Front Fork Springs: What was your reasoning for placing the narrow wound coils facing upward Chief?
That wasn't my write-up. Virg apparently liked it that way... I think he means the close wound end... I believe they are the same diameter at both ends... don't remember.
Mechanically its makes no difference which way Progressive Suspension fork springs are installed. Some folks indicate to install the spring with the close wound end towards the bottom to reduce spring noise. But the springs will perform exactly the same regardless of which end goes in first.
The instructions that come with the springs will say basically what I have indicated. You can also look on the Progressive Suspension web site, or in the accessories/mods/tips and get a copy of the progressive suspension instructions.
Oops, my bad, still feelin my way around the site... Anyways, replaced the front fork springs & oil last week. The main reason for this was that I have been wanting to change the oil for a while now(on the PM chart you know), been thinkin bout it for seven seasons now, would look in the shop manual, shy away and say "mabey next season", hehe. Then I stumbled on the Mods/tips on this site, gave me a renewed interest and confidence. As far as replacing the springs, VIRG was right on with directions (well done virg), but decided to take the shop manual route- removal of front wheel and fender, then just loosen two allen set screws to drop each fork, place it in a vise, and work like a gentleman, and I could acurately measure the volume of the existing oil that came out of the fork against the specs in the shop manual, and also do a level guage, which is simply the distance from the top of the fork to the top of oil level when the fork is fully compressed without the spring installed, both ways gave me the same end result, which gave me a good feeling that i pretty much nailed it the first time around (progressive recomended the tighter wound coils face down towards wheels for the exact reason chief stated above). Not rushing, the whole operation took just under four hours minus clean-up, in the driveway (pretty easy procedure if your mechanically inclined). Springs, fork oil and a plastic beaker came in @ just under 100 dollars, after just riding on the new springs a couple a hundred miles, handling and stability, have to say one of the best investments I made to date, guess the new Metzelers dont hurt either.
Replaced the rear shocks also with progressive 440s, fist thing I noticed was the diameter of the 440s coils being substantially smaller than my stock air shocks, the 440s seem to be a quality shock, but am wondering if our drifters rear suspension systems are more geared towards an air shock, think you can get more lift out of the air shocks, for those ocasional tight right hand turns when you hear the sound of steel rubbin against asphault with those long straights installed, and riding with two up on the saddle. And a softer ride. "Thoughts anyone".Do not have enough miles on them yet to make an educated opinion, will keep yas posted. The Hun was snapin photos of the operation with her blackberry, if anyone is interested,have not uploaded them to pc yet.
Peace
Just put the 440Hd's on mine and the bike does sit lower. I don't have enough mile on them yet to form an opinion.
I've had 440's for 4-5 years. Didn't lower the bike - I used the same length shock as stock oem. You can adjust for your loading. I have NEVER had a bottoming problem since I installed the 440's. I MUCH prefer the 440's over the air shocks.
Put 200 miles on my 440 on sat riding two up. Thanks Chief and the other members that recommended them. Much better than the ome shocks.
Mark
Well, put a couple of thousand miles on with the new fore & aft suspension. The 440's are a nice shock and adequate for single or two-up riding (plenty of adjustment). My only complaint would be that the revolutions you have to turn the shock adjusting from fully soft to fully stiff are quite a few, for me, a minor inconvienence for a quality shock. I should also state that I did not dislike the OEM stock air shocks.
Liking the front springs also, but the next time I change the oil, think I will try a 10weight, versus the 15wieght, hoping for a lil softer ride.
Keep the rubber side down.
Stay Happy
Quote from: chief on May 09, 2010, 14:29:47 PM
I've had 440's for 4-5 years. Didn't lower the bike - I used the same length shock as stock oem. You can adjust for your loading. I have NEVER had a bottoming problem since I installed the 440's. I MUCH prefer the 440's over the air shocks.
Did you use the standard 440s or the HD 440s?
I always put the tighter wound part of the spring on top, that way there's less mass moving up and down at the wheel end. Realistically though, the wheels are so heavy, and with the large fender, the small difference in total mass made by orienting the springs differently is probably negligible.