Finally got my laptop back, it only took 8hrs after that to log on to the net. Seems my modem forgot who it was and didn't appear on available wifi. Frustrating when computer says no. So I have been gradually winding back the preload on the emulators down now to the minimum of approx 1 1/2 to 2 turns on the blue spring and its now very compliant. I now can hit those square-edged expansion joints on bridges with no jarring in the bars. I did the last weeks breakfast ride with no memorable fork action on a pretty testing bit of road, pushed it a bit during this. I also fitted the new straight rate shock springs, 2.7kg/mm, to the Icon shocks. I pushed the bump stop down to test travel. I had a look at how much travel I used by the meeting point, about 60ks of smooth expressway and new dual carriageway and it had used 70mm out of the 90mm available. I then pushed it back down and did the next more testing rougher bit with the same result, that was a bit disappointing so it seems the spring rate was still a bit hard. New springs do tend to sack out after some use so maybe I will get this missing 20mm after some time. It will help with luggage on the Tassie ride coming up, although it's still on minimum preload. What I didn't like was the impressively BAD pounding this produced, BANG BANG BANG. Constant and painful. Later I was thinking this feels all spring action, it needed the action slowed, I should have tried dialing up the damping and that's what I did a week later heading to where I got the missing 1st gear issue fixed. Way way better with damping on 2 instead of 1. That's not a full test but at least it looks like an easy fix. The last couple of rides have had the bike steering like it had a hing in the middle, vague wandering steering. I have a well used Bridgestone BT016 on the front, that's a proper sports tire so I expected heaps of grip and no good milage. Approx 3 to 4000ks The grip was ok, not fabulous in the wet though. I had a big front slide once but that was down to me mostly. I pushed it hard into a bend on a ride and the road was wet with me not noticing. This road was made from really black bitumen and there must have been a shower just before we arrived, and the road looked the same as when it was dry. So this tyre had warn in an odd way and I think that's got this instability happening. It had a 20mm flat section in the middle with the sides splayed away in a triangular section. Looked like those triangular race tyres they made in the 70s. So its now got new T31 Bridgestone sports touring front tyre to match the same on the rear. That's the first set of matched tyres its had in 10 years since the old BT090 tyres. Be interesting to see if this fixes the hing effect. Hope to have a well handling comfortable bike for the coming Tassie ride. BTW I went dow to Eibach spring with a spare set of Icon springs off my Laverda and a set of Mazoki springs off my Pantah as he said he might have springs to suit on the shelf, no way. But he did measure the Maz spring off my Pantah. Makes me laugh, the first bit has a good section of spring rate but it then goes to 5.3kg/mm. That's twice as hard as what works, how often do you pillion someone who weights 18 stone.
