Vital Tech Tip: Changing Your Fork Springs 

Yes you can, its very common to do to achieve the rate needed.

Yes. Sv650s actually have front fork preload adjustors. Just a screw that compresses the fork spring some. Same idea here but using more washers to add preload. Will steepenthe spring curve though, better to use a softer spring unless youre fat and slow so need soft suspension with good bottoming resistance.

Bleed screw allows any air trapped in the fork to be vented as no seal is perfect. You would want to “bleed” the forks of air before every ride or race. Do this by slowly unscrewing the bleed screw until you hear the air hiss stop. Take note that if there is a lot of trapped air and you unscrew too much the bleed screw can actually pop off and can be lost. Ideally this procedure is done while the bike is on a stand and the suspension is unweighted. Bleed screws can be replaced with “fork bleeders” which are “buttons” that allow this to be done any time without tools! Unwanted air will affect suspension performance. Hope this helps.

@@01AceAlpha Nice. Thank you for your reply. So after you change fork oil, there's no additional bleeding required right away? I guess I'm just curious as to where the extra air is coming from if the bleeding is always happening with the forks unweighted... I had been under the impression that it was more to account for the sag that was going to be present due to the weight of the bike? Thanks again.

Changes in temperature and altitude change the pressure in the fork. Normalize with the bleed screw to get consistent action.

Go to Racetech.com, put in your bike information, and then answer the questions to get recommended spring rates. My springs just arrived today for the same bike.

@@MorehouseC awesome, let me know how the installation goes!

@@coreymerriam1007 Installation was easy. Just remember to loosen the top triple clamp pinch bolts before trying to loosen the fork caps. I fought with it for a few minutes before I realized my mistake.

​@Zachary Howell wont work...to pull the cartridge out it comes out the bottom of the fork. Big hole where the rebound adjuster was. Just reuse the oil.