RX4 Suspension Tuning

[tknj99]

How are you guys setting the shock adjustments? I checked the front shocks and the clickers are at the full (-) position, 0 clicks each. I haven't checked where the rear shock clicker is set to but wondering what a good starting point for both adjusters might be? thanks

[pyoungbl]

I tried adjusting the shock, replacing the spring, adjusting the pre-load...all helped a little but the ride was still too harsh. Rick at Cogent built a new shock/spring based on my weight and how I ride. I just finished an 1800 mile ride around NW Wyoming with a fair amount of less than perfect pavement and the new suspension does an amazing job of smoothing out the ride. This upgrade is well worth the investment.

[db_moto]

I just finished an 1800 mile ride around NW Wyoming with a fair amount of less than perfect pavement and the new suspension does an amazing job of smoothing out the ride. This upgrade is well worth the investment.

I follow your posts in the Facebook group Peter. Looking forward to seeing some photos from that trip. I'm assuming you hauled your motorcycle part way there as Virginia is further away than 1,800 miles. Good to hear you are out there using the motorcycle for what it was made for.

[db_moto]

Just saw the pictures you shared in the group on Facebook. The bike is looking good, and it sounds like you had a great time.

[Bob Kelly]

I tried adjusting the shock, replacing the spring, adjusting the pre-load...all helped a little but the ride was still too harsh. Rick at Cogent built a new shock/spring based on my weight and how I ride. I just finished an 1800 mile ride around NW Wyoming with a fair amount of less than perfect pavement and the new suspension does an amazing job of smoothing out the ride. This upgrade is well worth the investment.

Just wondering what settings you finally came up with on the RX4 ???
my bike is so hard in the rear that it is killing me ! no flex in the rear suspension at all you mentioned a custom made spring ? what's that about ???
......
Bob......

[pyoungbl]

Bob, the solution was a totally new shock/spring combo. I could not adjust the OEM shock enough for my satisfaction. Others don't seem to be bothered by the stiffness, maybe I'm picky when it comes to suspension. I had already tried swapping the spring, which helped a bit.

[Bob Kelly]

thanks for the info... but "Rick at Cogent built a new one for me " doesn't help too much LOL....
what exactly is Cogent ? their entire name would help
and what did you get exactly... can I ask for the same thing ?
...
how much do you weigh ? I weigh 185 lbs and am SHORT ! (30" inseam)
if we are close to the same weight I could get the same thing you got for my RX4
....
thanks for the help I really appreciate it... the bike beats me to death in 30 minutes on these roads around here... super hard rear suspension !
.....I gott'a do something about that ! I'm 68yrs old and I don't like being beat up when I ride ANY MORE !!! hahahahha

[pyoungbl]

Hi Bob, I guess I was a bit cryptic....only because Cogent Dynamics has come up many times on some other RX4 Forums. Here's a link to their shop:
https://www.motocd.com/

They built the shock and spring to work with my weight (195#) and type of riding. I stressed that I am more interested in compliant suspension than Baja bashing. Due to the limited travel of the shock (because of the linkage used) I imagine they had to tinker a bit so the suspension worked smoothly over both highway and potholes. The end result was a huge improvement. I have a 31" inseam and the shock compresses a bit when I sit on the bike. I cannot flatfoot at a stop. Oh, part of that problem is due to the Russel Day Long saddle adding a bit of height to the seating position.

Call Cogent, mention my name and that you have a RX4. At one point we talked about possibly re-working the OEM shock. I'm not sure if that ever got off the ground. Best of luck.
Peter Y.

[Bob Kelly]

AHHH ! thank you Peter !
that I can do something with !
.....i'll give them a email and see what they say...
thank you very much.
Bob......

[Bob Kelly]

Well, I contacted them... and among other stuff this is what they said....
" The Cogent replacement shock for the CSC RX4 is $813.95 with a spring. "
not only is that plane OUTRAGIOUS ! but totally undoable for me ! WOW...
so I will look for a weaker spring I found a 200lb spring that I think will work for $38.00
so I may try that once I pull it off and double check the diameter and length
....
thanks for the help !
Bob......

[pyoungbl]

$800 for custom shock/spring is actually in line with industry norms. Take a look at Ohlins shocks, for example. I tried the spring swap route. As I recall, I was using something in the 600# range....maybe #650 or so. The spring Cogent used is 514 lb/in (per their invoice). A 200# spring is going to be entirely too weak but it's so inexpensive you can try it just for grins. Maybe I'm wrong.

