arcticflipper

It would be nice if I could recover the purchase price, not the import taxes. The cost on these + shipping came to ZAR 1118.00 Lets talk about it?

I've still got the 0.90 NM Wilbers springs, they were in the bike for +- 5 days. Lemme know if you want them. The static front is 22mm and the loaded is 32mm The measurement was done according to this article http://www.cbrworld.net/fireblade/suspensi...ds_by_andy_.htm

I had a set of Maxxis tires on, with more of a rounded edge, gave a bit more tire to lean on, but now I do use the full tire. I'm not sure if it happens when I hit a bump in the turn or not. i can't remember feeling a bump. Just the bike going over, very smooth entry and then a my boot touching and the feeler touching at a very similar time. I will check the lenght of the feelers, and also get the sag numbers so that I can post it all up. Thanks for the info so far. Brian - It's a lot better with the macadams! Upright riding is smoother and softer, and cornering is much more confident. I did have a nice long look at the side thread, and it's soft, very soft and sticky.

Firstly thanks for all the advice with regards to the front shocks and springs etc. After a couple of tries and tests I finally found the correct setup for me with regards to forks and springs. I did have a problem with the Wilbers spring being too stiff - like what was said on the forum I think by Redbird. The static sag and loaded sag was just never 100%. I changed the spring over to a K-tech - also linear spring. Valving was also done, but by a Racing company based in South Africa. Fairly cheap, but 100% worth it. The OEM spring was just too soft, and I could also not get the static and loaded sag set correctly. I'm such a lightweight that the loaded sag is only 1mm more than the static sag on the forks. The forks is back to OEM specs, and no shim on the rear. Rear still has a the OEM shock. That's coming up next. I recenlty changed to Michelin Macadam 100X tires - the old ones were a bit worn and cupped. Well that's putting it mildly. The rake and trail of the bike has not changed, still OEM. Now the problem I am having is that I seem to scrape the peg feelers way too easily in turns. Is there a solution for this, or am I now starting to push the XX too hard? I can say that, hell it feels stable 2 up now, no problems putting it down in corners and flicking it around. I actually prefer the 2 up riding and feeling that I'm getting on the XX now to single riding. The bike just feels so much more planted in the corners. I have not yet scratched the fairings or centre stand, but I'm too shit scared to look down and try and see just how much clearance is left when the peg feelers start scraping. The feelers are turned in all the way, on the shortes setting they can be. Any Ideas as to what I could possibly do? Are there any "cheaper" race fairings available for the XX. Is it worth my while looking into adjustable peg sets?

Here is an article about this exact question. Posted by Sportsrider on their website. http://www.sportrider.com/tech/tires/146_0206_size/ In the end it is still your decision what you want to do.

OZDave, checked the sizes here too, South Africa also has the 17 front , 44 rear as OEM. Think it might have something to do with the difference between the US and European models?

It has been found that due to the power delivered to the chain, and the stress placed on the chain that the clip-type chains normally break on the clip or loses the clip, thus the chain comes appart. I'm sure someone here can give you more detailed info with regards to this, and what causes the clip to come off. But I would rather get a rivit-type chain. Masterlink rivits onto the chain, and does not have a clip that attaches to the masterlink to keep it in place. Only problem with a rivit-type chain is that you will need some way to rivit the chain on. There are a couple of different chain breaking and riviting tools available on the net. EK-chains have now released a simpler rivit chain option, where you will not need a special tool to rivit the masterlink onto the chain anymore. http://www.cbr1100xx.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=30030

Did you drop the front, or is it still set to the standard height? Did you do the 6mm shim on the rear shock too?

Thanks guys, Has anyone had any problems with the stealth sprockets?

What are they again?

Stock fork spring on ZZR1200: length = 269.3mm service limit is 264mm

Will this affect the clutch in any way?

I don't know if this will help http://www.cbr1100xxforums.org/forum/viewt...r=asc&start=188

Thanks, for all the info, slowly starting, well hoping that I'm starting to understand the suspension story a little bit better. I will change the oil out to a 7.5W, just to test and see, and then the forks will go in for valving and professional setup - K-tech setup. After this, I think I should then understand what the differences would be between the various setups and options.

