General Category > General Discussion
'26 Special Suspension - Fixed - Updated
Moparnut72:
--- Quote from: YellowDuck on May 11, 2026, 09:07:00 AM ---There's quite a bit you can do without spending much.
Do a proper rider weight sag measurement. If it's less than 30% of total travel then you might want to consider lighter springs. One problem is that no one seems to know what the stock spring rate is. I tried to measure the ones on my 2023 V7 stone and got 6 N/mm, but who knows if I measured right. Race tech on their site list the stock rate at 8 N/mm, which honestly seems more likely to me.
If you have any sag at all (there really should be some, even at your weight!), you can do a stiction test. While you are on the bike, have someone lift up the front end a bit, then let it settle slowly back down. Measure sag. Then have them push down on the front end, and let it rise slowly. Measure sag again. If the difference between the two measurements is more than about 10 mm your forks are sticky, which might just be tight seals still needing to break in, but could also be bent fork tubes.
Another thing that can increase fork stiction is the front end being twisted in the triple clamps. You can see this pretty easily just by sighting the forks from the side. The two tubes should be perfectly parallel.
Too-heavy oil won't have any effect on average sag, it will just affect how long it takes to achieve it when you add or remove weight. It can contribute to apparent stiction, which is why sag is best measured as the average of the stuck-up and stuck-down measurements described above. (on a bike with externally adjustable damping, you wind the damping adjusters all the way out before doing the stiction test or a sag measurement).
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I was thinking more about this last night in bed going to sleep when I do my best thinking. :laugh: So lighter springs came to mind as well as fork alignment. I get maybe .5 mm sag when I get on the bike. It hardly moves at all. I have 2,000 miles on the bike so I figure the seals should have worn in by now. I can push down on the bars with almost no movement at all. Locking the front brake and forcing the bike back and forth I can get movement but it takes quite a bit of force. When I had my V7lll it would drop 3 or 4 mm when taken off the side stand stand and a bit more when I got on. First thing I am going to do this morning is realign the forks. If that doesn't help on to further investigation. Thanks for your insight, your thoughts mirrored mine. I went for a ride yesterday afternoon on a rough country road. This is totally unacceptable even had me thinking BMW. Horrors! I'll now read the rest of the comments.
kk
mechanicsavant:
imho , If the OEM tires are bias ply (as both my small blocks were), radial ply tires will feel like you’ve roller skated onto a cork floor ! No more counting the Pennie’s & grains of sand ! Once again just my humble opinion!
Moparnut72:
Thought about that too. Like I said I have never had a set of Michelin tires before. My tire of choice has always been Avons, I have always found them to ride quite smoothly.
kk
Moparnut72:
I went to the shop and jacked her up and loosened up all the pinch bolts and moved everything around until I was satisfied everything was straight and free. Let it down and now it is doing what it is supposed to do. I don't suppose they take a lot of time on the assembly line. Slide everything in and tighten it all up. I haven't test ridden it yet but I am confident it will be a whole lot better. It actually settles a little bit coming off the side stand and more when I get on. I am by myself so I can't measure anything. No zip ties, I messed up a seal on my V7lll doing that which resulted in a big cluster with the speed sensor. Thanks all.
kk
Moparnut72:
--- Quote from: Michael_A on May 11, 2026, 05:39:09 PM ---Before you do any mods it would be good to make sure the stock suspension is not binding or otherwise having a problem. You noted little to no movement going down the road. I'd check the axle/pinch-bolt setup and the fork brace over the fender, and make sure those aren't out of alignment and causing binding. The front end of the V7's is fairly supple, and a tad firm but not bad. I'm at 240lbs and am impressed with the ride quality/handling balance. Perhaps there could be an assembly problem binding up the forks? I've seen it on other bikes in the past....
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I think this is what was causing the binding.
kk
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