Been considering suspension upgrades for a little way into the future but have a question for 8 gen owners who may have been down this road already.
I'm thinking of fitting a Nitron R1 shock and ensuring the front remains balanced with correct strength springs at the front for my kitted weight which would be in the 0.9 to 0.95 range. I'd probably look for straight rate/linear rather than progressive.
My question concerns damping. Does anyone have experience fitting a much heavier spring in the forks with the OEM cartridge? I'm wondering if the already suboptimal compression characteristics will just get even more 'shocking' and there will just be insufficient rebound adjustment to control the faster spring. If that's the case then I probably need to look for a cartridge alternative such as Nitron TVT or Adreani Misano which obviously doubles the overall outlay.
I think I recall Thumbs asking something similar on the other place.
Suspension
I've moved to a lighter spring, 0.8 as I only ever ride solo and that's what KTech recommended, I'm running 10wt oil @98mm oil level, which gives a great ride but the oil level stops more than 60 mm of fork movement and there's effectively no damping adjustment, so I'm going to try 108mm and see where that goes, lighter oil I think
I think you'd be alright with the heavier springs and spend time with the oil wt and level before a major outlay on new cartridges
I think you'd be alright with the heavier springs and spend time with the oil wt and level before a major outlay on new cartridges
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maxredline
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Suspension set ups can be a real rabbit hole. In the past I chased a set up. Went with https://daughertymotorsports.com/ components.
I did not go top of the line. This was years gone by and the items I installed are no longer available. My conclusion was that for the money spent the gains were not great enough.
That said I think you are on the right track getting the suspension to suit you without spending too much.
I ended up buying a Honda 954 to get my jollys out but came back to the viffer
I did not go top of the line. This was years gone by and the items I installed are no longer available. My conclusion was that for the money spent the gains were not great enough.
That said I think you are on the right track getting the suspension to suit you without spending too much.
I ended up buying a Honda 954 to get my jollys out but came back to the viffer
Just do it
Agreed, it makes a lot of difference having done this many times before, like the last 55 years, the 2 extremes of trials bike and a road race bike have helped me decide exactly how I want it to behave, my 710 CCM Supermoto had OEM White Power forks, it was a joy to set up
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Interesting and good info thank you. I thought the OEM springs were dual rate/ progressive somewhere around 0.65 to 0.85 but I can't recall where I got that from. You say you've got no damping adjustment with the 0.8 spring. Is that straight rate? Does that mean you've got the rebound full hard or that any adjustment makes no difference?Thumbs wrote: Sat Aug 22, 2026 1:09 pm I've moved to a lighter spring, 0.8 as I only ever ride solo and that's what KTech recommended, I'm running 10wt oil @98mm oil level, which gives a great ride but the oil level stops more than 60 mm of fork movement and there's effectively no damping adjustment, so I'm going to try 108mm and see where that goes, lighter oil I think
I think you'd be alright with the heavier springs and spend time with the oil wt and level before a major outlay on new cartridges
On the oil, I take your point. Personally I try to choose oil by viscosity rather than weight and am currently running with Motul expert at 35.90 Cst@40°C which is very similar to Honda Pro HP 10W which is 35.2 Cst ( same temp). I had tried Silkolene Pro RSF 10 W but my teeth nearly fell out over bumps and on checking discovered is was 47.36 Cst
It was mid May when I got the bike back from having the work done, my carpal tunnels are trashed so I can't really work on bikes anymore, it just felt stiff AF, presumably the oil was cold, etc
I've just been out for a ride so the fork oil is as hot as it gets, the damping adjustment is there, but the oil level being so high has made the jarring from the forks worse, it could have gone either way when it was done, unfortunately I choose the wrong way.
I went to the section of the A4 Bath bypass which has a decent surface, it was perfect on there, but get on a rough surface and the jarring is worse, if anything, so at least I know which way to go
The roads in this part of the world are terrible, I'm now going to concentrate my efforts into getting a slightly softer ride, although on a decent surface it's on rails at the moment
I wouldn't get a set of expensive dampers until you've exhausted getting the OEM ones better, our roads are so shite I think you'd end up disappointed, I'm going to try and find a set of the OEM cartridges and have the shim stack apart
The oil is Honda 10W, I only put wt. for the US readers, I'd forgotten you're also in the UK
I've just been out for a ride so the fork oil is as hot as it gets, the damping adjustment is there, but the oil level being so high has made the jarring from the forks worse, it could have gone either way when it was done, unfortunately I choose the wrong way.
I went to the section of the A4 Bath bypass which has a decent surface, it was perfect on there, but get on a rough surface and the jarring is worse, if anything, so at least I know which way to go
The roads in this part of the world are terrible, I'm now going to concentrate my efforts into getting a slightly softer ride, although on a decent surface it's on rails at the moment
I wouldn't get a set of expensive dampers until you've exhausted getting the OEM ones better, our roads are so shite I think you'd end up disappointed, I'm going to try and find a set of the OEM cartridges and have the shim stack apart
The oil is Honda 10W, I only put wt. for the US readers, I'd forgotten you're also in the UK
You have my sympathy for the carpal tunnel problem Thumbs; quite debilitating. Like you I find the stock setup works fine on smooth surfaces but is pretty awful on rough and the standard damping settings are far too restrictive. In my opinion the compression is just too harsh on the initial hit so a lighter oil and or a bigger air gap may help as you suggest.
After much fiddling and testing yesterday I think I've arrived at a liveable setup with the OEM kit for now. It definitely improves as the suspension oil heats up. For the record the setup is:
For a 95kg fully kitted rider. Front preload 3 rings showing. Rebound set at 1.5 turns out from hard. Fork oil viscosity is 35.9 Cst@40°C. Rear preload set at 10 clicks from fully soft and the rebound is set at 2 turns out from hard.
As you recommend, I am going to see how this goes for a while of spirited road riding dodging potholes, manholes, gravel over general worn and poorly maintained surfaces.
After much fiddling and testing yesterday I think I've arrived at a liveable setup with the OEM kit for now. It definitely improves as the suspension oil heats up. For the record the setup is:
For a 95kg fully kitted rider. Front preload 3 rings showing. Rebound set at 1.5 turns out from hard. Fork oil viscosity is 35.9 Cst@40°C. Rear preload set at 10 clicks from fully soft and the rebound is set at 2 turns out from hard.
As you recommend, I am going to see how this goes for a while of spirited road riding dodging potholes, manholes, gravel over general worn and poorly maintained surfaces.