Someone please explain what I'm looking at. What does all the numbers mean? I'm waiting for a comparison on the same info given by this sheet from putoline. I used the Putoline oil range in all the tests I did, and will also change to 7.5 putoline fork oil for the next test. HPX7.5 Name: HPX > Tips & Tricks Category: Front Fork Oil Definition: HPX Suspension Fluids have been developed in conjunction with high quality suspension manufacturers to meet the demands of today's sophisticated suspension systems. Highly refined synthetic based additives ensure a smooth and progressive suspension action for both cartridge and upside down systems. Composition: Synthetic Specification: Available viscosity grades SAE 2.5/ 5/7.5/10/15 & 20 Application: Recommended for normal- and high performance road use. Can be used in conventional- as well as up side down front forks I have asked them to send me the same info as was posted on the above chart, to be able to compare the oils.

No, only thought of it as I was pouting the 10W oil in, I know, stupid I should've tried that first, before going to 10W..... :oops:

So I think what I'm trying and a lot of other guys are saying is that this is more of a personal preference thing. There are a lot of options out there, and you will have to find the right setup for you. Whether it be a 5W fork oil and 3mm front drop, or a 10W oil and a OEM setup, you still need to do a bit of testing and decide for yourself which option works better for you. There are various factors involved in this, and various opinions with regards to what works best for each person. I will agree that a lighter weight oil does make the forks more reactive, quicker and does help a lot more on higher speeds. I did notice this when I had the 5W oil with 150mm air gap. But the front felt a bit spongy to me, and a bit twitchy in and out of corners. I got the feeling that you needed to drive with a lot more precision than what I was driving with. The 10W does make the front a lot harder, stiffer but I found it to be more stable in corners. I suggest that you investigate this, get as much info as you can from as many sources as you can, Like was mentioned, several people on this forum uses and likes the 5W oil, some even use 2.5W, but then there is still also people that uses 7.5W and 10W oil. It is all a personal preference in my opinion. The info that I gave was not too try and influence anyone or even try and point that someone's choice in oil is wrong, but only to possible help other viewers with regards to understanding a little bit more about forks and oils and that at the end of the day, I don't think there is a completely 100% right answer or a completely 100% wrong answer. It all comes down to your personal preference, what works best for you. Even though I've tried to make it a little bit easier by doing the test, I think I might have just confused people even more, I did not expect the changes to be so significant between the oils, springs, valves etc. So conclusion: IMO ask everyone why the use the oil they use, and if possible, test ride their bikes to get a feel for the setup, and then decide whether it works for you or not. This will give you a good basis to start from. I did unfortunately not have that oppertunity, thus I had to test it for myself. Very wise words from Bartonmd: "Use whatever you want" It is you who will have to ride the bike, so make sure the setup suites your requirements.

I'm not disagreeing with this, I'm only posting what I found worked better for me. I would still like to try the 7.5W oil with a 150mm air gap. The 5W was little bit too light for me. As I mentioned, I found that it did not give enough dampning for me in corners, front wheel sliding out. What I write here is my opinion and feelings with regards to what I found when I tested the different oils. This does not mean that it is carved in stone, or that it will be the same for someone else. This is solely my opinion and ride experiences with the various oil weights etc. I didn't like the feel the 5W gave me, and preffered the 10W up to now from what I've tested and used so far. I still would like to change to 7.5W with 150mm air gap, but before I do that, I would like to test the 10W with 150mm air gap. At current I have 142mm air gap. I can say that the suspension is a lot stiffer, harder than what it was with the 5W, but I preffer a stiffer/harder suspension. I think the 7.5W will be a really good compromise on the suspension, but I still need to test it first. Like I said before. This is solely my opinion with regards to the ride experience I had with the 5W and 10W fork oils. I also do not know if this has anything to do with it, but I ride a European 2002 XX, not a US one, thus all my experience is based on that bike.

