By Geo on Monday, December 30, 2002 - 01:39 pm:

I'm debating if I should change the fork springs for 0.9 or 0.95 instead.
Has anyone tried those yet?  

By Geo on Tuesday, December 31, 2002 - 08:35 am:

No one has changed the fork springs on their RSV?  

By Rca on Friday, January 03, 2003 - 03:58 pm:

No change here. Stock springs are fine for me.  

By Geo on Friday, January 03, 2003 - 04:47 pm:

Smooth roads where you ride?
My forks seem to work fine at high speeds, diving into corners or on real smooth pavement but on uneven pavement and at hu..sensible speeds they're too "bouncy".
The front wheel tracks well enough but the triple clamps, bars etc are always "jiggling" up and down -in my experience that means that I'm a bit oversprung.
I could raise the damping and stop it but that makes for too hard a ride, especially on bumpy city streets at 40mph.
I've lived with it for 9k miles but wouldn't mind an improvement.
If it was a less sporty bike I wouldn't hesitate on 0.90s (that what I liked best on the VTR) but I worry that it may too soft for the Mille...and on the other hand 0.95s may not make enough of a difference and I may be wasting my money.
This time I'd like to change rhe springs just once and not twice like I did on the VTR.
The Firestorm (Superhawk) weighs some 20 lbs less, I tried Ohlins springs 1.0 or 1.05 (never found out which) RTs 0.90s, a friend's with 0.85 and stock (progressive 0.58-0.85).
1.0s were best for the track but IMO for all around riding the 0.90s worked much better. The 0.85 were also acceptable, a little more comfortable for touring but on the soft side for the twisties.
That bike is a little heavier and it doesn't have neither USD forks nor adjustable compression damping so it's impossible to make a direct comparison.  

By Rca on Monday, January 06, 2003 - 10:59 am:

>> Smooth roads where you ride? <<
No but 16+ stone (230lbs) helps. Try eating more big-macs until spring rate suits body weight, it worked for me. I must admit the stock fork springs are certainly hard in comparison to the stock rear spring (Which I have changed).  

By Geo on Monday, January 06, 2003 - 01:42 pm:

Quote:
"No but 16+ stone (230lbs) helps."

...and living in England you probably wear an additional 10 lbs of riding gear = 55lbs.
I imagine that the 1.0 springs are spot on for you then.
I checked on Race tech site, for a 185 rider and 451 lb bike with fluid they recommend 0.865 for street and 0.935 for track.
I'm a bit surprised, RT's rcommendations tended to run to the stiff settings in general, I wonder if they changed their policy.
Just to add to my confusion Traxxon dynamics said 1.0s.
Maybe after I change the rubber (it's that time again) I'll have a better idea, the BT012s are harsher riding than the 207rrs were.  

By Rca on Monday, January 06, 2003 - 03:37 pm:

>> BT012s are harsher riding than the 207rrs were <<

I'm currently on 207RRs and thinking of trying the BT012s next.  

By Geo on Monday, January 06, 2003 - 04:34 pm:

I wore 2 sets of 207RRs.
I thought that they worked perfect with the RSV....other than the front ones tended to cup almost immediately and the rear wore fast.
I had mixed results with the BT012s, wear is better, they didn't cup and they also have have fantastic grip but the ride is a little harsher and it changes the handling.

The steering is lighter and the turn in quicker but at first they were more prone to get blown around by strong side winds until I raised the rear a bit, that solved that problem.
You have to be very careful when you're leaned over (especially in long fast sweepers), the slightest pressure on the bars and the bike changes lines!
At first I completely lost the sense of stability that the 207s had while carving.
I thought that the bike couldn't hold a steady line anymore until *I* relearned to barely touch the bars.
Once I figured I figured that part everything was fine again,it's just not as relaxing as it once was.
I'm getting a set of Sportecs next, same pointy geometry as the Battlaxes but I want to see if they ride better.