Hi I am setting up my 2000 R6 for track only.
This is my first track bike, and I am a track novice, and I am trying to set it up as inexpensively as possible. I do not want to spend big money on the suspension.

I have to change the fork oil anyway. I weigh 220 (no gear, too many burgers and beers I guess)
should I change the fork springs ? change the oil? change the oil and the springs? to what? your recommendations requested, what is a decent but not too expensive way to go.

My rear shock is shot, so I purchased another stock shock on ebay, I will have it checked but if necessary will have it revalved.
Change the spring as well? leave it stock?

thanks for your help
E

How many miles are on the bike?

At the very least you're going to want to switch to stiffer springs and heavier oil. The stock spring are .75kg/mm of travel spring rate. Meaning for every .75kg or 1.6lbs the fork drops 1 mm. Actually it's twice that, you need 1.5kg or 3.3lbs to drop a mm since you have to act on both forks.

Switching to thinker oil, maybe 5w or 7.5w (which they don't sell but you can make it by mixing 1 part 5w and 1 part 10w together) will slow down the reaction of compression and decompression. This is a cheap alternative to having the forks revalved. It isn't completely the same but will buy you time and save you money until you redo the valves.

Start out by putting a zip tie around the shiny part of your fork leg, push it all the way to the bottom, then go ride hard, now check to see how far up the fork the zip tie got pushed. If it is all the way up your springs are too soft, you want it to be about 2/3 of the way up, this gives you a little more room to push harder if you get jammed in a corner or late break, but still is giving you a frontend with feedback and some softness.

Personnally I like a twitchy frontend, so i have dropped the front end down 1/4" on the forks. This puts more weight on the front end for better drive out of corners and quicker response on turn-in.

If you knwo how to set compression, rebound, and pre-load go to town. If not check out
this article (http://www.sportrider.com/suspension_settings/146_0402_suspension_setup_guide/index.html). They explain what you should be looking for and how to get there.

the bike has about 32,000 miles on it
it was ridden hard and kissed the pavement. (rashed and some cracks in the plastic etc.)

rear shock is mush like riding a 72 caddy.

I cannot ride the bike as is now (snow etc) plus it is mostly taken apart.


I was going to change the front fork springs to a 9.5 or maybe 1.0
do I still change the oil to 5 or 7.5 or use the stock oil?
I will probably have the rear revalved or serviced for sure.

any suggestions for inexpensive springs?

a friend who is a mechanic suggested hyperpro progressive springs ?

Thanks for the quick reply.
and I appreciate all your good postings (very informative)
Elliott.

I ran with .95 when is weighed about 145lbs and they would approach bottoming, but never did, under race conditions. I have since bumped up to 1.0s as weight training has seen me push the scale to about 200lbs. So far I have seen good results on the track. If you rode the bike at all with the stock hardware you will notice a drastic change in handling and feel. Under slow and easy riding the bike will be harsh and somewhat of a handful... but get on it hard and all that melts away.

I would still upgrade your oil to a thicker oil. The issue is the stock valving inside the fork wasn't the greatest when it was new. It was fantastic on the street, but quickly overwhelmed on the track. Add to that the stack of shims have been flexed for 32k miles and they will be beat.

Basically the way the valve works is you have a stopper with a hole in it in the middle of the fork with fluid on both sides. As the fork compresses oil tries to move through the hole from one side to the other. To slow this effect there are shims or wafer thin washers that cover the hole. As oil tries to go through the hole the pressure lifts the shim slowing the flow.

A Race Tech Gold Valve kit for example will have more holes in the stopper that are nicely machined, and the shims are of varying diameter to give progressively more control as the oil pressure rises. With stock oil and stock valves, the oil can squirt passed the shim too easily even with the compression turned all the way in you just end up with a hard fork rather than a properly responsive one.

Switching to thicker fork oil mimicks a better valve by allowing you to slow the oil without having to turn the adjuster all the way in and giving you a hard fork. It's not the best solution, that would be Gold Valves, but it will buy you time if money is an issue.

The rear shock is another story. I was a long hold out that rear shocks were a waste of money. Until I found one used that was ultra cheap and couldn't be passed up. From one trackday to the next I went from a wobbly ass that was along for the ride, to a rear that could be spun up, stepped out, and driven and steered with the throttle like the pros. I'm now a true believer.

I'm not a huge fan of progressive springs. Basically this is a coil made with two sections that have different spring rates. The first part is a little softer and then you cross a treshold and the spring becomes stiffer. My issue is that you lose the linear progression of compression you tail. You get a lot of squat as you settle into a turn and then it becomes stiff midcorner. Now you have an extra feeling that draws your attention from stuffing a guy into the next turn. Or if you're driving hard down the straight you get nice linear squat, cross a threshold and boom stiff tail and wheelie time. With a traditional constant spring rate it just keeps building smoothly.

Check eBay, if you can find an aftermarket shock I would upgrade. You'll benefit from better valving like I suggested for your forks, they are greatly more adjustable, and more easiliy servicable and rebuildable. Plus there is always a market to resell it later. Penskes are some of the best but pricey, same goes for Ohlins, Fox shocks are good and reasonably priced. If you decide you just want to get a spring then any of those manufacturers will be fine, or Race Tech, or Hyperpro a spring is pretty much a spring.

How many miles till now you have drive?

Thank you fieronhink.
So my bike is basically taken apart. and up on my table and stand.
rear shock is out and at stadium suspension ( local company that revalves, rebuilds, and manufactures shocks) they will set it up for my weight and do a basic revalve at 230.00 if I really like the track I can always upgrade or keep my eye open for a used rear penske, fox or ohlins.
once my rear shock is in, I will put the .95 race techs springs in the front.
again I am going inexepensive (relatively) with new springs, oil and seals but no revalve on the front forks