welcome

[marty b]

hi thought id say hello had a storm since feb what a machine , bin out the game for over 20 years hired a harley for the weekend last year no contest . what worries me is that the front end seems a bit non comunacative , any ideas please

[AMCQ46]

Welcome to the club.

Two real easy fixes to the front end,
1) fit stiffer springs for about £90 from wemoto, and fill to 140mm air gap with 7.5wt oil.
2) fit a 3mm to 6mm spacer under the top mount of the rear shock to steepen the steering angle and improve turn in.

If you do the spacer before the forks, then don't go wild (stay less than 3mm) as the soft front end dips too much, and if you lift the back too much it can slap.

[marty b]

cheers il try the spacers first as im on a tight budget , what do you recomend with the damping settings

[Opel]

Hello... I fitted the Hagon progressive springs in the front and have been very impressed. However, I've jacked up the rear end also which does indeed make things a great deal 'quicker' and responsive. But go with the new springs in the front, it makes a big difference.

Oh... and check the rear linkages are free and greased up, chances are they've been ignored and left to seize.

Once again welcome... and good luck.

[marty b]

thanks for the welcome and the advice any idea how much to fit ? i see you live in the northern half of the country do you know of anyone you can recomend in the south east ? cheers

[agentpineapple]

whereabouts in the south east fella?

[marty b]

in bromley kent mate went for a ride this morning how frikin cold !!!

[agentpineapple]

not to far from me, i'm in whitechapel, i was working until 1am this morning and it was bloody cold because of the clear night sky. you mentioned the handling of the bike, depending on your weight you could always put thicker oil in your forks, i ended up buying a hagon rear shock which was tailored to my weight because i'm a lardy bugger, and now the rear end is excellent, having said that i rebuilt my bike from pretty much top to bottom, i even put 50mm usd fireblade forks on the front, it now handle amazingly.
i take you ride out into north kent?
having the garden of england on your door step and all...............

[tony.mon]

Alright, fella, I'm in your neck of the woods, just along in Sevenoaks, ten minutes the other side of Orpington from you.

Fork settings depend on your kitted up weight and riding style, but for winter use I tend to set fronts with four rings showing, screws about one and a half out from fully in. (for summer thrashes I set three rings out).

But I have uprated springs, air gap at 145 and good quality 7.5 weight oil.

Also affecting front end feel is tyres, of course, stiffer sidewalls transfer more than softer ones.

[karenvtr]

Hello