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Old June 8th, 2015, 07:26 AM   #50
InvisiBill
EX500 full of EX250 parts
 
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Name: Bill
Location: Grand Rapids-ish, MI
Join Date: Jul 2012

Motorcycle(s): '18 Ninja 400 • '09 Ninja 500R (selling) • '98 VFR800 (project) • '85 Vulcan VN700 (sold)

Posts: A lot.
Blog Entries: 1
MOTM - Aug '15
Quote:
Originally Posted by subxero View Post
9.3 kg/mm? is that really the new gen spring? I would have never guess it was that high
Rojo clarified that he's 160lb and it still felt soft to him, so there's a chance that RT's NewGen data or formula needs some correction. Their rates match up pretty well with the 500's chart, and the rear suspensions are pretty similar, so it could be that they have the wrong spring rate. I don't have the tools to do it myself, but it shouldn't be extremely difficult for someone to measure the spring rate to verify (if you put 93kg/205lb on the spring, it should compress 10mm).

The NewGen shock/spring is a huge improvement on my 500 with my fat butt. I had an SV shock (its rate is similar to the PreGen's) installed before, but there was a bit of binding on the clevis, so it wasn't actually operating properly, so I don't have a good direct comparison between the two rates. I have a Penske with a 525# spring waiting to go on, so that should be a good indicator if the NewGen is actually 520#. Between all the different shocks/springs I have, I can probably figure out which it's closest to at least (assuming I'm able to sufficiently notice the different spring rates while riding).

Honestly, it surprised me that nobody mentioned the rear being too stiff for many Ninjette riders' weights, especially with the fork springs being so soft. Rojo's statement that it was actually too soft for him goes even further beyond that. Even if it's about the same as the PreGen, that's still almost 50% stiffer than my stock 500 spring, so it would still be a huge improvement even if wasn't the full 9.3kg/mm listed.
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