I have just got my 1k03 and I am heading to the track on Saturday (trackday, not race)

I am having a hard time getting the front end to feel good. I am 180 lbs. The front seems to be too springy even with the rebound in at 1 click and the compression at 7 clicks. I have done the sag and have actually set the preload slightly softer than standard wh ich has improved things but it still doesn't feel right.

On my 01 750, I dropped in .85 Ohlins springs and 10wt oil and the front end was always great with really good tyre wear.

My feeling is that I could calm the front end down a bit by putting 10wt oil in the front. What do you racing guys recommend?

Also, am I right in my assumtion that the 01k3 stock springs are fairly stiff?

Going with a different weight will change the overall characteristic of the damping.

When you say "springy", you need to be more specific. I would almost suspect that
the bike is actually feeling "mushy" for you? When you push down the front,
does it settle perfectly? Or does it spring up and settle on the downward stroke
(not the initial upward stroke). In most cases, it should be settling on the upstroke
almost optimally. Preference usually dictates how this happens.

It sounds as though you need more rebound damping. With your weight, the 1000 should
be setup almost soft from the factory. They actually went with higher rate springs
this year due to the new coating on the forks (which decreases stiction).

When you denote clicks, you are stating X clicks from full stiff/hard (max)????

There are a lot of things that could be wrong...tire issue (pressure, old, balance)...
A little more detail about what it does mid-turn or upon entry would help me analyze
the situation better.

Thanks for the reply Whipper.

If i run across a section that is rough & 'ripply' the front end seems to jiggle up and down where the 750 used to 'soak up' the roughness. With harder preload it gets worse feeling very harsh. The front end settles ok on the up stroke when you push it but the front still comes up a bit too quickly

The rebound is 1 click from full in. I don't think that tires are the issue as I am using the same michelin slicks with the same pressure that I ran on the 750. Turn in is ok but there is a tendency to run wide mid turn and I don't have the confidence in the front end that I used to have on the 750.

If the front is coming up to quickly, try some less rebound. It also may have something to do with the power of the 1k as you get back on the gas mid corner, the front end will lift changing the geometry of the bike mid-corner. Might want to stiffen the rear a lil.

Thanks for the replies guys.

I ran the bike at the track today. I stiffened the back a bit and wound the front rebound almost all the way in. Overall the bike was pretty good, just gets a little skitish across bumpy section in hish speed turns. The rear tire wear is great, the front looks like it is working a bit to hard.

I am still tempted to put the heavier oil in to see if it will soak up the bumps a bit better.

Let me know if you change your oil and how it works out for you. I had/having the same problem with the front. I put a bigger tire in the front and a smaller tire in the back. That helped me with my problems. The michelins slicks made the trail smaller and the rear tire sidewall very stiff. This made for a bike that did not take bumps very well and liked to tankslap alot.

Later,

I'll get the specs on my 031k forks this weekend. I love they way they handle, but I do have different valving in them.

Blue_White_By_U said:

Let me know if you change your oil and how it works out for you. I had/having the same problem with the front. I put a bigger tire in the front and a smaller tire in the back. That helped me with my problems. The michelins slicks made the trail smaller and the rear tire sidewall very stiff. This made for a bike that did not take bumps very well and liked to tankslap alot.

Later,



I will let you know how it works out, I will see if i can do it this week. What tire sizes are you running now? I have 120 up front, it came from a batch of unused GP tires that get left behind after the GP in Welkom earlier this year, super sticky! I have a 180 rear which was brought in by michelin to match the fronts. The rear feels great, I have the ohlins in from the 750, and the tire wear is realy good. There are 2 turns at Kyalami where I get tankslap but other guys complain of it too and it can be reduced by picking up the throttle a bit easier off the turn. The ohlins damper is set to 8 from full in.

PDG, i would like to see the specs of yours, thanks.

OK, I finally got round to changing the oil. It definitely works better for me. The tire wear is very nice now without any 'tearing' pattern. I still have the rebound wound in to 1 click with the compression at 8 clicks. Front end feels a lot nicer without the high speed pogo effect.

Glad to hear that the 10wt helped you out. I weigh about the same as you (185) and have had the same problems with the suspension you have described. What I have done to help was use a DOT tire that increased the trail over the slicks. Do you or anyone know what oil viscosity comes in the front forks from the factory?
Nutjob: do you have the stock suppension. If not what do you have or what have you done to your suspension, front and back. And what are your settings for front and back. I will post mine today sometime...
Thanks,
David

Here is what the mag have....Suspension Setup 03 GSXR 1000

SPORT RIDER
FRONT:
Preload: 5 lines showing
Compression: 10 clicks out from full stiff
Rebound: 6 clicks out from full stiff
Ride height: 7mm showing from top of triple clamp
REAR:
Preload: 26mm from top of threads to preload ring
Compression: 6 clicks out from full stiff
Rebound: 12 clicks out from full stiff


PERFORMANCE BIKES
Standard
FRONT:
Preload: 4 lines showing
Compression: 2 turns out
Rebound: 1.5 turns out
REAR:
Preload: 20mm thread showing, they didn’t mention rider weight
Compression 2turns out from full in
Rebound 2 turns out from full in

Track settings
FRONT:
Preload: 5 lines showing
Compression: 1 turn out
Rebound: 1/2 turn out
they used Super corsas, 180 rear, 31/30 psi f/r
REAR:
Preload: 20 mm of thread showing
Compression: 1 turn out
Rebound: 1 turn out

Road settings
1/2 turn less comp and 1/2 turn more rebound front and rear
stock preloads front and rear, 190 rear tire preferred 34/39 psi f/r

Current setting on my GSXR 1000 2003. (I have stock suspension)

FRONT
Preload:4 lines showing
Compression:6 clicks from max
Rebound: 9 click from max

REAR
Preload: 20 mm from ring to threads
Compression: 21 clicks from max
Rebound: 6 clicks from max

David, thanks for the info from the mags. My front end is stock but I have an ohlins rear (raised 3mm). I have found the front springs to be very stiff and the valving seems a little off. I think that stock fluid is between 2 1/2 and 5wt. The 10wt made a big difference but i still had to soften off the front preload. My settings are very similar to yours except for the rebound. I found that the front was coming back way too fast for my liking and winding the rebound a long way in realy works for me. Rinding with my latest setting and 10wt oil, the front tire now looks very smooth on the edges almost as if it hasn't been used and now matches the rear wear which is always good with the ohlins.

Current FRONT setting on my GSXR 1000 2003. (stock suspension)
Preload:4 3/4 lines showing
Compression: 5 clicks from full in (i.e. 5 clicks anti-clockwise)
Rebound: 1 click from full in (actually just under 1 click)

BTW, i cheated when I changed the oil and didn't take off the top of the fork. I refilled them using volume (465ml) instead of level which made the job a lot easier.