Need front fork spring advice for 83 GS1100E

[Guest]

Want to replace my stock front fork springs. I'm 300lbs so need them to be heavy duty type. Progressive tells me they do not offer anything for the 83 GS110E front forks. They do have the rear shocks though. Anyone have any advice on this?
Thanks.....

[Rob S.]

Try Race Tech. I put .90 in my '82 last year, but you've got more than 100 lbs on me. Go with the stiffest they've got (1.0?), which will still be softer than recommended.

Then you could try increasing the air pressure in the forks if you want more resistance, maybe adjusting the damping knobs.

I'm not really a sage, so wait till some others chime in.

[posplayr]

Race Tech probably go to 1.1, you can also get emulators which will not increase spring rate but will help with dynamic damping rates which will probably reduce the spring rate required as compared to using conventional valving.

There are links here for installations of race tech cartridge emulators on GS1100E's.

[Steve]

Sonic Springs has them up to 1.1. I just put some 1.1 springs in my 850G(K) and really like it. I don't have quite the "gravitational attraction" that you do, but my bike makes up for it with the fairing and luggage.

.

[greg78gs750]

sonic and racetech both come highly recommended, i have racetech springs and emulators in my 1100 es and they ride pretty good.

[mrbill5491]

Sonic or Race tech straight rate springs and emulators and a good fork oil. Forget the air pressure. Make sure the slider bushings on the tubes and legs are in good condition if not replace those bushings.

[wilbucd]

Thanks for the replies. Was hoping to just drop in new springs and oil but the manual says I have to take the forks off and pour the old oil out from the top. If I have to take them off I may as well rebuild them all the way.

[mrbill5491]

Thanks for the replies. Was hoping to just drop in new springs and oil but the manual says I have to take the forks off and pour the old oil out from the top. If I have to take them off I may as well rebuild them all the way.

Yup, I would.

[RichDesmond]

Thanks for the replies. Was hoping to just drop in new springs and oil but the manual says I have to take the forks off and pour the old oil out from the top. If I have to take them off I may as well rebuild them all the way.

Taking the forks off is actually really easy, after the front wheel is off it's just a few more bolts. Doing a full rebuild is quite a bit more work. Of course doing the seals and bushings is better, particularly if it's a high mileage bike.

1.1 springs and 15w oil are what you need.

[wilbucd]

Sonic has 1.1 springs but Racetec only has 1.0. I'm told that heavier springs can possibly cause high speed wobble. Has anyone ever heard of that?
The bike only has 16k miles on it. I removed the anti-dive units from the bottom of the forks and spun the forks 180 degrees to drain the oil. I'm going to drop the new springs in and add the new oil. If I'm not happy with the results I will do a full rebuild next winter.

[RichDesmond]

Sonic has 1.1 springs but Racetec only has 1.0. I'm told that heavier springs can possibly cause high speed wobble. Has anyone ever heard of that?
The bike only has 16k miles on it. I removed the anti-dive units from the bottom of the forks and spun the forks 180 degrees to drain the oil. I'm going to drop the new springs in and add the new oil. If I'm not happy with the results I will do a full rebuild next winter.

That is possible, but it depends on the total setup, not just spring stiffness. It's actually more a function of the rear shock/spring setup than the front. On older bikes like the GS the more common culprit is worn out stock shocks.
If you're not a very aggressive rider you may want to try the 1.0s instead of the 1.1s, but either one will be a huge improvement over stock.