Who has progressive springs? What do you think of them?

Would you buy them again if you had the choice or are the standard ones up to the job?

I've got my forks stripped and now would be a good time to put in some new springs IF they are worth it.

What do you guys think?

After fitting linear springs I don't think I'd put progressive ones back in. I have the Rick Oliver fork kit fitted to my NC30 and have also done the same to a mates NC35 and it's the way forward. Rick supplies the full kit right down to the oil needed to fill the forks with..

viper_biker wrote:After fitting linear springs I don't think I'd put progressive ones back in. I have the Rick Oliver fork kit fitted to my NC30 and have also done the same to a mates NC35 and it's the way forward. Rick supplies the full kit right down to the oil needed to fill the forks with..

Is this the kit with spacers for about £80?

How does Rick's kit differ from Hagons say in terms of feel?

Does the kit come with seals or bushes?

never had a front end feel better than with ricks kit.
tis spot on, as for hagon, you wouldnt feel the difference unless you were an absolute pro, so why would you waste the extra money?

no bushes or seals in ricks kit, but you would only replace them if you needed to anyhows.
i have progressives in my track bike, and they are getting chucked out for ricks kit before the bike sets a wheel on the track. there is soo much more feedback and it makes me very confident on my front end. progressives make me feel like your hanging over a pogo stick. hate em

I have to defend progressive springs - have them in my bike and it feels superb. I have not taken a bike with Rick's kit onto a track yet but my mate has them fitted to his and they are not as good as mine. Tihs maybe due to the fact that my bike overall is "tighter" and better setup than his...

I would like to try the Rick kit and may do so when I fit my adjustable damping forks to my bike late in the summer..

Now then, correct me if I`m wrong, even with linear springs dont you get a bit of progressive action with the air thats trapped in the fork?

Yes you do Gazzahh. I have a setup with 10wt oil and a slightly smaller air gap and as you know I am not a small dude...

The forks are supple and initially fairly soft but they ramp up very nicely to stop bottoming out.

It may be that my non cartridge forks are more suited to them than the later models as damper rod forks are also different in behaviour over square edged and hard hit situations.

I have never ridden some cartridge motorbike forks so could not compare...

i feel like a newbie again!!
so there are progressive springs, OEM springs, Liner Springs and Rick OLiver springs?

declangaelic wrote:i feel like a newbie again!!
so there are progressive springs, OEM springs, Liner Springs and Rick OLiver springs?

OE springs are progressive, as are the Hagon ones. Ricks kit is a linear spring though.

If I get off the GSX-R and onto the VFR the VFR forks feel soft and seem to travel a lot, but when riding, the VFR forks perform better than the GSX-R. Suspension, just like carbs, is a dark art, maybe more so as there is no 'base' setting for everyone to use as riding styles are all different as is height and weight etc.

though being honest when i had my progressives on the RVF, and we were changing them, my fork oil had no life left in it, so that alone being changed along with the springs dealt a hand in the better ride quality . but i felt it now suited my riding style better, and weight etc, so was more than happy to have em in

as viper says, its a dark art. he is happy with a softer front end. i like mine stiffened up more and drop the forks through the yokes also. you dont know untill you try and if you prefer the older springs, you can always stick em back in and sell off the new ones.