[scatman]

I'm a 240lb rider and I have an 04 F4i. The bike just feels too squishy in the rear, especially when going into corners. What should I do? Thanks.

[elwood206]

Have you messed with your rear preload?
I used sportriders suggested settings to get a decent baseline, might be worth a shot.
Sport Bike Motorcycle Suspension Settings - Sportbike Review - Sport Rider

[scatman]

No, I haven't....thanks for the link, though.

[OreoGitorio]

Preload won't help, that controls the bike's height w/in the suspension range, not stiffness. Crank up the damping until you can buy a stiffer spring

[KB]

Call GMD Computrack Boston and get a stiffer spring. Done deal.

KB

[gmdboston]

Originally Posted by scatman

I'm a 240lb rider and I have an 04 F4i. The bike just feels too squishy in the rear, especially when going into corners. What should I do? Thanks.

I take it you have the stock suspension. The spring rate is much too light for a 240 lb rider, you need some thing in the 850-950 lbs/in range. If you adjust the preload to try and get the sag right, the spring will be over pre-loaded. Adding compression damping will slow down the shock movement making the ride very stiff. Your best bet is to replace the shock with a Penske, Ohlins or Elka product. After that, you will most likely want to balance the set up by revalving and replacing the spring in the forks.

[selltekk]

Pete,

Rather than buying a whole new rear shock, is it possible to just upgrade the spring from the stocker to one more suitable for my weight ~240lbs?

I'm not a particularly aggressive rider.

2004 YZF600R

[gmdboston]

I should be able to get you a spring that fits, but it will over whelm the damping, you may not like the result. You will need to send me the shock so I can spec it out.

[selltekk]

Hmm, at that rate, I might as well just buy a penske shock. If I have to take off the shock and send it out it makes more sense to just replace it completely.

[scatman]

I played with the compression damping the other day before a long ride. It did make the ride slightly stiffer, but actually seemed to help my problem. Thanks for all the input.

[wookie]

I'm in the same boat. What is the the ballpark cost for new spring/new shock? (speed triple '06) How many day does it take to get the new shock installed?

[97BladeRider]

After I got my bike back from Peter, I did some "tweaking" of the stock suspension on my 97 900RR. I'm hoping to get the forks revalved and resprung before next season, it's not in the wallet this season though. Since I ride 2-up and don't feel like dicking with my suspension every time I go back to solo, I set mine stiffer (I'm 210 pounds):

Forks:
Preload: 2 lines showing
Compression damping: 1 turn out
Rebound damping: 1 turn out

Shock:
Preload: 6 of 7
Compression damping: 1/2 turn out
Rebound damping: 1/2 turn out

[gmdboston]

Originally Posted by wookie

I'm in the same boat. What is the the ballpark cost for new spring/new shock? (speed triple '06) How many day does it take to get the new shock installed?

A Penske 8981 is $715.50 and takes about 4 weeks to order.

[selltekk]

Are the penske shocks bike specific?

[gmdboston]

Originally Posted by selltekk

Are the penske shocks bike specific?

They all are.