Something interesting: Fork Spring Rates
 

I'm planning on replacing the springs in my forks with something more substantial and ideal for my weight. According to RaceTech, The F4i's stock fork spring rate is .66kg/mm

I'll be buying springs from SonicSprings.com and their calculator recommended .90kg/mm springs for me. (165lb w/gear and aggressive street riding style)

For fun, I decided to see how much a person would have to weigh for .66 to be ideal for even a "relaxed cruising/touring" style rider. SonicSprings only sells down to .70kg/mm so the calculation would not drop below that.

I found that a person would have to weigh 120lb w/gear for .70kg/mm spring to be sufficient for a relaxed pace. Therefore, at .66kg/mm the stock shock, to be ideal, would require a person to weigh less than 120lb with gear!

I find it almost comical how grossly inadequate the stock spring appear from this standpoint.

That said, I've had the stock spring for 3+ years and over 20k miles and they work. But now I'm on this suspension kick so I won't settle for what seems to be inadequate springs.

Its the reason people stress getting rebound valving at a minimum to go with the springs. I have the stock suspension about as dialed as its going to get so I can't wait to re-do my front end.