New fork springs – worth it?
Discussion
You don't mention which bike...
All bikes will benefit from appropriately specified springs according to your weight and usage.
How much though will kind of depend on the bike and how old it is. Older/cheaper bikes with damper rods *REALLY* benefit from appropriate springs and emulators.
All bikes will benefit from appropriately specified springs according to your weight and usage.
How much though will kind of depend on the bike and how old it is. Older/cheaper bikes with damper rods *REALLY* benefit from appropriate springs and emulators.
A really good aftermarket shock makes a world of difference in terms of road holding, handling and U.K. road management. In my experience it’s only when you’ve tried one that you realise just how utterly crap most motorcycle suspension is.
Decent springs will help, on the basis that if you’re running the correct spring for your weight and do an oil change then the suspension (even if it isn’t great) will still be working at its optimum.
You won’t however get the full effect, as the damping on a really good shock will be able to deal with the crap roads in the U.K. much better. Going from standard Suzuki shock to a decent spec Wilbers was literally night and day different.
TLDR: Sort of.
Decent springs will help, on the basis that if you’re running the correct spring for your weight and do an oil change then the suspension (even if it isn’t great) will still be working at its optimum.
You won’t however get the full effect, as the damping on a really good shock will be able to deal with the crap roads in the U.K. much better. Going from standard Suzuki shock to a decent spec Wilbers was literally night and day different.
TLDR: Sort of.
As for the quality, springs are springs!
The difference between the cheap and expensive tends to be more in accuracy of measurement more than anything else. If you imagine that any given spring is +/- 5% then Nitron, Ohlins etc may actually test each spring and then accurately mark them so if you're buying a 0.95Kg/mm spring you're getting a 0.95Kg/mm spring...while the cheap and nasty may actually be anywhere between 0.90Kg/mm and 1.00Kg/mm.
If the original however is a 0.7Kg/mm and you need a 0.95Kg/mm even the cheap and nasty is going to be an improvement!
The difference between the cheap and expensive tends to be more in accuracy of measurement more than anything else. If you imagine that any given spring is +/- 5% then Nitron, Ohlins etc may actually test each spring and then accurately mark them so if you're buying a 0.95Kg/mm spring you're getting a 0.95Kg/mm spring...while the cheap and nasty may actually be anywhere between 0.90Kg/mm and 1.00Kg/mm.
If the original however is a 0.7Kg/mm and you need a 0.95Kg/mm even the cheap and nasty is going to be an improvement!
People get snooty about progressive rate springs but on the road they are a decent solution to improving stock / basic suspension.
Hyperpro do a combined shock unit and fork spring deal which is decent bang for buck.
As someone else said if your weight puts you way out of range of standard spring rates getting the right weight will help loads.
If you are just after a slightly nicer ride with minimal outlay tyres can make a surprising difference. I found Metzler M7RR really comfortable tyres. The M9RR may be better still but the M7 is an OK price for what you get.
Hyperpro do a combined shock unit and fork spring deal which is decent bang for buck.
As someone else said if your weight puts you way out of range of standard spring rates getting the right weight will help loads.
If you are just after a slightly nicer ride with minimal outlay tyres can make a surprising difference. I found Metzler M7RR really comfortable tyres. The M9RR may be better still but the M7 is an OK price for what you get.
Yes, ofcourse they will make a difference.
I made the mistake of totally ignoring any suspension upgrades or setting changes for most of my biking life and have only started changing/upgrading parts in the last 3 or 4 years.
My VFR has a Nitron R1 shock, K Tech Springs and a K Tech Piston kit in the forks all sprung for my weight.
My CBF500 has a YSS shock (sprung for my weight), Hyperpro progressive springs and YSS PD valves.
Hell, I even fitted slightly better shocks to my CZ.
It's absolutely unbelieveable the difference it makes. Many people (ignorantly) assume that the only reason is for performance. This is not the case. My VFR went from running wide, squatting and crashing over every bump, to holiding it's line, going (relatively) smoothly over even some of the worst of bumps and being incredibly stable at speed. My CBF went from bottoming out, crashing over everything and feeling as though it had a hinge in the middle to being really quite pleasant to ride.
ANYONE would benefit from a suspension upgrade/setting change on a stock bike.
I made the mistake of totally ignoring any suspension upgrades or setting changes for most of my biking life and have only started changing/upgrading parts in the last 3 or 4 years.
My VFR has a Nitron R1 shock, K Tech Springs and a K Tech Piston kit in the forks all sprung for my weight.
My CBF500 has a YSS shock (sprung for my weight), Hyperpro progressive springs and YSS PD valves.
Hell, I even fitted slightly better shocks to my CZ.
It's absolutely unbelieveable the difference it makes. Many people (ignorantly) assume that the only reason is for performance. This is not the case. My VFR went from running wide, squatting and crashing over every bump, to holiding it's line, going (relatively) smoothly over even some of the worst of bumps and being incredibly stable at speed. My CBF went from bottoming out, crashing over everything and feeling as though it had a hinge in the middle to being really quite pleasant to ride.
