Finally got a chance to finish putting the bike back together and take my first short (30 minute) test ride. Wow - amazing difference! I’ve never had aftermarket suspension on before so didn’t really know what to expect. I was mainly hoping to eliminate the hop hop hop the bike had with the upgraded racetech suspension in front, and stock in back. It has done that, but so much more. The bike feels about 100lbs lighter when rolling! I’m amazed at how much more flickable the bike feels. I thought it would be smoother, which it is, but dont think I realized how much better it would handle! Much, much better!
I guess the stiffer spring holds up the weight of the bike better, which is what makes it feel lighter. Previously I had a few concerns with ground clearance, but I have a feeling that will be much less of an issue now, based on last night’s short ride.
I think I’m going to really be happy with the rear spring/shock upgrade. Well worth the many, many hours it took me to complete!
Things I learned during this job:
- I’ve read it over and over again on this forum, but Fred H’s DVD’s are invaluable. The DVDs came with the bike when I bought it this past winter, and I’m sure glad they did because I’m the type of guy that probably would not have spent the $100 to buy them separately, and my life would have been much more difficult without them. As an example - the Honda service manual has about half a page devoted to removing and installing (“Installation is the reverse of removal”) the gas tank. I would not have been able to remove and install that tank without watching (over and over) Fred do it on the DVD. I had a laptop in the garage with the DVD playing the entire time I was doing the job, at least until the laptop died - but by then I was done the tough stuff. If you’re tackling this job, get the DVDs.
- That gas tank is one major PITA to take out but especially to put back in! That is one tight fitting tank. Toughest part of the job for me.
- next time I do a job like this my work bench has to be much cleaner. I wasted a fair bit of time trying to zoom my eyes in on what I was looking for among the messy work bench.
- Taking bolts out of the fairing is a lot easier than putting them back in! I had a lot of trouble lining things up sometimes... most frustrating part of the job for me.
- putting bolts and washers and nuts in little ziploc bags and writing on the bags what they’re from is the best way for me to keep things straight to know what goes where.
- My bike has a hunger for washers, bolts and nuts. I lost one of each in the bowels of the beast... so far one bolt has fallen out, but a washer and spring nut have yet to make their escape. I’ll probably have to order new ones.
All in all, it was a great experience, and a great way to learn about my bike.
