A couple months ago a friend of mine got the suspension on his newly acquired track only F4i rebuilt and properly sprung for his weight by Jaime Daugherty. The springs that were in the bike were too heavy for his weight so he gave them to me. It just so happens that those springs fit my '05 VFR. At 220lbs the stock fork springs (~0.6kg/mm IIRC) are way too soft. IIRC RaceTech's website suggested 1.0kg/mm for me. However we have no idea what spring rate he pulled out of his F4i other than they are some stiff springs. So two weeks ago I pulled the forks off (had to change the rear tire too so I weighted the rear of the bike with the rear wheel removed on the center stand) and disassembled the forks. The 5 year old fork oil had the consistency of muddy water and I replaced it with the recommended Honda fork oil. I installed the springs from the F4i and put it all back together. Did a quick seat of the pants sag adjustment (no measuring, just feel) and I was finally able to take her out for a spin yesterday. Holy cow! No more pogo stick suspension. The bike is spot on. One of the last times I rode it before upgrading I could easily put the bike in a nasty tank slapper just by pulling the bars back and forth vigorously and maintain control because the forks bounced so freely. I didn't dare try that stunt again yesterday. The bike feels balanced and tracks straight even around bumpy turns. It doesn't dive harshly when braking anymore either. High speed backroad blasting at nearly twice the limit didn't require half the work it used to take to stay out of the weeds. This was the best mod I've ever done to a bike! I wish I had upgraded the springs when I bought it 5 years/30k miles ago. If you weigh more than 180lbs I can't recommend respringing your forks enough! It's a fairly simple process that only takes about an hour. Springs are ~$100 from most major manufacturers. The safety benefits alone are enough reason to do this.
