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Cheap front fork fix!

71K views 132 replies 33 participants last post by  adrian206 
#1 · (Edited)
OK I had to do something with my front end, just too soft & mushy for me, but before investing for a high dollar fork cartridge kit, I decided to see what I could do with the stock fork first.

I did find out that the stock springs for the 08's & std 09's are 0.65 too soft for my weight, 225lbs+ :rolleyes:

So I contacted Lindemann Engineering, new (owner Ed Sorbal) at 408-371-6151 and commissioned him to make me a set of custom springs to my spec, basically the springs I had made are perfect "drop-ins" with stock dimensions but with a spring rate of 0.85 cost of the springs are $175.

I used Golden Spectrol 7.5w fork oil (stock) and set the air gap level at 120mm with the forks collapsed.

Now with 2 track-days on the newly sprung front end, guess what? their not bad at all, really good in fact, with the help of the track suspension specialist (at the track) I got the suspension front & back dialed in, and can now say that its never felt better.

I did trade bikes with Ben (mental999) for a track session at Laguna Seca, his Hyper has the Ohlins cartridge fork kit, and while his forks worked good, but for me, not necessarily better than mine, so at this time I will not be rushing out and getting a fork kit any time soon. Thank goodness. :rolleyes:

Moral of this story? try making the stock stuff work for you first, you might be surprised & save some some money! :D Aloha Alex
 
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#112 ·
#113 ·
OK I had to do something with my front end, just too soft & mushy for me, but before investing for a high dollar fork cartridge kit, I decided to see what I could do with the stock fork first.

I did find out that the stock springs for the 08's & std 09's are 0.65 too soft for
my weight, 225lbs+ :rolleyes:

So I contacted Lindemann Engineering, new (owner Ed Sorbal) at 408-371-6151 and commissioned him to make me a set of custom springs to my spec, basically the springs I had made are perfect "drop-ins" with stock dimensions but with a spring rate of 0.85 cost of the springs are $175.

I used Golden Spectrol 7.5w fork oil (stock) and set the air gap level at 120mm with the forks collapsed.

Now with 2 track-days on the newly sprung front end, guess what? their not bad at all, really good in fact, with the help of the track suspension specialist (at the track) I got the suspension front & back dialed in, and can now say that its never felt better.

I did trade bikes with Ben (mental999) for a track session at Laguna Seca, his Hyper has the Ohlins cartridge fork kit, and while his forks worked good, but for me, not necessarily better than mine, so at this time I will not be rushing out and getting a fork kit any time soon. Thank goodness. :rolleyes:

Moral of this story? try making the stock stuff work for you first, you might be surprised & save some some money! :D Aloha Alex
Have to agree with 08Hyper, recently had forks pulled down and serviced by Shock Treatment in Sydney. While they were at it I had the standard coils replaced by RaceTech springs. Ended up with 1kg/mm for my weight (I'm 6'5" & 100kg without gear), Forks were filled to 90mm air gap with 5wt Motorex Oil. The result is amazing, the bike is stable and tracks exactly where you put it once tipped into a corner and no longer pitches or behaves nervously mid corner. I was initially concerned the spring rate would be too much for road use, but have been pleasantly surprised that the Hyper has been good on even the rougher local roads. Certainly worth a go before handing over big cash for replacement cartridges.
BTW also running Ohlins 49/130 rear spring with rear link adjusted to max 5 threads showing.
:)
 
#114 ·
I am surprised you could get such light of fluid to work with those heavy springs. I have 15 wt. installed with .85's and my compression is maxed.
 
#117 ·
According to my suspension guy, the oil used is Wilbers 7.5w with either .9 or .85 springs. He couldn't remember. Forks are now dialed in perfectly as is the rear. The wear on my tyres is P-E-R-F-E-C-T and I do like to push the bike to its limits.

I do weigh 78kg fully loaded instead of the ~87kg a year ago, but springs still work fine.
 
#118 ·
Does this info apply to the 2012 1100 SP models as well? The 2012 1100 SP is a bit taller than the standard Hyper and S models.

I want to do a track day soon, and was hoping to find a decent baseline.

I'm 220 pounds, and it seems people are going to stiffer front springs and rear shock springs, but I'd love to get some height and sag and fork/shock compression and rebound settings for my 2012 SP and try that before buying new parts.
 
#119 ·
Don't know. The EVO SP model has more travel than the EVO or 1100(S). I know on my 1100S rider sag is the 55mm as stated in this topic. As a general rule of thumb the rider sag is usually 1/3 of the full suspension travel.

Also, I don't know what shock the SP has, but the Ohlins shock on the 1100S is perfect without any need for adjustment (well, maybe get it dialed in).

