Fork Mods: Spacer questions

[Nate R]

I put in .85 springs and 20 wt oil in my SV. I cut off 5 mm from the stock spacers, and now have about 5mm TOTAL sag WITH a rider. Any suggestions on how much more to cut off? (Does 10 mm more off = 10 mm more sag? I don't think so, but I have no idea)

The spring rate/damping combo seems Ok when I'm on the brakes, as in it doesn't dive, or bottom out, but I need to normally be working more towards the middle of the suspension range, so I obviously need more sag.

[mdr14]

Hey there chief, your scaring me right now.

All else being equal, assuming you have the correct springs for your setup, and an earlier non external preload adjustable SV 650 front end...

you should have appr. **25mm of pre- load on the spring. ( that means that with the fork cap on, the spring is compressed 25mm) your range can be appr plus or minus about 10 mm. when you are tuning the suspension

You need to check to see the spacer you are using is cut to a correct length. 5mm of total sag, would not be correct based on the way I measure sag. ( you may be doing something wacky)

If you need further help setting up pre-load, email me direct.

[Nate R]

I know it's not right. What I didn't know before is that the Race Tech Spring is longer than the stock one. So, I need to cut the spacer, but I don't know how much I should cut it. I don't understand how that scares you. I stated that I KNEW the spacer was now too long, and that's why I had such little sag.

That 5mm is just a guess by watching how little the forks compress when I sit on the bike. I took it for a ride, and it was topping out on some bumps.

I'll e-mail you further about this, but I'm just saying that I know the sag should be more, and I already stated that. I also already stated that the spacer is NOT the correct length, and that I was looking for #s on what the correct length should be. 25mm of preload makes sense. I'd guess I have about 40 right now.

[Thingy]

Druckerrrrrrrr!!!!

Good to see you on the board.  Are we gonna see you more this year?  Looking forward to it.  Later.  :D

[tzracer]

When I test for length, I use a temporary spacers made from PVC (make sure not to get any plastic pieces inside the fork). Make some spacers of various lengths and do some testing. Once you have determined the proper length, cut the stock spacers to the proper length. I don't like the idea of using PVC as a permanant spacer because I have seen them chip, leaving the plastic chips inside the forks.

[mdr14]

Hey Bill, I'm one of those lurkers.. ya just never know where I'm at.... I do stay off the wera board though.. SOme of those guys take stuff a little too seriously.

It is quite possible you may see me at every CCS midwest race this year... I got some deals brewing.

Nate you have mail.

[KBOlsen]

Woohoo!  Matt, that's GREAT news!