Chuck hit it right on the head,
he saw EXACTLY the underlying intent of my post.
I spent time actually TALKING to the vendors who sold me the components! I stressed that I weigh 240 pounds, that I carry additional weight in my bags, and that I'm an aggressive rider. I later found out that the springs on my Hagon Nitros are marked as belonging to a certain weight range, but the vendor had no idea what they were and dismissed them as universal in application..... "trust me."
I'm convinced that "suspension" is a marriage of the WHOLE PACKAGE! One component alone will change the entire equation, and it could be for the worst if you don't know what you've got or what you're doing.
I believe I may have been sold THE INCORRECT springs for the front of my bike, that the dealership who installed them let the new kid perform the task without watching closely as he measured the fluid, and I wish I looked at the instructions MYSELF to see if they did in fact call for 20 weight. Doesn't matter though, Lindemann Engineering said the springs were way too short and much too stiff.......
I'm a guy who rode like an idiot on the VERY forgiving tele-lever and penta-lever of a BMW for over 58,000 miles. I also rode my Sprint RS at Buttonwillows, and at over 120 mph on the switchbacks of Monitor Pass..... I thought by buying designer name suspension components for my Bonnie, that it was gonna be the cat's meow.
But it's NOT!
And worst still, I have no recourse....... I trusted two completely different vendors, for two (three) different components, installed by somebody who doesn't even carry that product line, dialed in by two separate people who adjusted them for different applications (a flat-tracker and a Ducati/Harley mechanic), and with varying opinions about the resulting front end. Money, mo money, mo WASTED money!
FERGODSAKES people,
get it all done at one place, front AND rear, by one person, and let him order & install everything. If it ain't right, you can always go back to HIM!
Jeez, I'm sooooo pissed at myself for spending all that money, falling for the age old 'trust me,' and subscribing to "parts is parts!"
(And to think for the last several thousand miles I thought my riding skills suddenly SUCKED on the Bonnie! At least I've learned quite a bit about how to minimize the resulting antics of a poorly set-up suspension, but I still have plenty to learn.....)
[ This message was edited by: FattRat on 2006-01-17 00:51 ]
