Time for upgrading fork springs?

[Burque73]

Im noticing that when we ride two up my hands go numb more often than when I ride solo. Could this be a sagging front end, thereby putting more of my weight on my hands? As far as I know the only work done on these forks has been replacing the seals.

Input please, and thank you

Roger

[RichDesmond]

Lot's of good reasons to replace fork springs, but this isn't one of them. Passenger weight doesn't really load the forks at all, all that weight is directly over the rear axle.

[Peter Buehner]

My guess is that riding two up is changing your posture. Not necessarily the front forks. Or your lady could be holding on so hard that she is cutting off circulation to your arms

[Nessism]

The 850 forks use soft springs and air pressure to fine tune the ride. Some guys don't know this so they ride around without any air in the forks, in which case the front end will sag and bottom out often, not to mention the compressed forks will throw the riders weight forward. I'm not sure if this is applicable to the problem but if you are not adding air you may want to check out the owners manual and pump some air in the forks to see if this improves the front end feel and comfort in general. Adding air is a pain in the butt because it will leak out in time. That's why lots of guys swap out the soft OEM springs for something stiffer which makes using air unnecessary.

[Burque73]

Thanks guys. I don't feel the front bottoming out but will check the pressure tomorrow. I'm always telling my kids to read the manual, so I need to heed my own advice.. haha. Owners manual says 11psi.

It is likely my posture does change. She doesn't really usually even touch me so it's not that she's holding too tight, usually!

I'm not in a hurry to tear into the forks and replace the springs yet so hopefully the air helps.

Thanks again

[Steve]

Interesting that you only notice the difference while carrying a passenger.

Question: have you changed the fork oil recently? If so, what viscosity did you put back in?

My experience: When I got my Wing (11 years ago), the previous owner had changed the forks to Progressive Suspension and had installed the recommended 15w oil. I found that on an all-day ride, my wrists were hurting. Certainly not because of any weight applied, as I sit quite upright. I noticed that my arms were being jerked on any small bump because of a lack of compliance in the suspension. I drained the oil and refilled with 10w, I have since done several 700+ mile days with no pain in the wrists.

Check for posture differences when she is on, and also check (change) your fork oil.

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[Burque73]

No, I haven't checked or changed the fork oil since I bought the bike in July of last year. I will now though.

[Steve]

One more thought: even if you have the proper viscosity oil, if the level is too low, you will have some interesting results. I experienced that on my Kawasaki Voyager many years ago. It rode VERY nicely on smooth roads, but with the slightest hint of uneven roads, it acted like solid suspension. I found the fork oil level low. Basically, the damper was floating in air at normal ride height, but when the ride height changed due to a dip or a bump, the damper basically did a belly flop into the oil. The transition from air to oil was rather harsh, giving the feeling of solid suspension. Simply adding the correct amount of oil restored a nice, cushy ride.

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