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Post by lee on Jun 9, 2017 20:44:05 GMT -6
On my '06 Streak I had a fork bag but took it off when I realized that it was scuffing my fender when the forks compressed. Never had that problem on my '02, and chalked it up to the bag being about 1/2" different.
Still, it seemed odd. I went out to the garage just now and looked, and I could swear that the '02 was sitting higher than the '06. Turns out I was right, at least 1/2" higher in the front. Now, the '02 has fairly new Progressive springs while the '06 is the originals. '06 is low mileage but still it's over 10 years old. So my question:
Would new springs be the answer, or fork oil? I think springs. I seem to recall that the oil has more to do with dampening the return than holding the bike up.
I have noticed the '06 seeming softer in the suspension, but not so much that I thought "Holy crap, I have to do something!" I was planning to have a new tire put on tomorrow, but I might hold off a week to order springs if that's the best idea.
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Post by Streak07 on Jun 10, 2017 8:59:18 GMT -6
15W will stiffen it up but it certainly won't raise it up. Neither would new springs if they're designed for stock height but a stiffer rate. Do you really want it raised or just stiffened up? You do cut spacers inside the forks when installing progressives but to me that's because it's a somewhat universal spring and the spacer sets the ride height. I don't know if leaving the spacer longer would cause a clearance problem or have you blowing out seals but it would in fact raise the bike. Maybe compare the internals on a parts fiche and see what's different. Although the forks are a different design based at the very least on caliper mount design but not sure how different the guts are.
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Post by lee on Jun 10, 2017 9:32:15 GMT -6
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Post by lee on Jun 10, 2017 15:19:02 GMT -6
While I was out today I went ahead and ordered Progressive springs. I have a tire to get installed, and while it was on the lift I plan to lube the steering bearings. At that point the whole front end is disassembled anyway, might as well get new springs and a fork oil change. I'll probably want to do it sometime later anyway....
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Post by Texas on Jun 11, 2017 13:20:57 GMT -6
It turns out that my stock springs appear to be "right", at least based on other Mean Streak pics I'm finding online. I wonder if it's possible that when I got springs installed in the '02 they were either longer or used a longer spacer... I didn't do them myself and really didn't notice. The red one is the '02 and the black one is the '06 (stock). You can see the difference in height compared to the deflector. So actually it appears the '02 is sitting higher than normal. Something I hadn't noticed. By the way, both seem to ride fine. So I'll probably not worry about it until the springs actually seem to show signs of wear. And here's part of a stock catalog image from the web: When you get your Progressive spring kit, read the instructions that come with it where it says to shorten the OEM spacers 1 inch. That was evidently not done when they installed them in your 2002...that's why the tubes are slightly longer. To my knowledge it doesn't hurt anything for them to be a bit taller, especially if you're still running the stock 13.5" rear shocks. If you're running shorter rear shocks then you might want to consider shortening the spacers by the 1" so as to help keep the bike more level. To me it's just personal preference either way. This info is provided by a senile old fool so definitely consider the source. I have had a Progressive spring kit for a few years now but I still haven't installed them yet.
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Post by lee on Jun 11, 2017 13:57:12 GMT -6
That's kind of what I was thinking. I never had any comfort issues with sitting a little higher, in fact the reason I got the springs was to help with speed bumps, which they did.
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Post by Admin on Jun 12, 2017 15:17:41 GMT -6
1500 sitting to high. 1600 is right on the money
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Post by Kahn on Jun 12, 2017 22:19:09 GMT -6
When I had the Meanie in to have fork seals done, I asked them to install the RACE TECH .90 KG/MM FORK SPRINGS FRSP S3827090 FRSPS382790. The guy said they couldn't do it because even utilizing ALL the spacers that came with it, it would have lowered the front end by 2 inches.
Anyone know what the hell is going on? These are the correct springs for the Meanie.
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