Anyone here ever replaced the fork springs on a F650GS twin with aftermarket? If so, what brand and source did you use and where you satisfied?
I installed the Wilbers progressive springs and they turned out to be a bad idea. Poor performance and just wrong for my weight / load / riding style. Had a suspension bloke look at it (should have gone down that path in teh first place) and he advised changing to single rate custom springs. The difference was night and day, better handling all round. Suspension is a very personal thing and very specific to the loads you carry and riding style. From my experience a plug-and-play suspension upgrade might be better but will almost always fall short of what is possible.
I had Hyperpro progressives for awhile. Didn't quite like the feel. Now I have Ohlins (single rate slightly stiffer than stock), but the real key is I have Ricor Intiminators installed. They make all the difference. Very happy with the setup. BTW, they are paired with an Ohlins shock on the rear.
+1 for the Ricors, If they didn't fix my brake dive I would have replaced the springs .... they fixed the problem and I love them. No more pogo stick stops ... worth a look
I'm thinking about the Wilbers for my 700... May I ask you more details about your weight, load and riding style?
Sure. I weigh 72Kg and kitted up quite a bit more. The testing by the suspension bloke was with me in riding gear and the bike fully loaded with stuff for a 2 week off road rally. I have no idea of the total weight, but I don't think it's critical down to the last Kg, just suffice to say that the bike was loaded and I was not naked. Pic here: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=24116595&postcount=7450 The aim was for performance on Aussie outback tracks and roads - think hugely varying conditions from graded gravel high speed to bone jarring corrugations to sandy sections of desert. The only conditions not on the list of requirements were technical rock hopping as I usually fall off over that stuff so no amount of suspension tweaking was ever going to help. Hope that helps.
They were way too soft and the front end skipped around all over the place when going over corrugations.
I simply used thicker grade (10 or 12.5 depending on the taste) fork oil. Most cost effective solution by far
MIKE C - That's quite the kitted out F650GS! Can you tell us about that front wheel brake combination? The whole front end looks pretty custom.
Front end mods. Oustside: Woodys tubeless wheels and Galfer rotors with Wunderlich fork gaitors. Inside: Custom springs with Ricor intiminators. On Top: Ralle Moto steering dampener, Rox Risers with custom braided brake lines. Out Front: Touratech DIII fairing with custom moulded screen and custom dash. No longer in the pocket: more money than I care to admit.
