How do I select the correct fork springs??

[jwm2k3]

So I have an opportunity to buy Ohlins 25mm cartridges. The seller says he has every spring made and will give me whatever spring I need.

This will be for racing only, primarily at LRRS, I weigh 170-175 without gear. Which spring set do I tell him to ship to me???

[OreoGaborio]

............ Do you need stiffer springs?

[jwm2k3]

I'm upgrading to the cartridges from factory stock forks and want to select the correct spring.

To fill in some blanks....it's a set of factory Showa forks with the Ohlins cartridges installed. The setup is used. He want me to tell him what spring I want.

And yes Pete, I'm bottoming out and can't add any more preload....which isn't the right way to do it anyway. The stock forks are good for the street...

[Rambunctous]

Sportbike Suspension Tuning by Andrew Trevitt — Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists

[OreoGaborio]

What springs do you have now?

[xxaarraa]

Just call Dan Kyle and ask?

[jwm2k3]

Pete.......

Ashwin, I would but I'm not buying from him. I'm picking these forks up used.

[CEO]

Probably in the .95 range... I think racetech has an online calculator. You'll need/want to weigh yourself all geared up.

[xxaarraa]

Pete.......

Ashwin, I would but I'm not buying from him. I'm picking these forks up used.

I know, but Dan is always easy to talk to and explains the science patiently. He could help you decide which springs you need, even if you eventually decide to buy them elsewhere.

Give Peter Kates a call too? He has talked me through springs in the past.

[Paul_E_D]

If you use the racetech spring calculator, go one or two steps stiffer

[Rambunctous]

Have you checked that the right amount of oil is in the forks? The correct weight? Maybe if a heavier oil was in the you could lessen the damping screw and not have it bottom. Just saying if you tried all the cheaper easier stuff first then maybe you are on the right track.

[Chippertheripper]

I'm cracking myself up over here...

I'm surprised not to see the standard: give all your money to pk and be happy with what you get.

[jwm2k3]

Yep, done all that. Want the upgrade. The factory springs in the stock Showa forks really isn't the best bet for racing only. It's kind of a well known deficiency with the Ducati's.

[jwm2k3]

I've done that with a few bikes Chip...this time I'm going another route.

[jwm2k3]

CEO, thanks. It was a toss up between the .95 and the 100 springs....I went with the .95

[CEO]

CEO, thanks. It was a toss up between the .95 and the 100 springs....I went with the .95

I had .95 in my R6 and they were good but maybe a hair stiff, and I (usually) weigh just a little less than you. Should be pretty good, ballpark.

As Paul said racetech suggests a baseline but that's usually a little soft for NHMS.

[csmutty]

I had .95 in my R6 and they were perfect and I was around 150 with gear.

[Tunertype]

You can turn up the compression and adjust the air gap, but it's just covering up the real problem. Good suspension is based on a good spring and damping is there to control the characteristics of that spring better.

Racetech or sonic springs calculator will be good enough to put you in the ball park that will work.

[CEO]

I had .95 in my R6 and they were perfect and I was around 150 with gear.

That sounds very odd to me... 150lbs WITH gear is like Brett Babaian weight... he rides like .8 or .85.

[csmutty]

That sounds very odd to me... 150lbs WITH gear is like Brett Babaian weight... he rides like .8 or .85.

Went with .925 first and it was too soft, so I ended up with .95. Was using stock cartridges and then went to Ohlins 25mm. Used .95 with both.

[Paul_E_D]

I like my front endss stiffffff. Did i say that out loud?

[nhbubba]

Ha. I put 1.0's in my SV. I outweigh most of you.

[OreoGaborio]

Give all your money to pk and be happy with what you get.

The harder you ride at Loudon the stiffer you need to go.

[tsorfas]

That sounds very odd to me... 150lbs WITH gear is like Brett Babaian weight... he rides like .8 or .85.

smutty was breaking pretty hard..

[jwm2k3]

So I ended up going with the .95 springs.

The change will be Ohlins 25mm cartridges and 30mm offset triples installed at the same time. I'm thinking it's gonna be a HUGE improvement over the factory stock front end....

Excited to rip this bitch at the classic.

(The Ducati suffers from the same shitty factory geometry as we've seen in Jays Daytona 675 thread)

Next year I'll upgrade my already upgraded Ohlins rear shock to a TTX with a linear link....