I came back to the Interceptor

Hello world. David here - live in LA and just turned the big 4.0.
I bought a 03 silver Interceptor as my first bike 2 years ago and then soon sold it thinking I needed something with more power. I've been through 3 different bikes and realized I was right the first time. I just found a good deal on the same bike I had, an 03 silver with hard side bags. Funny how you can search and search for that perfect bike and come full circle. This truly is the bike that can do everything. I learned a lot from reading here and just wanted to thank everyone for the posts - it really helps learning from others experiences and mistakes.
I plan on keeping her stock until I can learn to really ride and knee drag and then I'll upgrade the engine and exhaust with goodies. No point until you really learn to ride your machine well I think. But the one thing I think I need to do ASAP is change the front springs. I only have basic mechanic skills so I could use some advice. With my gear on I'm 200 pounds. I've read the average bike is sprung for a 150 pound rider? WTF? If that's true I think a cheap thing that would be the best thing for me to do is get stiffer Racetech front springs. My question is the oil - should I change weight? Does it matter with the stock front forks with just new springs? I plan to do 99% street riding (sometimes aggressive) and would like to try and get on a track now and then in the future. No 2 up riding.
Thanks again for the info on here and I'm glad I'm back - Happy Holidays to everyone here!

David

 

Welcome back

and welcome to the forum...

 

Welcome back and great question! I, unfortunately am no help at all since I weigh in at about 230 without gear on (don't worry, it's all muscle) so I too would like to know about a good spring/oil wt. combo for my heavy set ass.

 

Welcome back to VFR's and VFRW. I am by no means a racer anymore, and along with having hit the double nickle this year I have morphed into a relatively sedate rider as I gained mortality along with years. I tip the scales at 200 and have not had suspension issues, though again I no longer knee drag as I did with my VF750 when I was your age. someone will be along to suggest mods for you, but I think you could put a season on the bike and then decide to mod as your skills improve. After all, since you are in So Cal it is not like you need a VFR activity other than riding until the snow melts!

 

Welcome back, David.
Cali has become quite the place to have a VFR.
If you are into group rides and gatherings, keep your eyes open here for info. We do several a year and folks come from all over.
Great group of people here. Hope to include you in that bunch.

 

Welcome again, tough bike to get rid off isn't it. I want something ultra sport again myself, just can't seem to part ways with the VFR. Good thinking with the mods, a lot of guys here would say that money spent on track/riding lessons will get you going faster than money spent on mods. I weigh exactly 200 lbs with gear myself and as a very aggresive rider in the canyons, I can tell you that the front suspension is actually not that bad for spirited street riding, with the proper setting. I would defineatly consider springs if you're planning on frequent track riding, if not you may want to try simply adjusting the pre-load to a "stiffer" setting. Again I'm pretty aggresive so I keep mine set to no lines showing. You may want to set it to say 2 lines showing, and see how you like it. My bet is that for someone who hasn't quite mastered the art of the knee drag, a firmer setting on the OEM susp will work just fine. Best of luck, keep it safe!

 

Thanks for the tip - I'll try and see how it goes. Any thoughts on the rear settings?

 

Welcome back David! Where are you at in LA? I'm not too far from you so if you wanna go riding, just pm me.

 

David, you've been around the block now and you'll appreciate her even more.

In regards to your suspension you should start with correctly setting your sag and see where you end up. I am 220lbs without gear and my suspension has always felt sloppy, mushy and loose. I have been on some great rides and pushed my comfort level, the bike is very capable and I guess if I wasn't picky and looking for the best it would have been good enough. I have upgraded my suspension by 28% front and back this year to bring me to where I want it to be. New shock for the rear and new springs and valves for the front. I would start with setting your sag though, it will tell you where you are at. The best I could get was about 46mm in the front which is too loose IMO for a street bike.

 

David, I have an new 07 with ABS. I am a "fairly" agressive rider. This fall I put about 1200 miles on the od and I thought the supension was good out of the box, a little soft but street good. I just set my sag this weekend with the help of my son. With gear (Jacket,pants helmet and boots) I weigh 199.6 lbs. Before this sag setting fun my bike was set stock; 2 lines up front, 7 clicks from full soft (ABS) rear. I NEVER bottomed out the front supension ( wire tye on front tube) from hard braking or wheelies . Now I have NO lines showing and 20 clicks rear. I got to 1 3/8'"sag front and rear. This is a hair soft but should be good for the mean streets. I am actually concerned these settings will be a little too stiff and not as comfy! You want to use as much supension as you can without bottoming.

 

Sure, I keep the rear pre-load 15 clicks out from full stiff and rebound 1.5 turns out from full stiff. On a track the rebound goes to .75 turns out from full stiff. Jason has got a good point with sag. The settings I've related to you are good ones for my sag and since we're virtually the same weight and height, they should work well for you too. Keep in mind that a perfect sag fit for the front with our weight is 1 line showing, with no lines showing being just fine and I think, slightly better handling.

 

That's a very subjective statement, and for me, not where I would want my suspension at all.

 

Not what I just read in TW2 according to Code.

 

That's why I say subjective. When Code is discussing a set-up he isn't really talking about the the type of all in one (freeplay) suspension that a VFR comes equipped with. I think he's reffering more or less to an extemely tight pure sport suspension. The kind you might find on a bike built for tracking, where there is relatively little freeplay. You can always set your suspension up with as much spring as you can get, without bottoming out, and ride it like that for a bit, then set it closer to a stiff set-up with handling in mind and ride like that for a bit. Then tell me whether or not you think Code was right in terms of a VFR's final set-up.

