Prep & Mods (09/96)

Prep & Mods
09/96

Maintenance prep this month:

change oil & filter (Spectro 10w40, Honda filter)
adjusted chain (3/4")
bled brakes (Spectro Golden Supreme DOT4, 1/2 container)

All of the quirky handling problems finally came to a head last month & I decided to drop the bike off at GMD Computrack LA and let Michael & Morris have a go at it. It was in worse shape than I thought. The steering head was bent inward and off to one side and the swingarm was bent. Of course, the front wheel was pointing off in one direction, the rear in another. The initial point of contact when James crashed the bike on the street was the right-side fork lower, so the bent steering head made sense. It flipped through the air and landed on the side of the rear tire with enough force to tweak the swingarm. A little torching & bending and the frame was better than new.

While I was watching Michael work his measuring magic, we began talking about the other services that Computrack offer, namely, suspension set up. In for a penny, in for a pound - Michael & Morris reworked the front and rear suspensions too, including:

	Front:	RaceTech gold cartidges
		straight rate springs
		Silkolene 10wt fork oil, 130mm from the top
		preload backed all the way out
		rebound set to 2 clicks from max
		25mm sag
		forks raised 26mm (measured from top of tubes to top triple clamp)

	Rear:	Penske 8900 shock w/800 lbs spring
		30mm sag
		ride height increased 8mm
		compression set to #4
		rebound set to 4 clicks from max
		preload set to 136mm

Michael & Morris did a great job and delivered on time. Since I'm writing this up in November, I've already learned that the frame fix & suspension mods worked magic on the bike. The general goals were too quicken the steering a bit, keep front-end dive under braking to a minium, and optimize the swing arm angle for maximum acceleration. As far as I'm concerned, they accomplished the goals. Track-side support was excellent too. Morris took the time to fine-tune the suspension setup during practice. If you need frame or suspension work done, these are the guys to see!

Bob