finally satisfied with my suspension

[Michael Nelson]

As posted on advrider: I now finally have my A17's suspension where I want it. First off, I'm heavy and short (270lbs, 5'10"), and I like to go on camping trips on my bike (carrying gear), so it's clear anything resembling the KLR's stock suspension is going to have to be modded quite a bit to accommodate the excessive tonnage. I started with Progressive Suspension (PS) springs and 12wt fork oil. Great improvement to resisting brake dive, although it still dove hard if I wasn't gentle enough with the 320mm. The rear was way outmatched for the load it was being asked to carry. You can't compensate for incorrect spring rate with preload, you only set ride height with preload. You've gotta have the correct spring rate to carry the weight. The shock also had tons of stiction and very little damping. I installed a set of Eagle Mike's RL1 raising links. They work through leverage, and since they are shorter than stock the increase both effective spring rate and damping, making both firmer and also raising the rear of the bike a little (1/2 to 3/4 inch). That helped a lot.... but the stock shock really is crap. Even if it is brand new, as soon as you use it hard the fork oil will mix with the nitrogen and make a compressable foam instead of fork oil... there goes your damping. So I decided to bite the bullet and order the Cogent Dynamics KLR shock from http://www.motocd.com The owner / inventor / cook / salesperson / manufacturer is Rick Tannenbaum, and I don't think you'll find better customer support anywhere in this business. Rick likes to spend quite a bit of time conversing with you so that he can set up your custom shock best for YOU, YOUR BIKE, and YOUR RIDING STYLE. About a half a grand later, I have a mighty fine shock and proper spring rate. The rear end is smooth, firm, and controlled. The front end still sucked. I bought a kit from Rick consisting of Race Tech Gold Valve Cartridge Emulators, a litre of Rock Oil 10W Synthetic fork oil, and a pair of the Cogent Dynamics KLR springs (heavier than the regular CD springs). They are progressively wound springs, but they are not made by Progressive Suspension. Unlike the PS springs which are quite a bit longer than stock ones, the CD spring is heavier but the same length as the stocker, so you can use stock spacers... unless you are installing the Emulators, in which case they act as an additional spacer, and you should remove an equivalent amount from the spacer). I put the kit in up at a friend's well-equipped shop in the mountains. A short test ride showed the front to be pretty stiff but still compliant on big hits. However, on the way home I was on a stretch of Interstate 580 coming into Oakland that was segmented concrete slabs for about 30 miles. The ride was miserable. The front end was not absorbing the bumps so every 20 feet or so the front end would get smacked UP and transfer weight onto the rear, and just about that time the rear would hit the same slab seam and IT would get kicked. Fortunately the CD rear shock with its smooth and correct damping was able to suck the bump up. The net result of the two ends though was a really irritating hobby horse motion, and it was pretty violent. I estimate it was lifing and dropping the top of my head by about an inch, and it made my vision blur. Needless to say, when I got home I was not a happy camper. I posted to Rick on KLRforums.com though and he came through with a bunch of tuning suggestions I implemented this morning... more sag, tune the emulator for softer damping, and an alignment procedure to make sure nothing in the forks was binding. I put it all back together and took it for a short freeway ride and a considerable amount of riding San Francisco's crappy cracked and potholed surface streets. Both ends work as well as I can expect this bike to ever work without spending absolutely silly amounts of time money and effort on it. Both ends are plush on small stuff and both ends also handle big smacks with firmness and control. Brake dive is as to be expected, there but not excessive. Both ends work together now, not fighting each other. So, I will highly recommend Rick Tannenbaum and Cogent Dynamics. If you are dissattisfied with your KLR suspension, Rick will fix you right up! Michael -- "It's not what I don't understand about religion that bothers me, it's what I do understand." -- Mark Twain San Francisco, CA

[Jim Bolton]

I have a supertrapp muffler that is in great shape and would like to sell it. I would like 130 for it and 20 bucks for shipping.....anyone interested...thanks Jim --------------------------------- Be a better sports nut! Let your teams follow you with Yahoo Mobile. Try it now. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]