Suspension Mod -- Which End?

[nhchris]

If you could afford to modify ONLY the front OR the rear suspension, which would you do?  (200 lb rider)

[betoney]

For me the rear was the biggest revelation.  I found that a built-to-order custom shock completely transformed the bike.  I called Traxxion Dynamics and talked with their sales guy for awhile about my riding style, weight, abilities etc and they determined what valving and spring would work best for my needs and sent off the configuration to Penske to have the shock built.  Absolutely money well spent.

For the forks you can start with the correct springs and experiment with oil viscosity and volume - about $100-$125, if you find later that you need more specialized valving, you already have the correct springs, just get a piston kit.

When riding, I feel that I notice adjustments to the shock much more than the forks (maybe because I'm sitting right on top of it?), the biggest change I needed from the forks was less dive while braking and slower rebound to prevent it pogo-ing.

[timo50]

I found that when I changed the rear shock for a Nitron shock, although the bike was much better, it only made the poor performance of the forks more noticeable, I was always aware that it didn't feel right, so had the forks re sprung and re valved, now it feels great.

[dazzler24]

I know this is not what you want to hear but -> both ends.

Everyone's different of course but I (176 lbs kitted) changed my front end first (Andreani kit) as the front was so noticeably harsh on the slightest of bumps and would dive on braking no matter what my adjustment were that that was my focus.

Having said that when the rear end was changed to something decent (Ktech Razor-R) then that was another heaven altogether.

If I can offer any (humble) advice, I think you need to let your body/senses decide for you which end is the first to change.  But rest assured both will need to be done if you're looking for riding Nirvana.

Good luck

 

[duhg]

My particular experience was that I rode down a rough road for miles in the rain while certain that my front tire was sometimes off the ground.  On smooth pavement all was good.  I already knew from past bikes that fixing one end would expose the weaknesses of the other, so I had both fixed.

[johnmark101]

Based on my particular experience I would get a good quality rear shock if I were to do only one end.  The stock front forks were harsh over small bumps and I did not like that, but it still felt pretty planted during spirited cornering. The rear shock was too soft and because of that I was dragging hard parts and pegs too often.  

Something to consider is doing a rebuild of the stock components with new aftermarket springs and valves.  You will get about 75 percent of the performance of doing a new shock and new cartridges for about half the price.  I did this on one of my bikes with excellent results and actually think it is far better bang for the buck than something like the Penske and AK-20's I put on my Tracer. 

[OZVFR]

As most have said, at 200lb you really need both ends done. 
The 15/16 bikes had a really soft and way underdamped front end, but also a crap shock, so different people find one end better than the other to do on its own. 
I did front first because of my riding style, I just found the front end seriously wanting and on the verge of being dangerous. 
But once I did the front it really showed up the rear. 
It’s now a different bike. 

[johnmark101]

Traxxion Dynamics does very good work.  They will consult with you over the phone and then you can send them your forks and shock and they can do a custom rebuild to suit your weight and riding style.  

Home - Traxxion Dynamics

[bwringer]

An either/or question is a little odd... upgrading the rear end has more of an effect and is also a LOT more expensive than at least taking care of the basics up front.

So if you can afford the rear, at the very least you could skip a few McBurgers for a while and scratch up the $150 or so to at least get some decent springs into the front.

And of course you can take things as far as you wish with the front in multiple stages if that's what finances require. What most often happens is that people do the springs in front, which is a requirement for basic safety and not all that expensive, then do something with the rear shock (modify/replace) later as it wears out.

[texscottyd]

On 1/29/2023 at 8:30 AM, bwringer said:

So if you can afford the rear, at the very least you could skip a few McBurgers for a while and scratch up the $150 or so to at least get some decent springs into the front.

I 100% concur with this:   Doing just the rear will actually tend to load the front a bit more, which compounds the under-sprung/under-damped problem with the forks.   Springs are cheap, and while they won't address the harsh (what that hell was Yamaha thinking?) damping, at least it will balance out the bike on the springs. 

[Warchild]

Concur with others - if cash flow issues prevents doing both at once, I would do the rear shock first.

It should help knowing beforehand that whatever may be ailing the front end now, may present itself as worse after a fresh shock - you'll have to see with a test ride if it's acceptable, or not.

It may provide motivation for the bwringer McBurger approach to getting a set of fork springs asap. 😁