ANYONE would benefit from a suspension upgrade/setting change on a stock bike.
I don't need convincing about the shock and suspension setup 
Fastdruid said:
As for the quality, springs are springs!
The difference between the cheap and expensive tends to be more in accuracy of measurement more than anything else.
Thanks. The next issue is between changing the springs vs a complete cartridge kit for front forks. Presumably, new springs alone only help if the OE is crap or the rider's eaten too many (or too few) pies? However, cartridge kits for front forks aren't cheap.The difference between the cheap and expensive tends to be more in accuracy of measurement more than anything else.
Getting the suspension done is about having it aligned to your weight and preferences, regardless of road conditions.
If the sag numbers indicate you can't get the preload where the sag is optimal, springs may be warranted.
If the suspension's reaction to the roads you're riding isn't confidence inspiring or even downright dangerous, anything from a re-valve , different oil to a full cartridge kit may be the route to go as well as the correctly weighted springs.......
It comes down to what you want and for how much $$$
If the sag numbers indicate you can't get the preload where the sag is optimal, springs may be warranted.
If the suspension's reaction to the roads you're riding isn't confidence inspiring or even downright dangerous, anything from a re-valve , different oil to a full cartridge kit may be the route to go as well as the correctly weighted springs.......
It comes down to what you want and for how much $$$
Edited by Steve Bass on Tuesday 8th August 17:12
Salted_Peanut said:
I don't need convincing about the shock and suspension setup
It will totally depend on your love of pies (or not) and the bike model as to if a spring change will help. For example if the OE spring is a 0.85Kg/mm swapping to an Ohlins 0.85Kg/mm spring won't do *anything* apart from having changed the oil! Unless of course the original springs are progressive and you've just swapped to a linear (or vv). Fastdruid said:
As for the quality, springs are springs!
The difference between the cheap and expensive tends to be more in accuracy of measurement more than anything else.
Thanks. The next issue is between changing the springs vs a complete cartridge kit for front forks. Presumably, new springs alone only help if the OE is crap or the rider's eaten too many (or too few) pies? However, cartridge kits for front forks aren't cheap.The difference between the cheap and expensive tends to be more in accuracy of measurement more than anything else.
So two things here.
Firstly, the stock damping is designed round the springs but also the springs are designed round the damping. So if you change the spring rate significantly then the damping also needs to change.
Secondly outside of the top end bikes stock damping is very much a compromise. On your latest and greatest £30k hyper-super-R1XRRRR missile it'll have fancy suspension with all the bells, whistles and enough adjustability to go from utterly terrible through to perfect and back out the other side to terrible again! On your cheap, budget commuter you're going to be lucky to have preload adjustment and it'll be designed to cater to the lowest common denominator. However a bike designed to be the perfect track weapon isn't going to be that great on the road and equally a bike designed to be a commuter isn't going to cut it on the track.
Finally, you have acknowledged "issues", various bikes are known to have forks that are too soft or too harsh or even sometimes both at the same time! Sometimes this is because of the other compromises, for example soft springs but then over-damped to make up for the soft springs.
Aftermarket decent cartridges or even just replacement piston kits (which are cheaper but not quite as good) will give much better damping control and again, they'll be round what *YOU* want to do with your bike, your weight and how you ride it. Even if you can't properly describe what is "wrong" you'll notice the difference.
I found that just fitting the heavier springs to my VFR made the dive and general handling much better but the bumps were almost worse. The fork piston kit stopped that.
On my CBF the Hyperpro springs helped in the same way along with heavier oil but the damping was still bad. The PD valves (about £65] greatly helped the damping and allowed me to use normal weight oil.
On my CBF the Hyperpro springs helped in the same way along with heavier oil but the damping was still bad. The PD valves (about £65] greatly helped the damping and allowed me to use normal weight oil.
The answer is yes and no.
I changed the springs & oil on my Silverwing to Hyperpros over the winter. The change is remarkable, the ride is much more controlled although it is firmer at slow speed.
Does it improve things over potholes? Not really, you need something like a motocross bike with large wheels, soft tyres and long travel suspension to deal with them.
I changed the springs & oil on my Silverwing to Hyperpros over the winter. The change is remarkable, the ride is much more controlled although it is firmer at slow speed.
Does it improve things over potholes? Not really, you need something like a motocross bike with large wheels, soft tyres and long travel suspension to deal with them.
Apart from my original Hayabusa and my current KTM 1290, most of the bikes in between have had poor suspension, the latest bikes the worst. Forks you can get re-valved and serviced and springs to match your weight, this has been quite useful in the past for me. Rear shocks are often junk and just better off replacing it with something like a Nitron R1 or similar again with an appropriate spring. Getting it adjusted properly is also important - without the set up being correct you're wasting the money.
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