Krispy1
Well-Known Member
Why such a stiff spring? Are you going to track the bike? I ask because I am a heavy rider who likes to ride at a good clip and I only run .95's up front. BTW I love you taking the time to document this!
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Why such a stiff spring? Are you going to track the bike? I ask because I am a heavy rider who likes to ride at a good clip and I only run .95's up front. BTW I love you taking the time to document this!
ahh the beauty of a beater bike The Ninja gets reserved for filth duty.I am anxious to hear how the front end works as i really didnt want to spend money on the R1 conversion.The wife said she is buy my shock for our anniversary however I will not be going with the remote resevoir,I think its overkill for me and I dont like the resevoir hanging off the side.LOL! For me, cleaning it is not priority. I ride it in every type of weather that doesn't involve ice. But I will because it IS dirtier than normal by a long shot!
ahh the beauty of a beater bike The Ninja gets reserved for filth duty.I am anxious to hear how the front end works as i really didnt want to spend money on the R1 conversion.The wife said she is buy my shock for our anniversary however I will not be going with the remote resevoir,I think its overkill for me and I dont like the resevoir hanging off the side.
Cobalt,
thanks again for starting this thread. I just installed my shock on Thursday and got about 600 miles on it already.
I did have to make some adjustments to get the Penske dialed in and I am not sure but I might need to go with a softer spring rate but it is close. My ride started out rock hard. talked to Lee about it and he recomended taking off half a turn on the preload, which got me in the neighborhood; 3/4 turn and I feel I am in the acceptable range in terms of softness but now my free sag is 17mm which is 2mm ot of the normal range. Still need to check my sag when on the bike after the adjustments.
Overall the Penske 8983 is a solid upgrade. Most notable is the more responsive turnin on corner entry and significantly less pull to the outside of corners on corner exit under heavy throttle. Clearly, the ability of the shock to comply with bumps is better and this is noticable both in upright ridig and when hitting irregularities in mid corner. Finally, squatting is gone and the bike also does not feel like it is diving as much on hard braking, which I think is due to less rocking of the who suspension when transitioning from throttle to break.
Overall, while I still feel I can get the shock more dialed in, if I had to I would certainly do this again!
Congrats to both of you for the upgrade!!! It sure is nice to ride now. As I said, I'd thought the stocker wasn't that bad until I rode this Penske. I think the heavier riders appreciate this more than the lighter riders though.
The only issue I am having, and I have a question in with Racetech about it, is the new springs are rubbing a little in the forks. It's not noticeable while riding, only slightly when the bike is off and you hold the front brake and bounce the front hard. Curious to see what they have to say.
After a 7 hour ride on the best twisties in the area all I have to say is I'm glad I did it. The bike feels more planted, the response in the bends is fantastic, you don't feel like it's bending and pogoing , but instead you feel secure and you realize you can go even faster Also straight forward response is much better ..
Cobalt, I read something about turning the springs inside the forks 180 degrees, that solved the problem for some people.
Nice job on the brackets Eric. Let me know where you found the H.D. Shrink Tubing. I want to pick some up. Thanks.