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954 fork spring rate

8K views 11 replies 6 participants last post by  CBRjack 
#1 ·
A pal of mine is chopping his 954 (gearbox failed - lost 3rd gear) in against a GSXR1000.

Anyway he has some goodies that I might be interested in, including some upgraded forks with RaceTech valves and springs. Do a straight swap with him. My standard 954 forks for his, plus me giving him $75.

However I am a little confused about the springs he has fitted to the forks. He tells me that they are rated 0.8kg/mm.
These forks were put together by a Brit Superbike mechanic who certainly knows what he is doing. He's fiddled with the shim stack too (whatever that means ). I might add that pal is serously fast, he ought to be racing. Very, very quick.

I was surprised because when I upgraded the springs on my 929 I went to .95kg/mm and I'd assumed that the 954 would be the same or very similar.

So I checked the RaceTech site and did the spring selector thing. On that site it suggests that stock springs on both 929 and 954 are rated 0.7kg/mm. Not what I understood at all. Further, for my weight, it suggested going to a 0.8kg/mm spring. Odd I thought.

So what gives? Do RaceTech measure in some different way or is their spring tester knackered?

Help/advice please. Thanks in advance.
 
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#2 ·
I'm pretty sure the stock springs on 929/954's are .7 progressive springs. .7 at the beginning of travel and ~.9 or 1.0 @ the end. Everybody that replaces the springs goes with straight rate springs. Changing the valve stack effects the damping characteristics and or range of damping.
 
#3 ·
Quote I'm pretty sure the stock springs on 929/954's are .7 progressive springs. .7 at the beginning of travel and ~.9 or 1.0 @ the end.

Do I assume then that Racetech are also promoting progreessive springs? Starting at 0.8 and and finishing at ~1.0 maybe?

That would explain the differences between their suggestion of 0.8 but everyone else putting up 0.95 or so, linear type springs.

BTW I spoke to a UK suspension outfit today, KAIS
They did the fork upgrade on my 929. Asked them about my 954 and they advised me that 954 forks are better sprung and valved , and suggested i pretty well leave them alone apart from setting them up properly.
 
#4 ·
Proto : BTW I spoke to a UK suspension outfit today, KAIS
They did the fork upgrade on my 929. Asked them about my 954 and they advised me that 954 forks are better sprung and valved , and suggested i pretty well leave them alone apart from setting them up properly.
Hmmmm....    Have they worked on many 954s?  I think I have to call on that.  Just my (admittedly limited) experience, but unless you are very light you may want to at least swap the springs.

Just tryin' to help.  

edit: Just re-read your original post. Possibly they are saying to leave the RaceTech springs and valves and everything will be cool? If so, please disregard.
 
#5 ·
RaceTech is known for not putting in enough spring into a bike. The valves they have work but the chart they give you for spring rate is off too. They would probably work better then what you have though, so for $75 it's not that bad a deal. See if you can try them out before you make it final.
 
#8 ·
How much do you weigh? I'm ~200 lbs. suited up and .90 springs feel good to me. The revalve is worth it IMHO, it takes a lot of the harshness out bumps and allows me to relax and concentrate on riding instead of trying to avoid bumps in the road. Depends on what shape your roads are in, and how much you're going to ride the bike.
 
#9 ·
Max at Traxxion.com told me that the racetech springs measure .05 Higher.....He said a racetech 1.0 spring is really a .95 compared to other manufactors.  He stated he could prove it on this equipment.  Dan Kyle didn't directly agree w/ that statement.

I had DK install some 1.0 racetech springs in my forks.  They feel more like .95 springs to me. I'm happy with them.

I have to disagree with the statement that the 954 forks are better than the 929 forks.  The 954 stock forks are crap!  The spring is a .7, way to soft and the stiction on the stock forks is almost unacceptable (10-15mm!!! )

Without knowing your wieght it's hard to gauge what rate you need?  I would try setting the sag on the reworked fork...if you have to dail in a ton of preload to the rate is too soft. Any spring has to be better than stock!

my 2¢
 
#11 ·
I weigh ~190pounds in riding gear and I'm pretty sure most suspension shops would recommend 0.95 springs.

What I still don't fully undersatnd is why the Ractech site states that stock springs are 0.7 and goes on to recommend 0.8 kg/mm springs as an upgrade. I can only assume that they are talking about progressive rate springs but no one has confirmed this.

I've let the forks go anyway. So I'll be going the spring upgrade route. Probabaly from K-tech here in the UK
 
#12 ·
02FBlade : I have to disagree with the statement that the 954 forks are better than the 929 forks.  The 954 stock forks are crap!  The spring is a .7, way to soft and the stiction on the stock forks is almost unacceptable (10-15mm!!! )
The 954 springs are definitely too soft. They will sag some 40mm. under the bikes own weight. As for the stiction I think you have to go on a case by case basis. I read the report on forks by some guru in this very forum and when I saw what he said about the 954's forks I immediately went to the garage and checked the stiction on mine. Just under 5mm. acceptable to me. I have racetech .95 springs with stock valving and it works pretty good so far. I still have a good range of damping adjustment. It took a little getting used to the front not sagging 50mm. It's like riding a chopper but much better over bumpy stuff.
 
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