Looking at my notes I see that the OEM spring is 248mm long and 80mm wide. The OEM shock has a travel of about 50mm.

I got my replacement springs from Hyperco. Here's a link to their catalog: https://www.hypercoils.com/hyperco-catalog/. The springs I tried were in the 187AO series I think I was using a 187AO 650. As I recall, I had to make an adaptor because the spring was so much shorter than the OEM one. With that in mind you might be better off with one of the 188AO series because they are 1" taller or even the 189AO series (9" length).

You will get pretty good at swapping out the shock on your RX4. After the second or third time it's just a 30 minute job, including time for coffee or a beer.

Peter Y.

[Bob Kelly]

Thank you for that info Peter ! that's very helpful..... yes sounds like I under guessed
at the spring weight LOL.... no wonder it's so stiff riding ! I'm thinking 500lbs should do the trick !
....I usually carry quite a bit of stuff with me probably 30 lbs. or so plus what ever the rain gear weighs...but I don't stack on stuff till I can't see the bike anymore ! LOL
....
I call my bike "Miss Piggy" because she is so heavy.... and I carry a winch pole with me I made up to get it back up off the ground should I drop it..... I picked it up once already and buddy that was all I could do to get it back on it's wheels....so I made a collapsible pole to winch it up with a ratcheting strap. it's not fast but it will work.
.... I also lowered the bike 2" in the front and 2" in the rear so I can flat foot it
at a stop...... A MUST in my book.
.....
Bob....

[Bob Kelly]

How are you guys setting the shock adjustments? I checked the front shocks and the clickers are at the full (-) position, 0 clicks each. I haven't checked where the rear shock clicker is set to but wondering what a good starting point for both adjusters might be? thanks

I kind'a took your thread off to the side here.... to answer your question specifically.... I set the front as the fastest reaction setting on both forks and the same with the rear.... to give the softest ride.... I'm fairly certain that is the way to get the softest ride with these things...LOL
I believe that is all the way to the left on both the front and rear adjusters.
they were set fairly tight.
..... the very first time I set on my bike it did not give even a little no sag at all.... like setting on a park bench...
after a 5 mile first run I let air out of the tires down to 28 psi and that helped some.....
but now with 120miles on it I want to get the air pressure back up to the recommended pressure... so I am in the process of finding a rear spring for the rear suspension so far I've tried a 537lb spring and there is no change so next I will try a 400lb spring....
I'm waiting for Matt Wiley to get back on wednesday to answer my email.
and see if he has one.... I may have to go to a 2.5" I.D. spring if so I'll have to fabricate some retainers for it....the stock spring is 2" I.D.
.....
Bob.......

[pyoungbl]

Bob, I have three springs in my pile of 'stuff i used once and might need again'. I think two were from the RX4 experiments and one from the RX3. At any rate, I'll offer them for free if you pay the shipping. Not sure what the ratings are, most likely 500+.

[Bob Kelly]

wow.... I'd Appreciate that ALOT !!!!
how would I go about paying shipping to you Pete ?
Yes I want them if I can get them !
.... My email address is kellydadieo@gmail.com drop me an email and we'll go from there Please...
Bob........

[Bob Kelly]

Ok we got that done easy enough ! LOL Thanks a bunch Peter !
.....
I'll try posting a picture of my RX4 here again
just so you guys can see how much lower it is than yours....
to me it's the KEY to surviving a motorcycle ( being able to flat foot a bike)
without that ability you are constantly at a disadvantage when starting or stopping or trying to catch the bike when going over a curb or something
you need to be able to touch the ground GOOD... not just the tip of your toes as was the case for me when the bike first got here.
....
besides the fact that the rear suspension does not work on my bike yet
I have compensated by running 28p.s.i. in the rear tire enough to make the air pressure warning light up on the dash... but I'm working on the rear suspension right now and I contacted CSC about it and am waiting for a response.
....
Bob.....
here's a shot of "Miss Piggy"

...
Sigh..... this site SUX !!!! here's the error I got even after resizing it.
...our file of 1.52 MB bytes exceeds the forum's limit of 195.3 KB for this filetype
....
I really don't think 195.3 KB is obtainable anymore is it?

Finally I re sampled it down to 1024x768 pixels and it took it GEEZ !!!!

