether it’s a smooth road or a bumpy road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lshark Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 4 hours ago, Duc2V4 said: Although he seems to work more with Showa than Ohlins, I'm sure he can tailor the Ohlins to suit you. He rebuilt my Penske that I have on my 5 Gen and I'm very happy with the results. my Ohlins is fine, what i meant is that if i still had the OEM shock installed, i would have had DMr revalve it....his work is right on the money....he does do Ohlins in a few years when it's time to overhaul the shock, i'll send it to him.......i took my bike to a local racing shop and had the sag and damping settings done.....BTW, the VFR forks and shock are KYB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer swimmer Posted August 31, 2016 Author Member Contributer Share Posted August 31, 2016 On 8/30/2016 at 11:43 AM, veeefour said: Oki doki - seems that it would be Traxxion for me. Any feedback on these? Besides way too hard springs if you can tell something at all at this condition? I also thought they offer some nice custom fork caps? Any input appreciated. Prez, I ordered new springs and I will update my impression of the forks/cartridge kit once I get those installed next weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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