Fork Springs

Larry Fine said:
As I mentioned earlier, with the tight coils up, the entire spring has to move up in order to compress them.
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Unsprung mass and wheel motion accelerations become more critical at the larger deflections, when the tight end is fully compressed.

Then the linear part of the spring is better off with its compact end at the top, not unsprung.
 
ST1100Y said:
MFGs like Wirth, Ikon, Progressive, Hagon, Wilbers, etc... focus on " racetrack dynamics", which happens to be mostly flat like a glass table...
They don't/need to care if 60 to 80% of the spring length bangs and scrapes along the inside of them fork tubes, aging and contaminating the fork-oil with abrasion...
Likely that the "setup" gets rebuild for every individual track anyway...
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You've obviously not ridden on a bumpy track... ;)

Tracks are generally a lot smoother in Europe than they are here across the pond. And if you're expecting "flat like a glass table," bring a couple of extra changes of underwear if you ride a track like Laguna Seca or the Ridge, or even CoTA. My thoughts differ slightly from yours... I recommend setting/modifying the suspension for the type of riding you do. There.is a reason why companies like Ohlins will ask the rider what type of riding they do and send springs and set valving the way they do. For me, as a rule of thumb, set static sag with preload assuming you have proper spring rate for weight/type of riding, Set rebound and compression damping on base settings, then adjust from there for venue/conditions.

I agree, Honda suspends their bikes to cover the widest group of venues and riders. But I have yet to meet a bike or rider where even a small adjustment/improvement did not yield a better riding experience.
 
Not that it makes any difference in cases where it only fits one way, but in instances where you can choose which way to drop them down, I always thought you're better off with the added unsprung weight of the tighter coil emersed in the oil and allowing the wider spring gaps to remain clear of the oil.
 
Well, speculation and theory aside, does anyone know whether all one-way springs with a taper must be installed taper down, and are the closer coils are always at the tapered end?
 
DesmoRonin said:
There.is a reason why companies like Ohlins will ask the rider what type of riding they do and send springs and set valving the way they do.
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Yep, Wilbers did that, asking weight/range, terrain, etc... Ohlins only offered a "set"... no contact, no ways to customize offered...

At Wilbers I even was able to get it assorted like this:

IMG_20190420_102344.jpg

So its one unit I can grab and send for service...
(didn't favor the original suggestion of having expansion and preload adjuster aux on hoses...)
 
ST1100Y said:
Yep, Wilbers did that, asking weight/range, terrain, etc... Ohlins only offered a "set"... no contact, no ways to customize offered...

At Wilbers I even was able to get it assorted like this:

IMG_20190420_102344.jpg

So its one unit I can grab and send for service...
(didn't favor the original suggestion of having expansion and preload adjuster aux on hoses...)
Click to expand...
I'm happy it's working out for you. Best to go with what you know and that for which you can get support quickly and easily. If Ohlins should be in consideration for you in the future, might I suggest Andreani Group in Italy. Huge database of experiential performance data, outstanding service, B2B and B2C suppliers, and manufacturer of suspension service and diagnostic equipment, and cartridge suspension OEM.

What I can't do, I have a local guy who supports some top teams that is very good with Ohlins, K-tech, and I believe WP. Unfortunately, Wilbers does not meet that criteria for me at this time. I'd be curious to try it out some day, application permitting.
 
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