cogent dynamics moab shock ride report

[guy.massicotte@recreation.bombardier.com]

I need to move my bike in a trailer, How many time i can leave my bike with the bender on the front suspension day, week ???? is it hard on the suspension.. Guy Tank's

[John Lyon]

Guy: Cut a 2X4 and place it between the underside of the fender and the top of the tire to avoid keeping the front suspension under compression. Problem solved. John On Tue, 20 Feb 2001 15:02:14 -0500, guy.massicotte@... wrote: I need to move my bike in a trailer, How many time i can leave my bike with the bender on the front suspension day, week ???? is it hard on the suspension.. Guy Tank's _______________________________________________________ Send a cool gift with your E-Card http://www.bluemountain.com/giftcenter/

[Gerald Autler]

I recently put a K-9 fork brace on my KLR and it improved the feel dramatically. However, this weekend I had someone on the back and the bike felt kind of uncertain (wobbly) in turns. I don't do much 2-up riding but would like it to feel good when I do. I was thinking of putting progressive front fork springs on in any case, and I was wondering if this would help with 2-up riding. How much of the uncertain feeling is due to front suspension, how much to rear, how much to simply having a higher overall center of gravity? I have Avon Distanzia tires on the bike, and I keep them inflated to 35-40 psi on asphalt (dealer's recommendation), in case that's relevant. Also, it seems like installing progressive front springs is a pretty easy job, even for the uninitiated. I saw some instructions on the web. Is this the case or should I get a mechanic to do it? Would appreciate any feedback from people who have experience with this. Thanks, Gerald Autler

[RM]

On Tue, 23 Apr 2002, Gerald Autler wrote:

>I recently put a K-9 fork brace on my KLR and it improved the feel >dramatically. However, this weekend I had someone on the back and the >bike felt kind of uncertain (wobbly) in turns. I don't do much 2-up >riding but would like it to feel good when I do.

Did you increase the rear preload? A passenger (even a 100lb varsity cheerleader) probably demands maximum preload. A droopy rear makes for funny handling.

>I was thinking of putting progressive front fork springs on in any case, >and I was wondering if this would help with 2-up riding. How much of >the uncertain feeling is due to front suspension, how much to rear, how >much to simply having a higher overall center of gravity?

Play with the rear suspension settings before throwing money at the bike... My $.02 RM

[Lujo Bauer]

> Also, it seems like installing progressive front springs is a pretty > easy job, even for the uninitiated. I saw some instructions on the web. > Is this the case or should I get a mechanic to do it?

In my experience a soft rear end feels even weirder after Progressive springs, since they increase the disparity. So I agree with RM that you should fiddle with the rear shock settings first. -Lujo [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Ryan Newman]

> I recently put a K-9 fork brace on my KLR and it improved the feel > dramatically. However, this weekend I had someone on the back and the > bike felt kind of uncertain (wobbly) in turns. I don't do much 2-up > riding but would like it to feel good when I do. I was thinking of > putting progressive front fork springs on in any case, and I was > wondering if this would help with 2-up riding. How much of the > uncertain feeling is due to front suspension, how much to rear, how much > to simply having a higher overall center of gravity?

The KLR seems to have a rather short wheelbase by looking at mine. If you look at the bike, a 2nd passenger will sit directly over the rear tire. Riding 2 up will push the "rider" center of gravity way towards the rear of the bike. This takes a *lot* of weight off the front tire when you are on the gas. Hence, the odd feel. Ryan

[klrz4ever]

> Also, it seems like installing progressive front springs is a

pretty

> easy job, even for the uninitiated. I saw some instructions on the

web.

> Is this the case or should I get a mechanic to do it? >

Gerald, After you're done adjusting the rear suspension and decide you want the Progressive Suspension fork springs, rest assured that it's not rocket science to change out the fork springs. Just remember to loosen the top triple clamp bolts before removing the fork caps (remove any air in the forks, too), and be very careful not to cross thread the caps when you reinstall them. You don't even need to change the fork oil, but as long as you have the forks open it's a good time to upgrade. Someone here has a clever way to determine proper fork oil level using a spray bottle thingy with the intake tube cut to the right length. If you ask, I'm sure they'll supply the details. For my money the Progressive Springs give about the highest benefit/cost ratio of any KLR mod. Good luck! __Arden Kysely

[Gerald Autler]

Thanks for the feedback. I did crank up the rear suspension preload--I think I put it up to the maximum but I'll double check that I did it right. I'd gladly accept some reduction in handling in exchange for a 100 lb. varsity cheerleader on the back, but they seem to be out of my league these days. So, that's why I've been looking for a solution. But the conclusion seems to be to deal with it unless I'm willing to shell out a lot of $ to upgrade the rear suspension, too. Is that right? Could there be something funky about the rear shock other than the preload? I know virtually nothing about suspension, so I'm a bit in the dark. Thanks again, Gerald

[PRBKLR@cs.com]

Ditto on the progressive front springs for riding 2 up... that was the best modification I could have made to my KLR. Riding, and most importantly, STOPPING, were improved significantly! At the same time though, as others have suggested, the rear suspension has to be adjusted to compensate for the additional weight, otherwise the ride will be uncomfortable and unstable. My wife (135lbs) and I (220lbs) have ridden many miles two up without a problem once I got the suspension dialed in correctly. Paul Frisco, TX A13 For my money the Progressive Springs give about the highest benefit/cost ratio of any KLR mod. Good luck! __Arden Kysely

>

[kilrcalikawi]

Well since no one else has mentioned it and blamed the bad handling on the bike- was your passenger experienced at being a passenger? A ride two up all of the time with my fiance, the bike handles fine (preload all the way up to 5 and shock dampening at 3 (I think)). However when I took my friend for a ride on the back, (motocross rider, not a very good one) the bike felt wobbly, I stopped and asked him what he was doing, he said he had never ridden a bike on the street and that he was just looking around cause it was so cool, he wasn't paying attention to the corners and whatnot and was making the bike quite unstable. Once I told him to keep his head pointed forward and to look over my shoulder when we go around turns (left or right depending upon the turn) and pay a little attention everything was fine. If your passenger does not trust you and feel comfortable, and if they don't know what they are doing the bike can be feel very very wierd. Trev A16 2300 miles since february almost all two up P.S. if you run out of gas on reserve, lay the bike down on it's left side real quick, pick it back up sit on it for about 30 seconds and try and start it (there is a little gas in the right side of the tank that you normally can't get to), it won't be much more but it may get you to the gas station (yes I found this out the hard way

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., Gerald Autler wrote: > I recently put a K-9 fork brace on my KLR and it improved the feel > dramatically. However, this weekend I had someone on the back and the > bike felt kind of uncertain (wobbly) in turns. I don't do much 2- up > riding but would like it to feel good when I do. I was thinking of > putting progressive front fork springs on in any case, and I was > wondering if this would help with 2-up riding. How much of the > uncertain feeling is due to front suspension, how much to rear, how much > to simply having a higher overall center of gravity? > > I have Avon Distanzia tires on the bike, and I keep them inflated to > 35-40 psi on asphalt (dealer's recommendation), in case that's relevant. > > Also, it seems like installing progressive front springs is a pretty > easy job, even for the uninitiated. I saw some instructions on the web. > Is this the case or should I get a mechanic to do it? > > Would appreciate any feedback from people who have experience with this. > > Thanks, > > Gerald Autler