[Bob Kelly]

Just heard back from CSC about the hard ride and basically they say they only carry the stock spring.. and I am out'a luck.... I asked what the rate was of the shock spring and they didn't answer that question.... so their no help at all.
.... I'm becoming increasingly aggravated with CSC their manual is the worst I have ever seen in my entire life and if that wasn't bad enough it doesn't cover 50% of the bike...just highlights of things a owner may encounter technical information is very hard to come by for this bike. if you don't believe me try to find how to check the timing ! something as basic as that isn't there !!!!! and to top that off they don't even have replacement sprockets for the bike if you want to change the final drive ratio....
problems of dealing with a new company I guess...
but they really need to get off their butts and fill these holes in their armor or they will not sell many more... kind'a silly really !
Bob.......

[Lukas]

For the price you have to pay for this motorcycle, I honestly think that you can not complain about it too much, if you have higher requirements, then you can do the tuning, as I do, and it comes out much cheaper than buying another motorcycle with the parameters you get with your own improvements of the bike you have to grit your teeth and experiment you have yoycart or ali express, so the parts are easily available only on ali express the seller has gone out of business and they have raised the prices terribly, you need to look for other sources by the way this motorcycle allows you to learn a lot while working on it, and this is valuable knowledge The only thing I can advise you is to be patient, it took me 2 years to solve the shock absorber issue, and changing a cylinder required 1 year of preparation and information gathering.

[Bob Kelly]

I am Used to having the information at hand before I start a bit of pre-view so to speak
but I am no new comer to bike motors so the internals of the bike don't bother me near as much as the shock delima... I've not messed with shocks that much so i feel at a disadvantage here, Might I ask what you did to solve the rear shock issue on your bike ?
and what spring rate you wound up with ? right now everything I have is too strong for the bike.... I need a weaker one, I've tried a 500lb spring but I could not tell any difference between the stock and 500lb spring.... I'm thinking 400lb. next or maybe 350lb.

from what I understand there is a big bore kit available for the NC450 to get it to 498 or 500cc something like that but it is pricey ! where that kit is available at is another story completely.... if you find it please post it here !
.....
Personally I love the bike ( all but the rear suspension) everything else about the bike seems well thought out and of excellent quality .

..... I could have had any bike out there if I wanted to spend that much but they all had the same ailment way too frigging tall ! I'm a short dude and even with my boots on I barely reach a 30" inseam .... the RX4 was the Lowest bike I could find
I am a firm believer in flat footing the bike at a stop with either foot or both !
and because I lowered the RX4 2" front and rear I can do that ! I gave up ground clearance to accomplish that which isn't the best, but better less ground clearance than not being able to touch the ground easy.
I have 4 motorcycles here and I have online manuals for each of them and the RX4 is the absolute worst of the lot ! and that really bites the big one !
anyway.... what spring did you wind up with ?
........
Bob........


...

[Lukas]

Rx3 has a different problem spring in my opinion is a bit too soft, and the rear wheel with the facelift of the bike was changed to a bigger one which results in rubbing on the air box so I had to put a longer shock absorber, but it had too hard a spring so I matched the spring from the original shock absorber to it, but the bike is higher from that, What I understand your spring is too hard for you, the only advice I can give you is to find a company that will match the spring to your weight, in my country such a spring costs about 150$, I don't know how much in the USA and this is the only reasonable solution, experimenting with random springs can result in the same amount of money.

[Bob Kelly]

OK good news I think I found the problem BESIDES the spring....
I got to looking at the shock in the vice it moves up and down nicely but with alot of resistance as a shock should....
I got looking at the length of the springs and the length of the threads and it hit me..... the shock must be kept from bottoming out it's only got about
4" or 5 " of travel in the Swing-arm itself did I screw it up by taking out all the preload ? with the shock fully extended and the spring on the shock ( the stock one) there is about 1" of threads left on the bottom of the upper part of the shock when the adjusting nuts finally contact the spring and there is about 4" of threads above that..... so when I backed off the pre-load nuts to the top of the shock the bike lowered accordingly... the problem is the shock is bottomed out in this position and the spring is not being compressed at all
....and I wonder why it rides so hard !?!?! of course it rides hard the shock is bottomed out !!!!! when I lower the pre-load that action moves the shock piston closer to the bottom.... but when the shock's stroke is so short you do not have that much to play with.....
SO.... what I've done, and am going to do .... is put the preload adjustment nuts at the top of the spring (and lock them there) with the shock fully extended....that will give me MAXIMUM shock travel....and unfortunately maximum seat height too... I think the only way to get the seat height lower is a lowering kit or make up my own horseshoe/dog bone
....
....
"who would'a thunk it" that backing off the preload nuts would bottom out the shock ? that never once crossed my mind, but that is what is going on on this bike.... all this time it was My screwup of not understanding the system it's used in ! AURGH !
I have no doubt it will still ride like a truck... a tall truck mind you but still a very hard ride because before I did anything to that bike I rode it down Hoy road and it liked to beat me to death.... so I don't expect any change
but at least it won't be bottomed out all the time !
Oh well Live and learn !
....

