Ok i have been riding for years but still have no idea how to set my front suspension to my weight and riding conditions. i do most of my riding on the mean streets of Los Angeles where there are plenty of potholes to dodge and cars to weave in and out of! and of course the occasional twisty canyon run. i am 200lbs of solid muscle...haha not really but i am 200lbs.

i have heard the forks on a Superhawk have a tendancy to bottom out and i should get the RaceTech springs replaced but money is an issue right now so i need to deal with the stock set-up for a while. so i want to make it the best it can be...

I have heard the terms "Rebound Damping" and "Spring Preload" being thrown around...all i know is they are the two ***** on the tops of the forks and how to turn them.

so please if any hawks are still out there with bone stock forks i would appreciate your help

 

I'd say with stock forks just crank up your preload and your dampening all the way up with stock. the lil adjusters on top of the forks are your dampening and at the top of the forks you can see lines around the forks and that's your preload setting. To adjust that you turn the top clockwise. also crank up your rear shock preload and dampening.

 

really, so crank them both up all the way...wont that be a very hard ride? or is that just the only way to get the max performance out of these weak forks?

do i need a special tool to adjust the preload

right now the preloads are showing at about the 3rd groove...should i turn them until they are down to none or zero?

 

eh I'm at .95kg springs in the front and a aftermarket shock and it's just fine imo *shrugs* to adjust the preload you use I think a 10mm wrench. it should fit right on and twist them. Try going down to like 1 groove left but crank the dampening up. I had my rear preload at 1 down from the highest and highest dampening. still felt spongy

 

IIRC, it's a 14mm wrench to get at the preload adjusters.

Changing your preload will help only a little bit. If you are far out of the adjustment range, as am I (235lbs), then it doesn't really matter what adjustments you make. For now, you can crank up the preload, but your best bet is to throw in springs that have a higher rate.

 

Silly
Head on over to Hawkriders web side (Greg's Literbikes), Look under 'Performance Mods' > 'Suspension Setup'

Knowing how to get it right is important - it lets you know how far out the stock springs.
Those springs don't even hold the bike up to spec without the rider. If I remember correctly - the front sag should be about 28mm (no rider weight) and 35mm with the rider dressed out in riding gear.

 

Thanks for the props, yo! hehehe

Crank the preload to max. DON'T max out the rebound. Set rebound so when pushing rapidly down on the forks (in the garage) and releasing, the front of the bike comes back up and settles just a tiny bit. Too much rebound damping will tend to pack down the suspension on a series of bumps.

Unfortunately we don't have compression damping adjusters on our forks so you'll have to make due for now. Maybe a slightly lighter oil would help, but that's pretty labor intensive and it sounds like you don't want to go that direction right now.

 

Buy the springs. They're transformative.

 

+1 true true


Drop those heavier springs in it & change the fork oil while you've got it open. Some people use Mobil 1 ATF for fork oil - it's about 10wt (the recommended wt)
Also:
You might end up having to add a couple of shims to the stock compression valve shim stack & one or so to the rebound valve shim stack.

Check out this site for spring rates (springs retail for $109 you can find them for $89 if you look)
http://www.racetech.com/evalving/eng...ngname=english

There was several threads on the old site about fork work but I can't find them for you now....may have gotten lost when we moved sites....sorry :-(

 

found one....
https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...ighlight=valve

 

Here's another
http://ablett.jp/bikes/vtr/vtr_sus.htm

 

yeah I got .95kg in the front thrown in when my front end needed rebuilding. they did the work for me. Cost a lil bit but it was worth it. Only prob then was I need a new rear shock to balance it out. lol. in came the fox shock. Man it's a sickness with modding for me but so far everything has been worth it

 

Negative, Ghostrider. You'll need LESS shims (or thinner shims) with heavier springs. The springs themselves are a form of compression damping. Add shims and you'll have too much compression damping. Adding shims on the rebound side is correct however to allow you to control the heavier springs.

 

Thanks for correcting that Greg !