looking to upgrade suspension on the vfr800, what do people think about using a linear spring shock (ie Nitron) on the back with progressive springs in the forks (ie Hyperpro)?
Is the stock shock a linear spring and the stock fork springs progressive? I understand the VFR uses the Pro-link system which makes the rear progressive, so would using a progressive shock spring be overkill?
Anyone happy with the Hyperpro progressives and if so what is your weight?
The other option looking at 929 shock and some linear springs and valves from Jamie Daugherty for the front.
On my 4th Gen I have a 929 rear shock that is revalved/sprung for my weight that works great. A year and a half ago I purchased a hyperpro front end kit which came with progressive springs and 15wt oil. I ran it like that for 6 months but found that with stock valving that the front end was very harsh. When I would hit small bumps the front end would bounce off them instead of soaking them up, tar snakes would upset the front end, if there was a groove in the pavement it would follow the groove, and this is after trying all sorts of different front preload settings. So I changed it to honda SS8 10wt and lowered the oil height to about 120mm which made a vast improvement but it would still bounce off of bumps and bumpsteer some. So I bit the bullet and decided to try the 1.0KG sonic springs( I weigh 239lbs) and it is a vast improvement over hyperpro/stock. I am running motorex 7.5w fork oil at the stock 4th gen height and the front end soaks up bumps well, doesn't dive, and gives amazing feel. But, I am biting the bullet soon for some gold valves.
Bottom line I am not a fan of the hyper pro front end after a little over a year of use.
+1 on the 929shock , tho i never got mine resprung, im running it as it is, an im well chuffed with it, one question, are you 100% happy with the linked brakes? if not , maybe its easier to de link and upgrade at the same time, vtr 1000 forks drop straight in, i got a pair from ebay an sent them up to roger ditchfield at revolution racing in lancaster, for 225quid he revalved/resprung/reoiled etc etc to suit my 5th gen. absolutely fantastic!! brilliant service for the same price you d pay for springs and gold valves(more or less) i cant recommend enough, bike transformed! (an no linked brakes ..bonus!)
I'm not a fan of progressive springs--they end up being too soft during the initial part of the travel which means that the suspension moves more than it should. I always stick with straight-rate springs.
I went with a full race tech revalve and springs up front with an Elka rear shock and matching rate spring. Went straight rate on both as recommended. It was valved and sprung for aggressive canyon with occasional track days. I think I would have kept it more real world tune if I had it to do all over again. You get what you ask for. Still descent for commuting and touring but not exactly plush.
For my '01 5th gen: installed stock 929 rear shock with a(n overly-) lengthened mounting bracket to gain an extra 12-15mm rear ride height; rebuilt the stock forks with VTR1000 Superhawk lowers/sliders (allowing for the brakes de-link--GSXR1000 6-pot Tokicos with 929 MC), Race Tech Gold Valve kits, 7w fork oil, and kept the stock springs. At 5' 10" and 140 lbs, I've got front preload backed all the way out, rear preload on 4 of 7; as a former club/regional racer, I can say while it ain't my CBR600RR, the improvement over stock is massive, the bike absolutely rails, and I couldn't be more pleased.
[image: View Post]daemontrym, on 03 October 2011 - 12:07 PM, said:
. So I changed it to honda SS8 10wt and lowered the oil height to about 120mm it is a vast improvement over hyperpro/stock. I am running motorex 7.5w fork oil at the stock 4th gen height and the front end soaks up bumps well, doesn't dive, and gives amazing feel. But, I am biting the bullet soon for some gold valves.
Bottom line I am not a fan of the hyper pro front end after a little over a year of use.
Stop while your ahead, Gold valves are no magic wand , if you have something that works very decent, the grass isnt always Greener on the other side.
[image: View Post]thefleshrocket, on 04 October 2011 - 10:10 PM, said:
I'm not a fan of progressive springs--they end up being too soft during the initial part of the travel which means that the suspension moves more than it should. I always stick with straight-rate springs.
I talked to Progressive, they wont say Chit, But specing 15 weight oil, Id say there springs are about the same as stock or slightly under that Rate.
IMO, going to a straight rate spring, revalving is a must , other wise two things are going to happen, too stiff in intial fork action or too soft on the bottom end. The real problem it takes several tries to get it right, and a company like Race tech, is not going to spend that much time with you. so they blanket all with the same setups. But if running a clapped out stock set up, a blind monkey can improve that.>G
[image: View Post]south, on 05 October 2011 - 09:03 PM, said:
For my '01 5th gen: installed stock 929 rear shock with a(n overly-) lengthened mounting bracket to gain an extra 12-15mm rear ride height; rebuilt the stock forks with VTR1000 Superhawk lowers/sliders (allowing for the brakes de-link--GSXR1000 6-pot Tokicos with 929 MC), Race Tech Gold Valve kits, 7w fork oil, and kept the stock springs. At 5' 10" and 140 lbs, I've got front preload backed all the way out, rear preload on 4 of 7; as a former club/regional racer, I can say while it ain't my CBR600RR, the improvement over stock is massive, the bike absolutely rails, and I couldn't be more pleased.
hey South, from what year are your gixxer six pots?? and did they bolt straight on to the vtr forks?? im intrigued!!
'01-'02 GSXR1000. Direct bolt up to the VTR fork lowers.There are other, similar Tokico 6-pots that are OEM on some Kawis and the Hayabusa, but their mounting points aren't the same and they won't work. You can see pics in my recent post over in the "Official Welcome" forum. I assume you went with the VTR calipers when you did your fork swap, yes? A number of Superhawk owners have gone with the Gixxer calipers, but the more/most common caliper upgrade is with F4i units, however, the F4i calipers must be clearanced by removing a little material from the caliper bodies whereas the GSXR Tokicos mount right up--plus, with the proper MC, the 6 pots have major stopping power. Not to burden you with what you may already know, but for the general audience: either/any way you go, you need to swap out the stock VFR master cylinder for one with a larger bore. The OEM VFR unit is (nominally) 1/2"; you can use a CBR600RR or RC51 MC--11/16" bore--with the F4i calipers: the 600RR MC has the integrated reservoir so it keeps the OEM VFR look (still matches the clutch MC) except the reservoir is a bit taller; the RC51 has the plastic remote reservoir. If you go with the Gixxer calipers,I found that the 600RR/RC51 MC will work *OK*, giving about 1 1/4 inches of lever travel with braided SS lines, but I ultimately opted for the 929 MC--3/4" bore--which yields a firm 3/4 inches of lever travel which suits my preferred one-finger braking very well. If you 2-4 finger brake, you may prefer the feel of the smaller 600RR/RC51 MC. With the stock VFR MC, the lever goes all the way to the 'bar and still don't fully apply the GSXR calipers.
cool! thanks for the detailed info South, yes you re right, im running vtr calipers on the forks (needed a little spacing to bite on vfr discs but no big deal) A massive improvement over the vfvr s OEM setup but i like the idea of 6 pots(always interested in more!) im currently running a vtr MC also,(non integrated, plastic) im assuming this is all but identical to the 929 one (given that the calipers are so similar) All food for thought!
cheers!
Actually, the VTR MC and the 929 MC are at opposite ends of the size scale; the VTR is 14mm, the 929 is 19mm. So, I don't think the VTR MC will work very well with the GSXR 6 pots. You might get away with the 16mm F4i MC, but I think you'll need at least the 17.5mm MC from a 600RR/954/later model RC51.
End of thread · 17 posts recoveredWayback Machine snapshot 21 Jun 2012