at least I took the Triumph out for a ride today had to push it the last 200 feet to the gas pump because I ran out of gas and blew a fuze at the same time.... still can't figure that one out ! LOL....
and Yes I had to clean the pilot jets to get it to run good again....
I'm hoping the new gas and the run will make her happier now....
....
later all !

[Lukas]

I thought you were familiar with these topics.


https://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=15599


http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=14677


If the shock absorber is running hard you should change the oil in it to a brand name I did.

[pyoungbl]

Hi Bob; As I recall, the shock only has about 1 1/2" actual travel before it hits the bump stop. The rest of the wheel travel is due to the linkage setup. Don't forget that you bled nitrogen from the shock. That gas helped to not only keep the oil from foaming but also added a progressive resistance inside the shock. Standard pressure is 145psi.

Progressive Suspension has a great suspension book, The Suspension Bible, that I found to be most useful in understanding all things suspension related. Many of us consider suspension to be a black art. If you break it down into the various components it's easier to digest.

https://www.abebooks.com/Race-Techs-Motorcycle-Suspension-Bible-Motorbooks/31172338114/bd?cm_mmc=ggl-_-US_Shopp_Trade_10to20-_-product_id=COM9780760331408USED-_-keyword=&gclid=Cj0KCQjwyYKUBhDJARIsAMj9lkGW1lU9FrhNy9I6PvHA NYohp6GVXekviCZCKsxaGDk1nAXAQkEwAbIaAnZOEALw_wcB

[Bob Kelly]

LOL yah but the funny thing is , is that I have always backed off the preload on all my bikes and never ran into the "BOTTOMING OUT ISSUE" before.... but this bike you can't do that..... the shock travel is way too short it may be a 17" long spring but the travel is really short
....
still working on it..... I'll figure it out !
Bob......

[Bob Kelly]

Peter ! just got the springs ! thank you very much !
I think I'll try the small one ! that should make for a smoother ride !
...I'll have to make up some extenders to use these short springs though... but that's why I have a lathe Right ? LOL
....
later !
Bob......

[Bob Kelly]

I just came from Advrider.com after a bunch of reading on the RX4 there... lot's of info there....and it looks like the opinion of the guys there are saying a 450lb/inch spring should give the RX4 a smoother ride myself I'm thinking that might be a bit too hard for my 180lbs....
and Sense I now have a 430lb spring that Pete gave me, but it is short !... all I have to do is make a spring extension.... which I have no material to make that out of... so I'm mulling over trying to make one from a piece of water pipe or wait and buy a slug of aluminum and cut that to fit on the lathe....
the thing is, I don't want the bike to be down real long as the weather has just turned nice for riding !
I did finally get the 1977 Triumph Bonneville 750's rear brake working right so it's ready to go and so is the Ninja 250R .... I think I should thin the hurd of bikes because I don't have enough ride time !!! LOL.
....
Bob......

[Bob Kelly]

I worked most of the day in making a spring extension for this short spring that will make it 11 " long and should fit on the shock perfectly....
...I scrounged up a 3" o.d. piece of tubing (old water heater flue from my years at Hoyte water heater co. in Reno Nv.)
I cut off 3.5" of the tube and squared up both ends on the lathe and then found some 1/8" plate to make the rings out of that. For the shock and spring will sit on.... that took most of the day but I have one done and the other is awaiting a measurement of the shock keeper, that you take off to get the spring off.... I need to know the lips diameter so I can make this extension stay perfectly centered all the time.
the top of the extension will have either short bars welded to it to corral the bottom of the spring or a larger ring that the spring sits into ....
the tubing I am using is fairly thin but I'm confident it is plenty strong enough for the task ( 1/16" wall)
Hopefully tomorrow I will weld the end caps on the short tube and then work on the end where the spring sits and figure out how to hold it securely....
....
if it wasn't for my treasured Logan 920 lathe that is the same age as I am, I would not be able to do this ! I love that lathe ! to me it's more important than all my bikes !
....
Bob.......