Compression and rebound is a bit tricky to explain, I'd suggest you watch the "suspensions for mortals" DVD. For rebound, you have to set it as fast as possible without making it jojo. It should come back and just settle. Compression damping for the fork is set not too hard but not too soft either.

How can you know? Well, your bike will give you the feedback. Go for a quick ride, brake hard with the front brakes and see what it does.

If it feels as if the front tire is bumping up and down, none of it gets transferred to you, then it's too soft. If you get the front tire bumping and it feels as if your eyeballs are going to pop out of their sockets, it's too hard.

What's also very important is that the bikes' front and rear suspension work as one, so if you push down on the seat somewhere near the middle of the bike, they should respond the same front and back. If one side moves more than the other or doesn't move in sync you've made a mistake somewhere.

It's so hard for me to explain this without being able to show what I mean.
 
#120 ·
Thanks, that helps a lot actually.

I live very close to Sears Point (Infineon) and there's a world class go-kart track above the big track that they run Supermoto on every week, I think it's like $60.

I may try a track day on the small track before running on the big track, even though all my past experience is on the big track. I think it will be fun.

I'm sure I'll run into someone there who can give me some tips.
 
#121 ·
Ive done a trackday at infineon years ago on a ktm motard. Too many places for the big bikes to stretch their legs, where im stuck at 95-105 mph depending on gearing... Id recommend buttonwillow for hyper owners over all the tracks in north/central california. The cart track u mentioned sounds interesting!
 
#124 · (Edited)
This is primarily a 1100 thread as the forks are a well known issue, but there are 796 owners who have done front work. Springs come in all shapes and sizes and you just pick one for the correct bike/rider/style. On the other hand here is a very nice chart of the oil weights and an overall good site for learning Peter Verdone Designs - Low Speed Damping.

Seems like traxxion dynamics can get you springs which leads me to believe that race tech or lindeman engineering should be able to as well. http://www.ducati.ms/forums/92-hypermotard/142095-new-suspension-my-796-a.html
 
#127 ·
Here's a few data points for the rider weight/spring rate graph:

2008 HM1100S
rider- 200lbs w/all gear
current setup:
forks
spring: traxxion .75, stock spacers, 50mm sag
oil: repsol 5w at 110mm (approximates golden spectro 7.5w)
RB 1.5 turns/comp 1 turn
ride height- -5mm

rear
spring: ohlins 1092/34 - 100 (571lbs/in) about 30mm sag
RB 15 /comp 10
ride height- 4 threads each end

NB: per Dan kyle, don't grab a shorter spare spring you had lying around even if its a better rate- with preload, the stock 170mm 1092 spring is close to coil bind at full travel.

The bike likes the changes and it really responds to a stiffer rear end. Feedback is improved, as is comfort on bad roads. The bike doesn't sack out as much and consequently the geometry stays where you set it.
 
#128 ·
Hey all,

I'm looking to do this mod. I have the '08 base model 1100. I have a couple questions:

Are any special tools required for this job?

Is it 100% certain that all 2008 1100 non-S came with Marzocchi forks?

Thanks in advance!
 
#129 ·
Ended up buying the .85 from Ed at Lindemann Engineering. He suggested using 15w at 135mm air gap. I weigh anywhere between 210-220 depending on the time of year (seriously). I'll write here again if I'm unhappy with it or tweak something if these specs don't work out for me.
 
#130 ·
I'm planning to do this mod and looking to order springs first of next week. When I run the calculators and look at previous posts 0.80 seems to be the weapon of choice (2008 1100S, 175lb rider). I fall more on the adventure/tour end of the spectrum than the track end. I ride a fair amount of bumpy country roads and some gravel forest roads too. For that reason I was going to go a little under the recommendation, at 0.75. Is that logic sound??
 
#131 ·
Yo, back from the dead. Haven't done much with my Hyper since I was away last year traveling (did a tour of Vietnam on a bike, also really cool). Either way. The forks on my Hyper started leaking, severely. I asked the company that did it what specs they used and they told me they used a Wilbers 7.5W oil with 90mm air gap. Now I always did find the front a bit on the rough side and with the forks leaking it become softer and actually felt a bit better to me. The bike would dive a bit more during braking and use more travel compared to previously (before it would maybe use 2/3 travel, after the leak 3/4) so I've let my mechanic know to use a 100~105mm air gap, whichever he prefers, to see whether that will soften the ride up a bit.

Will let you guys know how it went.
 
#133 ·
Finally

I finally put stiffer springs in my 08s, traxon Dynamics, $175 with 15wt oil. Only had time for a 10 minute ride but feels transformed. 150lb rider, .82wt springs, should have done it years ago. Feels like I need to tweak the rear now, before the front was the biggest issue. This thread was a great help. Thanks.
 
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