rear spring

For street vehicles, tuned for spirited driving, I have always found progressive to provide a good compromise between optimum performance and everyday circumstances such as pot holes or 2x4s laying in the road.
Preferential differences aside, when properly tuned, any type of suspension will perform much better than one which is improperly set up.
 
Well...
I did some testing on my ride today. I had thought the roughness over bumps that I was feeling was the progressive spring getting into the stiffer coils... but my zip tie showed something different:
spring.jpg
The zip tie is buried in the bump stop.
I ended up adding a bunch of preload and tried various damping. Adding more damping made things too rough (15 clicks from closed). Adding less (20 clicks from closed) made it smoother, but more likely to hit the bump stop. I had thought this shock was only rebound adjustable, but maybe the setting effects compression too. Or maybe my bum is out of calibration.
As I added preload the dag became less...
So, I'm thinking I had this wrong... perhaps I do need a stiffer spring, although this is confused by the progressive rate of the stock unit. But I think the super harshness over bumps I was feeling was the shock bottoming out. I'm REALLY surprised, ad I am much lighter than the average North American rider. I've never had a bike under sprung...
 
seems unlikely you need stiffer spring at 65kg, rebound damping won't affect the zip tie, only compression and preload.

From the manual it is only a rebound adjustment, So only thing you can do is increase preload to prevent the zip tie from getting buried.
 
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I think the general assumption is that the shock is not the optimum for alot of riding styles. This would probably explain why you can see alot of people takin the stock progressive spring and throwing it on with an R1 or R6 shock in order to upgrade performance.
 
Well, I looked at shocks for a bit... and after staring at the prices and how long it would take to get one, I figured I'll try a spring first.
It's a bit of guesswork on the spring rate, but we will see how it goes.
I ordered an H&R RF180130
That's 60mm ID, 180mm long and 130 N/mm rate. About US$60
I'll report back on how this works... hopefully my spring compressor fits this shock.
If it fits, I figure it will help me with finding the optimal spring rate, even if the stock damping proves inadequate.
1605218601663.jpg
 
Sisco said:
how much do you weight? you should just get a Nitron R1 or R2 and be done with it.

It's worth the money if you're into spirited riding, increase handling = increase safety.

It's also a really easy to swap in and out (15mins) and resale value for aftermarket shock is really good, you'll get some of the money back, while you gain the benefit of superior suspension that is correct for you weight in the mean time.
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Hi Sisco, I'm a heavier rider and just got my Svartpilen 401. I weigh 110 kg and am 184 cm tall. My city here in mexico is riddled with pot holes, speed bumps and just bad street repair. You seem to know much more than me so... What shock would you recommend I get for my new bike? Any and all info is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 
Svart SW said:
How did this new spring turn out? Improvement?
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Great!
More detail here:
hqvadventure.com

rear spring swap

In a separate thread I brought up the idea of swapping out the rear spring on my 2020 Svartpilen 401. Today, I swapped out the rear spring. I had purchased an H&R HRF 180 60 130 (180mm free length, 60mm ID, 130 N/mm). This spring rate was recommended by some experts for my weight, 165 pounds...
hqvadventure.com hqvadventure.com
 
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