You might remember a post I did ages ago about getting the front suspension set up and the troubles I was having on my 08 ZX10r.. As in being way too firm.. A very harsh ride and no matter what I did, I could not seem to dial it out..
Well I have persisted to try to get this right, but I ended up having virtually everything backed right off and this just didn't seem right to me.
So after chatting to Stewy Winton at PI we decided to make some changes. Now I didnt want to initially throw heaps of cash at this problem, so we decided to make the changes with the budget concious rider in mind... He says that the stock fork springs should be right for me, so no need to change these...I noticed that the left fork seal was also weeping pretty bad, so it was a good excuse to rip the forks out.. Stewy suggested replacing the fork seals (of course), removing the 'Top Out Spring', flushing the old fork oil well and truly out, replacing this with a new lighter oil (and a little less of it as well).. so off we went...
Stewy pulled them apart and to his and my surprise he tells me that the stock fork oil height was 20mm too high than it should be..???
No wonder I could not get them to compress or even soak up a bump..!! So he was happy that then and there we might have found the problem.. So they were rebuilt and back in the bike for a test... this time instead of having everything totally backed off, I now have everything in the middle of the adjustment zone.. It does feel much better.. I am tweaking it now to get the right 'feel' and more confidence in the front end.... and I have a good feeling that we are heading in the right direction. I did a few faster sessions on day 1 with a few 'tweaks' in between, but my rear tyre was shagged by the second day, so I couldnt really push too hard (after a couple of rear end slides..!!) So I decided to call it a day.. New rear on and I am heading back down to the island for the 1st and 2nd of November.. I reckon I might have it right by then..!!
So those of you riding 08 ZX10's.. if you are finding the front extra hard and have no adjustment left, consider getting the oil level checked..!! It might be a simple fix for this problem..!!
Macca
