Hi all, I've been following this thread with a lot of interest. Last year I bought a well used 40k miles tatty gen 1, and have steadily been overhauling everything. I rebuilt the forks with new stanchions due to severe pitting , and generally I was ok with them ( used 5w oil ). All the adjusters are free and limit adjustments showed they are working.
More recently with available funds , I fitted Luke's R6 shock conversion as the stock rear shock was weeping . I'm a hefty 120kg , and despite endless adjusting and testing, I still find the rear spring a bit on the harsh/stiff side ( as posted above ). I've also found that with the R6 shock fitted, I get front end "patter" at local speeds ( upto say 50 mph ). above that it gets better. If I re-fit the stock shock the front end patter goes but the wheezing rear damping sound returns , so its knackered for sure. The R6 shock is very smooth though so I might ask Maxton about a softer spring.
Now a question for you experts please :
When I overhauled the forks, I measured the spring lengths as stock ( but could still be aftermarket I guess ) and I noticed that the pre-load adjusters are light blue anodised and have only 3 adjustment rings....can anyone throw any light on this ? I don't have anything to compare to, but my impression is that they are stopping me getting to low pre-load settings.
BTW, here's a tip for you if you fit the R6 rear shock.... buy the R6 bottom mounting bolt as well. Due to the thicker bottom fork design on the R6 shock (alloy vs steel) , the stock Fazer bolt shoulder isn't long enough and can cause the R6 shock bottom to twist slightly, which will side load the seal over time.
PS the bike is silver reg DK03...., last owned on the Wirral. If you recognise it, you might know the history.
cheers Loz