--- In
DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "clearprop5" wrote:
> I went to the
> emulators and was told by race tech not to use the progressive
> springs. They said these springs would not allow the emulators to
> have full travel. At least thats what race tech said.
He's wrong, sort of. Progressive spring are not ideal, but not for the
reason he said. A straight rate spring in a telescopic fork becomes
progressive due to the "air spring" of the trapped air inside as the
fork collapses. An air spring is extremely progressive. A progressive
wound spring in a fork is therefore doubly-progressive and harsh at
mid to full compression. It makes it very difficult to tune the
rebound damping.
The progressive springs are nice because they maintain ride height
better with a variable load. They are also the only game in town for
the stock KLR forks. Go back to the progressive springs.
> 1. Has anyone found some constant rate sprinigs for the KLR
I looked for a couple of months. Doesn't mean they aren't out there,
but I couldn't find them.
> or can I
> use even longer spacers to get the preload up a little or has anyone
> used the progressive springs with good success?
I used the progressive springs with a 2" spacer. Home Depot has a
copper pipe coupling, that's 2" long, either for 1" or 1.25" pipe,
that just dropped in. Remember the washers between the preload spacers
and the springs.
> 2. How many turns on the emulators have been used with favorable
> results?
Progressive says 0-7 turns is the working range. I would stick with 4
turns after you change the springs, see if it works with the higher
spring rate. Change one thing at a time, and get a notebook and write
down EVERYTHING you do to the front end, at what mileage, on what date.