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Old 07-07-2017, 07:27 PM   #97
Megadan   Megadan is offline
 
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Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Omaha, NE
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Ok, so for future reference, if you want to do preload spacers, the diameter you need is 22mm or 7/8 of an inch. I turned my bronze pipe down on my little mini lathe to the right size, but you can save yourself the headache. For reference, the stock preload spacers are 15.2mm in height, not quite as tall as I initially thought, so I decided to start off with 35mm preload spacers, and I tell you what, that is just about perfect. Taking the bike off the center stand, it now only sinks about half an inch or less, which is what the rear does. It also handles my weight a lot better. If you are a bigger guy like me or plan on loading up your bike, definitely consider making preload spacers. 1 1/2 inches - aka 38mm - thick 7/8 PVC would work fine and be an affordable solution. You could probably get a scrap cut for next to nothing.

I also decided to add a little more fork oil to the forks. 210ml was just too soft, so I added 20ml more to each fork, that brought the air gap with the forks compressed to 105mm each side, I will keep an eye on the fork seals, but given the long travel of these shocks I doubt 230ml will harm them, and I have heard of some guys running 240 without a problem. Between the new preload spacers and the higher fork oil level, it's a completely new bike. It will be much harder to bottom these guys out now.

I may try 40mm preload spacers next, but for now, I am quite pleased with it. The front dives a lot less, it handles a LOT better, and still rides like the squishy cloud that it should.

Now that my bike is back on the road, I am going to go ride it a bunch more. Need to rack up some more miles on her lol.
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