[Bob Kelly]

Well I just came back from a ride on the RX4.... a short ride but down my favorite bumpy road... and the bike is alot better riding now.... I can live with it that way.... it's still a tad on the hard side but so much better than it was it is unreal.... I put in a 400~450lb/in. Spring... (the smallest one you gave me Colonel Blood <grin>)I had to make a spacer because the spring was so short but I did get it to work.... and I lowered the pre-load a bit and that also helped I can touch flat footed with both feet but I have to work at it.... ( it's not like I had it before but close)....
I was hoping to hit the invisible bump that always knocks the bejesus out of me ....and sure enough I did.... and instead of launching me it was just a OOF bump.... that one gets the front and rear always... on every bike I have !
funny thing is you can't see it.... or I would go around it so I call it the invisible bump !....LOL....
all in all it is a firm ride , not squishy at all but there is give to it now instead of the bumps being volant,they are more rounded ...about like a NORMAL BIKE !!!!! hahahahaha !
all in all I am quite pleased I'll live with it this way !
so it's time to put some miles on this puppy !
.....Oh, I also put 60psi. in the shock sense I had it out and now it pushes the shock back up before it didn't .... ( all of the gas must have leaked out!)
Bob.....

[pyoungbl]

I was thinking that something in the 450~500 range would be correct for your spring. The 650 recommendation seemed entirely too stiff but since it came from an expert in the field.....well, worth a try.

[Lukas]

Well I just came back from a ride on the RX4.... a short ride but down my favorite bumpy road... and the bike is alot better riding now.... I can live with it that way.... it's still a tad on the hard side but so much better than it was it is unreal.... I put in a 400~450lb/in. Spring... (the smallest one you gave me Colonel Blood <grin>)I had to make a spacer because the spring was so short but I did get it to work.... and I lowered the pre-load a bit and that also helped I can touch flat footed with both feet but I have to work at it.... ( it's not like I had it before but close)....
I was hoping to hit the invisible bump that always knocks the bejesus out of me ....and sure enough I did.... and instead of launching me it was just a OOF bump.... that one gets the front and rear always... on every bike I have !
funny thing is you can't see it.... or I would go around it so I call it the invisible bump !....LOL....
all in all it is a firm ride , not squishy at all but there is give to it now instead of the bumps being volant,they are more rounded ...about like a NORMAL BIKE !!!!! hahahahaha !
all in all I am quite pleased I'll live with it this way !
so it's time to put some miles on this puppy !
.....Oh, I also put 60psi. in the shock sense I had it out and now it pushes the shock back up before it didn't .... ( all of the gas must have leaked out!)
Bob.....
Oil in this shock absorber is of poor quality and there is not enough oil, thus there is more air I have a bare body it runs very light it should not run like this without changing oil to KYB brand it is impossible to get the effect of a smooth ride over a pothole it is extremely important my rear end runs great but the front end very bad despite damping adjustments factory oil is too thin and you will not get high quality performance with factory oil in front and rear suspension unfortunately spring is not everything

[Bob Kelly]

I went for another ride today, about 45min worth is all and I topped off the gas tank ( this time with premium) and we'll see if the bike runs any better ( I doubt it but it's worth a try LOL)
I do NOT like the high seat height that the short stroke is forcing me to use
I lowered the pre-load as much as i dare any more and I'll be bottoming out the shock on big bumps... and the seat height is still 32" ! even with my boots on I am only touching the ground with the balls of my feet.... not by any means flat footed. I did have a very frustrating time of it though, after a pleasant ride I came to a stop sign and promptly fell over ! it's simply too darn tall !
a few things caused the fall over hitting the front brake while I was still moving causing the weight to shift to the right and my right foot still on the back brake
and I wasn't fast enough getting my foot down to stop it's descent to the ground
... aggravating, frustrating and embarrassing all at the same time and gas gushing out all over the place ! ....
I lifted that heavy beast back up but it was all I could do and I had to stand there holding the bike for a few minutes to catch my breath !
finally I put the kick stand down and then walked around and got on the other side.... a full tank of gas makes this bike very top heavy
and the gas cap will shut and lock WITHOUT being down all the way !
( lesson learned, the cap must be flush with the rest of it , not up 1/16")
so put on the gas cap lock it and all that and THEN PRESS DOWN TILL YOU HEAR A CLICK !!!! and the cap will stay at the flush position !
....
but as far as a top heavy too tall bike goes I am not very happy right now:grr:
it has got to be lower for me to Ride that heavy beast ! so I am gathering up the material I need to make a lowering link . I plan to replace the cast aluminum forward dog bone/ modified horseshoe link that connects to the frame behind the engine and it connects to the link that the shock does
making it longer will lower the bikes rear alot.... I am thinking of making it 1.5" longer than the stock one ...I don't know if that is too much or too little but I guess I will find out !
....
I am very glad the RX4 has those nice crash bars on the front as it has save me 2 times now from busted plastic ! ...
...
I did get the RX4 up to 80 mph on the freeway or so the Dash said so I leveled off at 75 I thought ! LOL but it was down hill...
temp was up to the last bar as usual ( stupid temp gauge !) but it did ride much better that previous rides.... even on the rough roads it wasn't near as bad as it had been....
I have 151 miles on the clock now and I'm probably not going to ride it again till I make it lower, I am through trying to ride a bike that is too tall for me.... too tall and too heavy is a bad combination !
it's no fun to have to worry about every stop !
....:doh:
later !
Bob.......

