dude, you gotta change the springs to kill that front end dive

 

You can't use the air bleeder valves on your 09 because you don't have any. Kawa were too lazy to machine them into the fork caps. You'll need to remove the whole fork cap to bleed t air. PITA but there you go. The 07 is the last model to get the bleeders. I fitted some speed bleeders. Worth the $18 as YES I've noticed the build up of pressure, especially when going hard on the trails and use them on a regular basis.

 

Not sure if I understand. Pressure build up would increase dive, etc.?

 

Opposite. Increases stiction in the forks due to heat build up. Can cause the oil to bubble and reduce it's ability to correctly flow inside the fork. It's not a big issue unless you're giving the forks a big workout.

 

OK, so if I'm complaining of too much dive, why would it be suggested to bleed them? They are smooth and consistent, I'd just like to add more compression damping.

 

Go with some stronger springs like stated above.

http://www.cyclepages.com/ProductDet...ductID=4080891

 

Dive under braking is primarily a problem with the spring rate, or constant. Damping and spring rate are two different functions. All that little screw on the bottom is doing slowing or quickening damping in a narrow range. Brake diving is a relatively slow-speed thing, where the damping isn't going to really kick in hard, although it will affect it.

You can have less damping and less dive through stiffer springs. But, keep in mind this is longer-travel suspension, and you're going to have some dive on braking, and 'dive' on hitting bumps is what they do. It's a design compromise.

I like my springs to be moderately stiff and my damping atypically fast, especially on rebound. This comes from years observed trials competition. I like the bike to feel very alive to responding to weighing and unweighting, and I don't like to get the crap beat our of me by the little stuff on the trail.

 

Thanks for the explanation. That makes sense now. A "diving brake" at a red light or something might see more use of the spring, whereas coming off a ledge or something might see the damping acting much quicker?

I guess it's a compromise really. I mean, it feels GREAT on the trails. But then again, it's all I know. I might be missing better handling because of improperly set suspension. I know suspension is one performance "upgrade" commonly overlooked. I know driving cars what a sway bar can do for you.

Case in point: I would not want super stiff on this section. But apparantly I had it clicked all the way clockwise. I did not touch the front brake at all for fear of the front diving and washing out. So I dunno. Nearly crapped my pants here, but made it through unscathed through clutch and rear brake control. Oh yeah, the camera isn't tilted, the trail leans to the left like that. It was STEEP.



What I really need is to get the rear suspension dialed in properly. What exactly will turning the spanner nut(?) on the spring count-clockwise do? Again, I'm looking for less butt sag when I accelerate. I'm probably 215 lbs with gear.

 

Oh gosh. You are asking a question that I could write a long time on. Preload front and rear and ride height and bike attitude....

Sorry, the wife calls me to bed.

Just ride the bike and have fun.

 

Yeah, I will play around with settings and see what feels right. Looks like I have some more reading to do!