This article is the 3rd and final issue in my suspension series. I am going to share some specifics about what Go-Race did to transform my WRR stock suspension into something even better....much better!
I discovered Travis & his Go-Race Suspension shop in Christiansburg, Virginia, by pure chance, or maybe it was fate. You can learn all about that in my ride report titled: "Highfive Goes Dragon Hunting". You'll have to read that story to understand why I hauled my bike all the way from Oklahoma to Virginia for Travis to work on. You could do the same as me, or just ship your suspension components to him, if you desire this kind of an upgrade. My advice: Go Ride Virginia....its incredible!
Being there with my bike, permitted Travis a good time thoroughly flogging my WRR all over those magnificent Blue Ridge Mountains. He is a very skilled woods racer, by the way, so, it ain't just head knowledge. He gained some valuable butt-time to understand my stock WRR suspension. Then, he began crafting the modifications to achieve the kind of changes that I desired. It was helpful that I could explain to him accurately how the stock suspension was behaving for me, as well as what specific performance improvements I desired.
A summary of the step by step procedures he undertook is listed below. At least, its the best play-by-play I can muster from memory (with a little help from Travis). I can't possibly cover every detail, because there were things going on inside that shop beyond my pay-grade. "Trade Secrets" kind of stuff, no doubt, but Travis would simply call it his art. After all, Everything is Art. Besides, I didn't babysit the project trying to micro-manage. I let the professionals take over and got out of their way. However, I did gain enough understanding of their process to be able to share some helpful information.
This article is the 2nd in a series on understanding motorcycle suspension. Much of the technical material I'm going to share in this article has been provided to me by Rick Tannenbaum of Cogent Dynamics (Fletcher, NC). He is another true suspension Genius in our motorcycle world today. While he builds custom suspensions components for lots of dualsport bikes (DR, KLR, etc), he spends much of his professional time working with pro sportbikes on the race tracks. He has collaborated with Thomas Patch of Texton Preux, & many others to produce an excellent book (& school) called: A Suspension Experience. Rick has given me permission to share this information here, and it will be intermingled with some of my own opinion and commentary. I personally know he is quite intrigued with the WRR, but as of this writing (Nov 09) has yet to spend time on one. I think I can guess what will happen after that occurs. Anyway, let's get on with the article...
Overview
Many assume their new bike is ready to ride as delivered from the factory to the showroom floor. Then, to increase performance most riders focus on adding power, but do little to actually tune their suspension. Motorcycle manufacturers commonly build bikes using a "one size fits all" approach. But you can often significantly transform a bike's ability to perform, as well as improve safety, by making a few simple adjustments to the suspension and geometry. The springs and geometry are the foundation for a bike's response to Rider Inputs. Preload compresses the spring before any weight is applied to it. Preload is adjusted to set Sag. Proper Sag setup provides sufficient suspension travel to absorb bumps, with enough travel held in reserve at the top of the stroke to keep the wheels firmly on the ground following a dip, bump, etc. Rebound damping prevents springs from overshooting and oscillating during recovery from bumps. Compression damping assists the springs to absorb braking forces, the impact of bumps, and overshooting during compression. There are many other variables to consider but the Rider is the biggest variable of all. Rider weight, body position, riding style, skill, & where you choose to ride all influence suspension decisions.