Findings on the 10W fork oil: I pull the forks every time I replace the oil, do not drain it from the bottom. When I lowerd the front, I pushed the forks up in the tripple clamp. From 39mm to 46.5mm. This I did not like, the handeling was really bad. It could be that I lowered the bike too much in the front, thus changing the rake and also shifting the weight of the bike too much to the front. What I found with this setup was that there was a much quicker turn response from the bike, but the overall ride was shit for me. The tail was way too light, and would spin or slide for nothing. I've tried the 5W oil, and found that the front starts sliding way too quickly in corners, either I am leaning the bike too much, or the tires are just shit or the dampning isn't suitable. Thus I've changed the fork oil out to 10W Putoline HPX10 fork oil with 142mm air gap and the Wilbers springs 0.90 Nm spring and OEM 39mm fork spacing. It is still sumer here by us, but also remember South Africa does not have the best of roads or road conditions around. I immediately could feel a big difference in the handeling. The bike was much more stable in the corners, and I could actually puch the bike through the corners at higher speeds than before. I will also say that I think the 7.5 W oil would not have been bad either. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT I DID NOT DO ANY VALVING ON THE FORKS. I ALSO STILL HAVE THE OEM REAR SHOCK. I also found that the front is now a lot stiffer, and I don't think the 150mm air gap would have been bad either. This might make the ride a little softer, but I don't know if it would have been the best option for our road conditions here. I will try the 7.5W oil at a later stage to get a comparison against the 10W with 150mm air gap. Basically for me the 10W oil worked much better than the 5W, the bike feels solid going into turns, and during the turn. No more front stepping out, hesitation fron the bike etc. I've also found that with the 10W oil the bike feels so much more smoother over bumps and stuff. I have not placed a 6mm shim on the rear shock. I hope this helps anyone. I still have the K-tech linear springs 0.90Nm that I will do valving with on the forks, to get a comparison with these. I will send them in to be done, as I don't have a clue on how to do the valving. To do the forks isn't that bad, it is just very time consuming due to the oil draining from the forks. This took me the longest, trying to get as much old oil out as possible. I will try to upload as much info with pictures on how to remove the forks as soon as I can. There is one warning you need to take note of. CHECK THE PATH OF ALL WIRING AND CABLES BEFORE YOU REMOVE THE FORKS! This seems to work for me, and might not give another person the same experience. I only weigh in at 70 KG's, and we do not have great roads or road surfaces in South Africa. The 5W oil is very responsive, and much quicker than the 10W, but too quick for our road conditions in my opinion. Even they racer boys here in SA uses 5W with valving done for their race setup's. Please bear this in mind.

I've spoken to a Putoline fork expert, and according to them they felt that the fork oil suggested (2.5W) and the one I used (5W) was too light for the conditions in South Africa. They suggested that I sould not go under 7.5W, so I've changed the oil out again today, Getting pretty good with this now... lol I've now used the same SS-8 wieght oil - 10W - Putoline. The one thing I must say was that I was shocked at how fast the oil changes color. Only after 1 week, and the oil was allready starting to go black/brownish. I mentioned this to the Putoline people, and they replied that the Putoline oil actuall helps to clean out any olde oil and deposits that might still be in the forks That was the reason for the color change. Their engine oil does the same thing. I can't really comment on this, as I don't know. I will have to drain the oil again to verify this, after another week or so. I've used the OEM airgap for this setup, to check if the handeling will be the same or better. Have not yet been able to ride the bike to test it, but will go for a B/F run on Sunday morning. Will keep you posted. Oh, rechecked the static and loaded sag just to be 100% sure that averything is right. The Putoline fork oil that I've used is a HPX10, this is displayed on the bottle, the previous one was HPX5

Thanks, this just shows me again how little South Africa knows about bikes and stuff. I can't get a straight answer here about what I'm asking. Would the front wheel slipping feeling be caused by too light fork oil? I know there are various factors involved, i.e tire tread, rider positioning etc, but if the bike is running too light fork oil will this cause the forks to respond too quickly, thus the front wheel looses tracktion in corners quicker?

pug, I will have to find out how the Putoline fork oil's compare in these charts, not too sure what I'm reading, but as soon as I get the comparison info I will come back for more info there. Thanks to all for the info so far. edit: Question on the oil weight: Will a heavier weight fork oil 7.5 or 10w then mean that I need to take the air gap down from 150mm to 142mm or 143mm to achieve the same type of ride? Will this not influence the static and loaded sag? The experts from Putoline suggested that I look at a 7.5 or 10W oil instead of the 5W. Reason they gave me was that the XX is a heavy bike, and the 5W oil might not be heavy enough thus the front wheel loosing grip quicker now - does this sound right?

Yip 150mm as per their (Wilbers) instructions. Sorry PUG, got them through www.wilbersusa.com - they were shipped directly from Germany to me.

Just to verify that I'm understanding this correctly - Raising the air gap is if it was 142mm, you take the air gap down to 130mm for example - compressing the air in the gap at a higher level = harder ride, and lowering the air gap is taking it from 142mm to 150mm more air to compress = softer ride.