Trials
Well-known member
did I buy an old Ski-Doo from you?
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GS500F Fork springs help.
- Thread starter frozen
- Start date
frozen
Well-known member
No. I sold my yamaha vmax a couple years back but still have my old grand touring.
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frozen
Well-known member
Yeah the reviews of this bike have always suggested that it is a bit soft. This has been my debate. Just replace springs and oil with OEM? Or upgrade. I figure if I'm going to "upgrade" I will do the R6 rear shock upgrade as well. It's been suggested in several articles I've read. I'm not a young guy and I'm not overly concerned with "high performance", however I am a sport bike guy. Not crazy fast but more quick and nimble. Am I wrong to think that by upgrading the suspension it will make this bike a little more "flickable"?
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Replacing stock springs with stock is pointless, Springs don't change their spring rate with time. They may sag (become shorter at free length) if overloaded, but that's very unlikely to ever happen in that application. Changing the fork oil (and setting the level correctly) is a good thing to do but that affects damping not spring rate.
If you change to front spring rates that significantly differ from stock, then yes, the rear spring should be changed to a correspondingly higher spring rate. How much effort do you want to put into a stock non-rebuildable shock? This gets complicated (and expensive) in a real big hurry.
If you change to front spring rates that significantly differ from stock, then yes, the rear spring should be changed to a correspondingly higher spring rate. How much effort do you want to put into a stock non-rebuildable shock? This gets complicated (and expensive) in a real big hurry.
frozen
Well-known member
I just want to make it a little stiffer than it is right now. I am fairly small 155lbs and i find the front end soft by myself on the bike. With my small framed wife on the bike with me, I'm afraid it wont respond the way I would like it to in an emergency stop situation. This is not my forever bike. I will likely give it to my 24yr old son next summer. I bought it to get back out there on 2 wheels and keep my insurance rates low until I have a few years of consecutive insurance. I will then ride something a little more "robust". But for now I'd like to make this bike a little more fun. When I rode years ago my bikes were, 84 450 nighthawk, 86 600ninja, 85 Fz750, 86 Vfr750, sold last bike in 89 and switched to dirt riding. Just got back on the street this year and just feel that making this bike a little stiffer will suit my riding style a little better and make it a little safer.
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When I rode the gs500 the front end dive was excessive to say the least...when my wife was on the back I would scrape everything when cornering. My front and rear mods fixed all of that and the bike cornered like it was on rails..the stock suspension SUCKS on these bikes. You shouldn't just fix half of the suspension issues on this bike....
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boyoboy
Well-known member
this^
I would investigate the r6 shock swap on the gs forum along with the fork spring upgrade and emulators from racetech. edit- very nice that the shock is a straight bolt on and doesn't require any modifications/butchering to make it fit.
depending on your budget...
I had a beater gs500 for several years and I changed the fork oil with fresh and added about 15-18 mm in preload to the forks. Helped a little and really is just basic maintenance that should be done anyway. However, I never rode two up...
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