Well after riding it today everything felt good, didn't notice a big difference from before adjustment but I wasn't really pushing it. Thanks for the help guys.

 

Absolutely. You are not going to get the proper sag in the front with the stock springs unless you are alien weight, although the rear spring is about right for most.

It is definitely recommended to re-valve when changing the spring rate by that much because there is not enough rebound dampening to compensate. An experienced tuner could probably also rework the stock valving and shim stack to work.

Personally I cheaped out and just used Maxima 15w fork oil with .95 springs, pumped the rebound up a bunch and went super light on the compression and I gotta say it works pretty good but is stiff when cold. I don't really see this working with any higher spring rate, although it would probably work even better with lower rates. I live in S. Fla so the cold is hardly a problem and they warm up eventually anyway. I must say the front feels pretty damn good (front tires wear really nicely as well).

To make it even simpler there is a writeup on the VFR forums (using f4i forks) about how to drain the oil with the forks still on the bike. I have to admit, it made doing this little upgrade a snap, although getting the oil level is more difficult this way. I converted the amount of fluid I needed into CC's and did it that way, and double checked by checking the fluid level at its high and low points and taking the average (since the forks will be at an angle while still on the bike). If I recall correctly, I went with 5-10mm extra air gap.

Another cheap semi-solution would be to run a smaller air gap, which in effect makes the front a bit stiffer. Of course too much and you risk the fork locking up. I wouldn't really recommend this to you since you are over 200 lbs, but it might work alright for a lighter rider or someone just needing to stiffen it up a tad. To be honest just freshening up your fork oil should make an improvement in ride quality as well.

 

Yea, I should change it out but I'll probably wait till they leak to bother w/ it. At that point I'd be much more open to rebuilding them and revalving since I would be tearing into them anyway. Thanks for the tips.

 

I should add: I used .85kg/mm springs as I always planned on the bike being a daily driver along with occasional track days. I also used stock oem honda 10w fork oil. Racetech recommended 5w oil but I was very insistant on oem stuff where possable so my tech set the shim stack up in the gold rebound valves for 10w oil. If I had gone with 5w oil as recommended my compression valving would be more where it needs to be.

 

That makes sense, follow the recommendations of pros.

I went out today and the front felt like it got a little squirrely when going around a tight corner. I wasn't going overly quick or anything, not sure if I should back the preload off towards stock or maybe adjust the rebound setting. I haven't messed w/ compression or rebound yet, I should probably double check that they are at the stock settings since the PO was kinda clueless. The bike feels lighter in the front now, kinda like the front tire isn't staying in contact as much as it should. Maybe it's just b/c my tires are in need of replacement. The rear is on the wear bar in a couple spots and kind of squared off across the middle. It just doesn't feel like it's turning in as quick as it used to either, maybe once I get my new tires that will fix it.

 

It's hard to really judge your suspension on the street when there are so many variables. If you have a squared off tire and it's worn out, obviously that's going to affect handling. Not to mention tire pressures and whether they are warmed up or not. Make sure you're running the proper air pressures as a tire that's low on air will make the suspension act retarded.

You need to read up about how adjusting compression and rebound affects handling. If you say the front end feels light and yet hard to turn, it may be because the rear is sitting too low, which could be because the bike is lowered. You may need to bump up the compression. But also a worn/squared off tire will decrease the ride height somewhat which will also make turn-in more difficult. Aside from a new tire, you may want to try bumping up the compression and maybe running a 5mm shock spacer. You could also try going to a 190/55 profile rear tire which will be a bit taller. If none of those things are helping, then you may need to play with the dampening in your forks.

 

The tire pressures were within 1 psi of the recommended, so i don't think that was it. I figured the rear tire being squared off would make it harder to turn in. My tires are gonna be here friday, just got the tracking info today. I changed my chain and sprockets today and went through the suspension and set everything but the preload back to stock settings. Once the new tires are on I'll scrub them in and see how it feels.

 

Changing the preload without changing the compression and rebound settings is a sure fire way to have a bad performing suspension.

 

I went out and adjusted the rebound, settings on the front and rear after watching the sportbikewrench vids on youtube a few times. Do you guys have any tips/vids for setting the compression damping?

 

Compression setting is more art form then anything else it seems. You set it, go ride to feel it, and adjust. For example if you hit a bump in the road during a turn and the tire bounces and you loose grip you know you have too much compression. You'll probably be near max though with how light the fork springs are. I'd try a couple turns out from max and go from there.