The Versys fork could do with some re-valving for street riding, as it is prone to hydraulic lock up over bumps and could be better tuned for both ride and performance.
The stock springs seem fine for my 78 Kg weight (less gear) and I am going to leave them in for now and see how it copes with the re-valving, 10W oil and different oil level. I do note however, that the manual assumes a lighter rider and Racetech tells me that the stock spring is 0.78Kg/mm and I need 0.90. Changing the front springs seems a common local mod with Hyperpro being the most common brand I see. What rate are these springs as there is no data on their website other than marketing fluff about being progressive. Seemingly it is a one size fits all application.
I think that re-valving the R leg will work, but if not it is a simple matter to buy the stock parts that Kawi saw fit not to include in the L leg and have both legs working. This will allow an even softer shim stack and/or lighter fork oil, giving better compliance over high speed inputs while maintaining control under low-speed conditions. The Versys design with the R leg doing all the work is a bit of a guess on the shim stack, and a conventional 2 cartridge design may be a bit easier.
Having said all that, I have a pretty good idea of the shim stack that I need, but before I order what I need from the USA to do it myself, does anyone know of a suspension shop that will have both the shims, and the tools to do it right? The guys racing at Bira must have some fork specialist work done all the time.
I have sent an email to YSS asking this question, but they have never bothered to answer me in the past and I have little hope that they will do so this time.
Although I would like to find a competent shop with the tools, if I do end up doing it myself, I will have to buy some special tools, and the shims are in packs of 10.
It would be nice if there are some other Versys owners who would like to give this a go to defray my costs and use up the shims. Let me know if there is any interest and I may just go ahead and get the kit to do it myself and know that it is done right
I'm tempted to buy this software and take the guesswork and butt evaluation out of the equation. Not sure if it can handle the Versys design with one leg doing all the work
http://shimrestackor.com/index.htm
The stock springs seem fine for my 78 Kg weight (less gear) and I am going to leave them in for now and see how it copes with the re-valving, 10W oil and different oil level. I do note however, that the manual assumes a lighter rider and Racetech tells me that the stock spring is 0.78Kg/mm and I need 0.90. Changing the front springs seems a common local mod with Hyperpro being the most common brand I see. What rate are these springs as there is no data on their website other than marketing fluff about being progressive. Seemingly it is a one size fits all application.
I think that re-valving the R leg will work, but if not it is a simple matter to buy the stock parts that Kawi saw fit not to include in the L leg and have both legs working. This will allow an even softer shim stack and/or lighter fork oil, giving better compliance over high speed inputs while maintaining control under low-speed conditions. The Versys design with the R leg doing all the work is a bit of a guess on the shim stack, and a conventional 2 cartridge design may be a bit easier.
Having said all that, I have a pretty good idea of the shim stack that I need, but before I order what I need from the USA to do it myself, does anyone know of a suspension shop that will have both the shims, and the tools to do it right? The guys racing at Bira must have some fork specialist work done all the time.
I have sent an email to YSS asking this question, but they have never bothered to answer me in the past and I have little hope that they will do so this time.
Although I would like to find a competent shop with the tools, if I do end up doing it myself, I will have to buy some special tools, and the shims are in packs of 10.
It would be nice if there are some other Versys owners who would like to give this a go to defray my costs and use up the shims. Let me know if there is any interest and I may just go ahead and get the kit to do it myself and know that it is done right
I'm tempted to buy this software and take the guesswork and butt evaluation out of the equation. Not sure if it can handle the Versys design with one leg doing all the work
http://shimrestackor.com/index.htm