 

New to this bike, how do you adjust the front sag? Not in the manual as "sag" As soon as its warm enough I will be going to a track to have the bike set up for my 205lb of muscle, for street! Im at the age that mortality has set in.

Glad to see a post that said you came back, I have nothing to compare my VFR to, but I know it's the one for me. Last street bikes were a Yamaha SX650 and Nortons, loved the Nortons, but didn't feel comfortable leaving town, and the Yamaha vibrated so badly my hands and feet would go numb, The more I ride the more I love it.

 

Here are some settings that the Sport Rider test group used. Note that mine are slightly differant. This is due to sag for my heavier weight and a bit of personal preference.

www.sportrider.com/bikes/146_suspension_settings/index4.html

Like I said before, this is all subjective. What works for me or for Sport Rider may not be a good fit for you. For example, most will say that a softer setting makes for a more comfortable ride. I completely disagree with that and find a firmer setting to not only make for a smoother (less up and down rebounding after bumps) and more comfortable ride, but to also get the handling benifits you would expect with a firmer suspension.

 

+1 :thumbsup:

The proper spring rate with decent valving can make for a much smoother ride.

 

The point of setting sag, is to get your supension into the middle range of the stroke, not topped out, riding the top 1/3. Not bottoming with nothing left and balanced front to rear....Right??? Once you have it there you can adjust some. This is where the sujective part is....Right??

 

Technically iloveheros, that's correct, if somewhat generalized. For my style of riding, taking the VFR's relatively "soft" suspension into cosideration, a setting some what outside the norm was required. This is in large part due to the fact that a VFR doesn't have front rebound adjustability. So inorder to acheive the feel that I'm looking for, a comprimise setting of stiffer rather than technically correct pre-load is needed. As luck would have it, my 200lbs keeps me pretty close to a proper sag regardless. I may open a can of worms with this statement, but here it is: Even if I were 150lbs, I would still set the front pre-load to near max stiff, sag be damned, simply based on the VFR's suspension charachteristics in relation to my riding style. I would of course balance that off in the rear, but it would still be a technically incorrect setting, putting my ride into the top 1/3. I can live with that if the bike feels "right" to me. I would have never done this on my previous bikes, they were more purebred than a VFR, but then again my previous bikes all had more adjustability than does my VFR. I guess what I'm saying is that feel won't always equate with an exact, to the millimeter, middle of the spring setting, where a VFR's rather simple suspension is concerned.

Here is some random food for thought and a few reasons why I believe the VFR to be a special case. ( lack of front rebound and compression, hense the stiffer pre-load comprimise)

From Motorcyclist: Suspension Troubleshooting Symptoms

Here are some basic symptoms of damping problems that might be affecting your bike. Remember, these are extreme examples; yours may be more subtle. You may have to find an acceptable compromise on either end of the adjustment spectrum. It all depends on how the bike's handling feels to you.

Lack Of Rebound, Fork
* The fork offers a supremely plush ride, especially when riding straight up. With higher speeds, however, the feeling of control is lost. The fork feels mushy, and traction feel is poor.
* After hitting bumps at speed, the front tire tends to chatter or bounce, and the fork has a wallowy, loose feel.
* When flicking the bike into a corner at speed, the front tire begins to chatter and lose traction. This translates into an unstable feel at the handlebar.
* As speed increases and steering inputs become more aggressive, a lack of control begins to appear. Chassis attitude (sudden changes in pitch) becomes a problem (front-end wallowing), with the front end refusing to stabilize after the bike is steered hard into a turn.

Too Much Rebound, Fork
* The ride is harsh. Rough pavement makes the fork feel as if it's locking up with stiction and harshness.
* Under hard acceleration exiting bumpy corners, the front end feels like it wants to "wiggle" or "tankslap." The tire feels as if it isn't staying in contact with the pavement when on the gas.
* The harsh, unforgiving ride makes the bike hard to control when riding through dips and rolling bumps at speed. The suspension's reluctance to maintain tire traction through these sections erodes rider confidence.

Lack Of Compression, Fork
* Front-end dive while on the brakes is excessive.
* Rear end of motorcycle wants to "come around" when using front brakes aggressively.
* Front suspension bottoms, with a solid hit under heavy braking and after hitting bumps.* Front end has a mushy and vague feeling, similar to lack of rebound damping.

Too Much Compression, Fork
* Harsh ride, especially when bumps and ripples are first contacted by the front wheel.
* Bumps and ripples are felt directly; the initial hit is routed through the chassis instantly, with big hits bouncing the tire off the pavement.
* The bike's ride height is affected negatively; the front end rides too high in the corners; bike may want to drift wide in corners.
* Brake dive is reduced, though the chassis is upset significantly by bumps encountered during braking.

Lack Of Rebound, Shock
* The ride is plush at cruising speeds, but with increased speeds the chassis begins to wallow and weave through bumpy corners.
* Poor traction over bumps under hard acceleration; rear tire starts to chatter due to reduced wheel control.
* Excessive chassis pitch through large bumps and dips at speed; rear end rebounds too fast, upsetting chassis with pogo-stick action.

Too Much Rebound, Shock
* Harsh ride; rear suspension compliance is poor and "feel" is vague.
* Poor traction over bumps during hard acceleration due to lack of suspension compliance.
* Bike wants to run wide in corners since the rear end is packing down; this forces a nose-high chassis attitude, which slows steering.
* Rear end wants to hop and skip when the throttle is chopped during aggressive corner entries.

 

Havcar, thanks for the post and HAPPY NEW YEAR and GOD bless.! I am looking forward to tring these new settings. I just wish I didn't have to wait till spring. We could have a much more experimental conversation. Bummer. Like I said, I liked the supension the way it was out of the box but what do I know.:biggrin: