Suspension too soft???

[dustinb]

im not sure if my front is too soft or not, this is my first bike. It seems if i hold the front brakes and push forward the front forks compress to easily? If i adjust the compression knobs it doesnt seem to affect anythign either. This is a 1996 kat kit 7000 miles on it and it has been sitting for years if that helps.

[blkpitbull]

You talking about the brass strait screw at the top of the fork?? Thats for rebound not compression. The only way really to stiffen up the forks is put in heavier weight fork oil and maybe a stiffer spring! You probably need new for oil anyways, being its that old!

[md86]

Or a spacer . Look it up . I made one . I like what it did .

[blkpitbull]

Or a spacer . Look it up . I made one . I like what it did .

yep forgot about that!!!!

[Black_peter]

Those knobs (black plastic with 1-2-3) are only going to effect the forks under high speed (fast up/down not fast riding). You might not even have oil in there, I've seen that. Do a search, all the information you need is here.
I'm sure of it. (how to check the oil, rebuild the forks etc..)

[The CyberPoet]

Do a search, all the information you need is here.
I'm sure of it. (how to check the oil, rebuild the forks etc..)

Mostly because he wrote the how-to's for the forks

The Katana's 600 & 750's use a progressive (2-stage) spring rate in their OEM springs -- the top inch or two of the spring has looser turns than the rest.. This design helps it suck up little bumps and big bumps at two different rates, but the downside to it is that when you're on the brakes, the bike will dive through the weaker zone really easily, resulting in a lot of brake dive.
When you put a spacer in there, you are effectively pre-compressing the spring's weaker section so it doesn't play into the action (or plays into it only a little bit).

If, at any point, the forks dive all the way down to the point that they stop, it's a serious indication that the springs have permanently weakened too much and should be replaced.

Factory spec calls for rebuilding your forks every other year (new oil seals, new dust seals, and new oil). Parts are fairly cheap ($40 should net you all the parts you need), and a typical shop gets an hour of labor per fork to do the rebuild (hour-and-a-half if they're still on the bike).

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[dustinb]

thanks alot, i will look into it more now. I think they are OK tho, since they do not go down that far. it just seems like they do go throught that first stage.

[ThAzKat]

race tech springs for your weight for the katana.

I used a longer spacer in my bike. Yes, stock is to soft for most riders, I think "generic" comes to mind. Manufactures like to keep the stock suspension soft for those who are new to riding.

[philwecksr]

I'm getting some of those sonic springs (www.sonicsprings.com) monday. I'll post up how they feel.

On another note, just put 15W oil in my forks and it made a HUGE difference, I think. I haven't been out on it yet, but they feel stiffer.....

[ravenous reign]

doin mine tommorow. tryin the 3/4 spacer, raising it 1/8, the 15w oil, new seals and dust covers. anything else i need or should try? just got the bike, it has 33,000 miles and is in good shape, just not maintained well.

[Black_peter]

doin mine tommorow. tryin the 3/4 spacer, raising it 1/8, the 15w oil, new seals and dust covers. anything else i need or should try? just got the bike, it has 33,000 miles and is in good shape, just not maintained well.

Raising it 1/8 inch? Or lowering it? Clean the parts really well.. 30K you shouldn't need bushings. Inspect the sliders really well, look carefully for nicks..

[ravenous reign]

Raising it 1/8 inch? Or lowering it? Clean the parts really well.. 30K you shouldn't need bushings. Inspect the sliders really well, look carefully for nicks..[/quote]

raising the forks 1/8 above the clamp. (lowering the bike) the sliders look pretty good but i'll double check.... thanks.

[Black_peter]

raising the forks 1/8 above the clamp. (lowering the bike) the sliders look pretty good but i'll double check.... thanks.

Hold off on the 1/8 adjustment. It's always good to do things one at a time.
In fact I would rebuild the forks, ride it. (find a good road you are so comfortable with that you can take time to notice what the forks feel like)
Then add the spacer.
Then drop the 1/8 inch.. (or more)

[ravenous reign]

does the 1/8 inch drop make that much of a difference? i could hold off on the spacers, but i would like to do the drop while i have it all apart so i can get it all torqed, locktited and be done with it. i ride hard and im pretty adaptable on any bike, rockets/choppers/quads so i wouldnt mind a aggressive suspension.

raising the forks 1/8 above the clamp. (lowering the bike) the sliders look pretty good but i'll double check.... thanks.

Hold off on the 1/8 adjustment. It's always good to do things one at a time.
In fact I would rebuild the forks, ride it. (find a good road you are so comfortable with that you can take time to notice what the forks feel like)
Then add the spacer.
Then drop the 1/8 inch.. (or more)

[Black_peter]

does the 1/8 inch drop make that much of a difference? i could hold off on the spacers, but i would like to do the drop while i have it all apart so i can get it all torqed, locktited and be done with it. i ride hard and im pretty adaptable on any bike, rockets/choppers/quads so i wouldnt mind a aggressive suspension.

Well there is not a lot of torquing and no loc-tite involved in dropping the front end. But I hate for you to be taken by surprise. After all you could take a ruler and the wrenches with you and do the drop on the road..

The 1/8 drop can really speed up the turn in. The part where the bike "falls" over into a turn.