Suspension people

You are assuming, of course, that I'll actually get it right. Suspension mods are a new field for me. Engine mods, no problem. Servicing and even complicated mechanical work holds no terrors for me at all. Suspension though, hmmmmm! Almost a 'Black Art' really. Will give anything a go once. I am in command of a fairly large repertoire of swear words, so I should be able to do it. Jury is still out though. Will try to keep you posted on a f$%k up by f@#k up basis.

When I get this upgrade done I'll have to take a ride up your way and you can suss it out! I'll get the details off the dude when the jobs done, valve size, spring rate and all that shit. The rear is pretty straight forward except for the spring upgrade but the front has to specially tweeked at the valve level so I understand.

If you're getting racetech in the front that would be handy. Still fiddling with mine. Getting better and better but the roads around my place are getting worse and worse (seriously, people are starting to write letters to the editor in the local rag about the state of the roads around Rosewood) so it's still hard to get it right. Can't afford to do the rear shock yet, which would make the front easier to sort. And barely got time to fiddle with the front because I always seem to be at work. I think I need 28 hour days.

Goanna its good to see someone is prepared to get the spanners out and have a go mate.

Hope Ya get it sorted.

Well I got the phone call, the bike goes in today I'll post the details and some picks on this thread when I get her back.

BTW, I had an odd thing happen when I adjusted the steering head, posted the Q" on the other forum.. " the one with all the expert pommy tinkerers on it." Here it is again for anyone who cares to comment..

My front end was "clunking" under sharp braking so I surmised the head needed tightening. After a search of the topics on how to do it I followed the OEM manual, Jack up the front of the bike, loosen lower fork clamps, loosen the big retaining nut up top and tighten the notched adjuster ring down. A simple procedure right? Here's what happened. After a 1/16 or less turn of the adjuster the handlebars no longer fell freely lock to lock, they were tight now, too tight! But on grabbing the front wheel and pushing it back and forward, *clunk clunk*? So I backed the adjuster off again and tightened the hex locknut on top and as I did the clunking disappeared? WTF To all intents I had done nothing.

I haven't ridden it yet and I feel the head is perhaps a smidgen too tight still but I don't understand what is going on. Is the locknut meant to effect the tension in the head bearings, if so it is gonna be hard to get the head adjusted right since it has a specific torque assigned to it? By the way, the locknut was super tight when I originally undid it. I had to use a short length of pipe on the end of the Allen key.

When you tighten up the adjuster nut, it is being pushed away from the side with all the force on it (bearing or whatever). When you tighten up the locknut it pushes the adjuster nut toward the bearing a tad and effectively preloads the bearing a touch more. Your hadlebars should require a small amount of force to turn them lock to lock. What makes it tricky is the drag of cables or hoses tends to disguise how much force is actually needed. Assuming your steering head bearings are in good condition then it should drag a little to turn it (not much though, told you it was tricky). If you can do it, take the handlebars off and support them (a friend is good for this) so that the cables and hoses don't affect how much force is required. Might be and idea, if the place that is doing your suspension has time, to get them to check and possibly change bearings. The forks are out and handlebars are detached so they are 3 quarters of the way there. Are the bearings notchy feeling as you turn the wheel? If they feel notchy they should be hurled as far as possible and replaced.

not notchy mate, smooth as silk. And I see what ya mean about the preloading now, all is ok!

I saw it at the suspention shop today Goanna, there in it's box, "the Holy Grail of rear-shocks" And a nice set of Wilbers springs for the forks. It's only a matter of hours now... just hours.....

Hi, so how is the suspension now was it money well spent? I would love to do the same with my ZX9. I plan to keep the bike for a few years so could be money well spent.

I saw it at the suspention shop today Goanna, there in it's box, "the Holy Grail of rear-shocks"

did it have the magical "ohlins" word on it

seriously tho, if you can get someone that knows what they are doing you wont know yourself....speaking from experience only