If you are frustrated by the challenge of adjusting the OE suspension for a better ride and are considering upgrading your Diavel forks as I have just done, there are several options available. Replacement forks and I believe Ohlins is currently the only company to offer this option, fitting a replacement cartridge kit, KTech (IDS) and Andreani are the 2 companies offering this option and replacement springs for rider weight specific ones which from my research, only Wilbers in Germany currently offer. As already posted in another thread, I have just had the forks rebuilt with Wilbers progressive springs (70kg) and 5w fork oil and the improvement is just astonishing, even more so when you consider the overall cost which was about half an Andreani replacement cartridge kit and let’s not ‘go compare’ with the cost of the Ohlins ! If you are cost and function conscious, (as opposed to form/bling and function) I bought my springs here, http://wilberssuspension.co.uk/ from their catalogue here, http://wilberssuspension.co.uk/images/wilbers/federbeine.pdf (page 13). Please note they hold a limited range of spring rates as stock items so be prepared to wait about 5 weeks for them to be delivered if they have to be made. As a footnote, both Ohlins and KTech manufacture a replacement rear shock absorber which should most definitely be on your shopping list if you do the miles. * Disclaimer - I have no connection with or benefit from referrals to, any of the companies mentioned above. My internet based research was fairly extensive but there might be other manufacturers and or suppliers that offer upgrade options. The fork rebuild was carried out by Moto Rapido who I am connected with and will shamelessly plug because I think they are good Cheers Andy
Hi, late reply I know, but I'm seriously gonna have to change fork springs...I can't get more than about half travel When you say you got 70kg springs... can you be more precise.. 70kg/inch?/cm Or to suit you at 70kg weight? I'm happy to go buy and fit my springs, but I don't know the standard spring rate, nor what would be right for my 80kg in riding kit Any help would be appreciated
When I spoke with the UK stockist (in the first link) on the phone, we discussed rider weight and riding style and we came to the conclusion that a spring rate appropriate to rider weight of 70Kg should give the response we were looking for. In hindsight, with only 1mm (1 full turn) of preload, 1 full turn of compression and about 7/8 of a full turn of rebound to get the right ‘feel’, I could probably have gone for a rider weight of 65Kg for just a little bit more adjustment although I have found very small adjustments do have a noticeable effect. I have no idea what the stock linear spring rate is but would guess for a rider weight around 100Kg and free length comparison with the Wilbur spring, ia about 50mm longer. Having watched the MR technician fit the new springs, I would not advise takling the job at home unless you have the right tooling and clamp/workbench arrangement. The stock spring is under significant compression and I mean significant. It took 2 blokes to constrain the spring to remove the final nut holding the spring in place and even though the repacement spring is 50mm shorter, it was still a 2 handed job to reassemble the fork leg. Hope this helps. Andy
Yes, stock oil is 7.5 weight. If you want to retain the stock viscosity, my guess is that you would need to experiment with bigger valves to increase the flow. Dropping the viscosity was the simplest modification at the start of what could have been a much longer journey in trying to get a sweet set up. Andy