[Working_ZS]

I would highly recommend finding an empty parking lot somewhere that you can use to practice your low speed maneuvers. That way you can build up your one foot stopping skills without suffering the embarrassment and danger of dropping the bike on a public street. I almost always use my left foot to support the bike at a stop while holding it at rest with my right foot on the rear brake. I usually have to slide my ass over a bit to the left as I come to a stop, since I only have a 29-30" inseam. It also helps to turn the front wheel to the right a little as you are coming to a stop; this helps to force the bike to tilt to the left, onto your intended support foot. Also, be sure that you are finishing your stops with the rear brake and not the front, since the front can be harder to modulate smoothly, since it is so much more powerful than the rear brake.

With some practice, you may find that you do not need to fabricate a lowering link, being able to keep the bike at its stock height while still being able to control it at a stop.

And yes, the crash bars are handy - I put mine to the test the first time I rode it when I dropped it in a parking lot while practicing tight U-turns and figure eight slow speed maneuvers. There's no shame in dropping the bike - mine is 480 lbs in its single top case configuration; but I think with enough practice, you will gain the low speed skill and confidence to handle the bike comfortably.

[Bob Kelly]

Thanks for the tips ! I've ridden motorcycles all my life but I've never owned such a tall heavy bike before and it definately takes some getting used to ! I grew up with bikes like my 1977 Triumph 750 but never had one till now and even it is a challenge some times
My little Ninja 250R is the perfect height now after lowering it and much work but the riding position isn't very cumfortable for me .
I had the RX4 at near 28" seat height and rode it that way for 119 miles but the ride was impossably hard...come to find out the rear shock was bottomed out all the time.
so I raised it back up to get some suspension back.... but it is still too tall for me
so I am going to make it lower even if it kills me !
I've made a lowering link for a '86 XR650L and that worked great but this lower link is harder to make and will likely take every tool in the shop to make properly !
I do think I will make bushings and not use needle bearings in it to simplify the pivot point and I have been contemplating the length it should be if I go 1" longer with the 2.75:1 ratio of the other lower link on the shock, that should give me a bit more than 2" drop ...but it would be nice if it had a 28" seat height and not 32" so going with a 1.5" longer link should get it about as low as I can go without rubbing the tire on the inner fender on bumps ! it would be really nice if I could use turn buckles so that would be adjustable to what ever height I want !
..... it's not an easy project for this old man ! LOL
.....
yes practicing low speed maneuvers would be a real good idea for me ...I'll do that !
....
Bob......

[Bob Kelly]

Well, that worked out fairly good ! but the experiment failed
I got the springs from PYoungbl and made an extension adaptor so they would fit on the bike ...the weakest spring was just slightly too weak and the others way too stiff
so what I wound up doing was putting the spring I bought back on the shock and making a new lower link for the suspension, I found the maximum length the link can be extended to was a mear 5/8" longer ! I wound up making another one from scratch and put a bronze bushing in it and it is now on the bike
I had to raise the preload a bit...(lower the preload nuts on the shock to increase spring tension) to raise the rear slightly as the tire was rubbing as the new lower link really lowered things ! seat height is right at 30" now and with the harder spring on there the tire shouldn't rub anymore.... but I haven't ridden it sense. been too busy getting our well pump going again ( it gave up the ghost)
the bike squats slightly when I sit on it but only a small amount 1/2" or so I'ed guess
but it does compress now when I bounce on it.... so I think this is where the bike is going to stay at from now on.
although I may have to swap out the spring for the stock one if the one in there is too soft.... but I doubt it.
.......

Bob.......