The spring on top in this photo came out of the F2 front end on my ‘88 CBR 600F1. Back then springs were long. Now days, springs are a lot shorter. I saved 300 grams in each fork by replacing the long springs with shorter springs of the same rate and longer spacers.

Yes, the rate increases the more you compress a spring but not by much. I think the advantage of less weight is greater than the problem caused by a slight rate increase near the end of the forks travel.

A Gun Case is a great way to ship forks, you can even take them on a plane to a race. Jim had a bunch of gun cases here and there in the shop. I put them to work shipping forks back to customers when I didn’t have a good box. Turns out most of the cases have some kind of magic because they keep coming back with new jobs. The case in the back is on it 3^rd round trip and the case in front contains a 2^nd set of forks from the same person. Or maybe it just the good work…

“Here’s me on the TZ-based bike (Ed hates calling it a TZ) at Vegas. It was my first race on the bike, and I was uncomfortable and tentative. Although the lap times dropped as Ed tweaked things, when I got worn and felt I’d hit my limit for the weekend, I packed up. When I learned to ski, I was told by a Ski Patrol member that people got hurt when they’d say, ‘Just one more run.’ I’ve never forgotten that. I ride within my limits and come back to race another day. We had identified some areas (on bike and rider!) that need work, and we have a plan to do that. Success in racing, track days or street riding starts with a plan based on evaluation and feedback, and sticking to that plan pays dividends.”

8 happy LE clients at Willow yesterday with MotoYard.com

One of them, with bug like eyes, shows off his new 675 in front of my new signage.

Took this photo of Tony today to prove that it takes more than 4 broken ribs to slow this 73 year old down.

Your complaint is invalid.

Craig just got a new Penske for his FJ1200 and he took his wife for a ride. Looks like she is happy too. Here’s what Craig said:

“First, thanks for the follow up. Yeah, the bike handles better than ever. I’m sure its even better than when it rolled out of the factory. The sag was all but perfect out of the box. “

It all starts with the correct spring rate. See the Penske Art post bellow. Now Craig is playing with the clickers and learning. The follow up he is talking about is just some e mail to make sure all is well and answering any set up questions.

I don’t want to make a few hundred dollars off you from one job, I want all your suspension money for as long as you ride. Therefore I try to explain and answer.

Why does Penske need two weeks to build your shock?

They don’t, it really only takes a few hours to build a shock but we say two weeks to give time to get all the parts together and to get in line behind the other pending orders.

So the real question is, why does Penske build your shock to order instead of building them on an assembly line?

Building your shock to order allows Penske to start with the correct spring rate for your weight. Spring rate determines how strong your rebound valving needs to be. A stronger springs needs more rebound valving to control it. On the compression side, the valving works with the spring rather than controlling it so a standard valve stack can be developed for different levels of riding.

I call Penske’s standard compression valve stack a “Street” stack as most Penske’s are used on street bikes. You can also have a LE “Track Day” or “Race” stack.

Your new Penske will be shipped direct to you and I will be your contact for questions, help or warranty.

The spring pre-load will be set at 10mm. The damping adjusters will be in the middle of their range, for example, 15 of 30 rebound clicks. This will give you a wide range of adjustment. Let me take this opportunity to encourage you to test your new Penske’s full range of adjustments so you understand what they do.