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I have to upgrade my 2009 ER6N suspension - Need help! Exp. preferred!

10K views 24 replies 10 participants last post by  Megaptera69 
#1 ·
I love the bike but hate the suspension!

I've ready a fair amount of reviews on what people are doing and I definitely want to start out with the front forks. I don't want to swap out the front end so I'm looking at springs/oil.

A lot of the options out there are Euro based and I'm wondering if there are any quality state-side options available. I haven't spoken to my local Kawi shop yet but would like to spec out parts.

I see stuff like Hyperpro and Racetech online but know nothing about them. I see Ohlins stuff out there too and know them to be a high quality company - wondering if its worth going with them?

I could really use help, just wondering what upgrading the front will cost me going this route. FYI I'm a 240lbs rider, hence why this suspension sucks for me and inspires 0 confidence in crappy NY roads.

After this I'll be working on rear shock but for now, just need help with front end and everything I'll need for it.

Ty in advance.
 
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#13 ·
sorry forgot to answer this, NY.

Didn't get much help with the Kawi tech - he said no one makes stuff state-side and everything he sees makes him believe our front fork is different then the 2009 ninja 650. I wrote Racetech an email hoping for some direction and waiting on that.
 
#8 ·
Ohlins top end stuff for track and race applications is undoubtedly top notch but there cheaper stuff doesn't have the best rep particularly for road use. You also pay for the name and racing heritage with Ohlins.

Stateside suspension component manufacturers worth looking at are Racetech, Traxxion Dynamics and Penske.
 
#9 ·
I am getting a hagon rear shock (https://www.hagon-shocks.co.uk/catalog/partdetail.aspx?partno=M64041) and hagon progressive front fork (https://www.hagon-shocks.co.uk/catalog/partdetail.aspx?partno=400-062-02) springs fitted next week so will let you know what i think afterwards. I know you are across the pond from me but from GR riders indepth knowledge and from googling these, hagon are best value for money for me. I am also getting braided brake lines so hopefully it will be a much improved ride for me. I will keep you posted. good luck with whatever decision you make and keep us posted.
 
#10 ·
I am getting a hagon rear shock (https://www.hagon-shocks.co.uk/catalog/partdetail.aspx?partno=M64041) and hagon progressive front fork (https://www.hagon-shocks.co.uk/catalog/partdetail.aspx?partno=400-062-02) springs fitted next week so will let you know what i think afterwards. I know you are across the pond from me but from GR riders indepth knowledge and from googling these, hagon are best value for money for me. I am also getting braided brake lines so hopefully it will be a much improved ride for me. I will keep you posted. good luck with whatever decision you make and keep us posted.


Seems like an excellent combination, I am sure that the results will impress you :)


Take a comparison pic of the oem springs next to the new ones if possible. The new ones look similar to my Wirth set so you will probably need to ditch the spacers!
 
#12 · (Edited)
Thanks for the suggestions - I'm meeting with the head mechanic today.

I'm not familiar with this shop and choose it strictly because it was the only Kawi dealer in the area but so far these guys seem ok. When I asked them about getting a custom suspension the parts manager told me they have "the best suspension guys in the tri-county area". I feel pretty confident so far because they would only work with me if I sit on the bike with full gear so they can weight me and see how the bike sags, then they want to discuss what I want from the bike. They mentioned Racetech springs and have dealt with them before so overall it seems to be heading in the right direction. When I asked them for an estimate on a "front end job" (which I assume is springs, oil, labor and possibly cartridges) they quoted me at "Around $450".

This seems reasonable to me, I'll let you know how today goes, thanks for the responses as always.
 
#17 ·
Well I have finally gotten about to giving you an update on my suspension upgrades. Apologies for the delay, has been a very busy summer.
Firstly I got my mechanic to change my rear shock to a Hagon race shock, then he overhauled the front suspenion with Hagon Progressive springs and also installed Hel braided brake lines front and rear.
It has made a huge difference to the bike. its a different bike altogether. I was really considering changing the bike this summer but Im definately going to keep it for another few years now. I have much more confidence on the twisties now.
He also replaced the steering bearings with tapered roller steering bearings which made a huge difference and have since prevented any tank slappers......fingers crossed for the future...
These few mods have completely transformed the bike and I would highly recommend anyone to do the same if they want to push their bike a bit.

On another note, incase you are wondering about the rim tape.....I asked my mechanic to put on the tape while he was doing work on the bike but he applied it as you can see in the photos and claimed the tape applicator wudn't allow the tape to bend properly along the outside part of the rim. I have since bought curved rim tape and will change it out.
 

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#18 ·
Congrats for the upgrade and I am glad that it worked well for you too :)


Suspension upgrade is a must for our bike and definitely money well spent!


Thanks for the pics too, from what I can see the internals of the fork are quite different and larger in comparison to my model year Er and still the upgrade brought big improvement.


Enjoy your bike and your new setup :cheers:
 
#19 ·
Hagon has a 'race' shock? That just looks like their standard model.

I'm hoping to supply a fully adjustable cartridge kit to a rider in Portugal here soon. Only visible difference is the fork caps. I've done a few State-side bikes and I have not heard of any differences in forks across different markets except perhaps the default spring rate could be different.
 
#20 ·
I'm hoping to supply a fully adjustable cartridge kit to a rider in Portugal here soon. Only visible difference is the fork caps. I've done a few State-side bikes and I have not heard of any differences in forks across different markets except perhaps the default spring rate could be different.


Hi pattonme, I have an '06 Er6-n and when I replaced the OEM fork springs with progressive ones I was astonished by the difference in length between them.


In fact I had to remove the metal spacers in order to fit them but unfortunately I didn't take a side by side comparison pic so I asked Eire6n to do just that because newer generation Er's had a different, very hard fork in contrast to the first generations bikes, like mine, that had an extremely soft set of forks.


When I saw Eire's pics I immediately formed the impression that the OEM springs in his bike were not as tiny as in my gen model and thought that maybe this had to do with the new, firmer OEM fork.


There's been quite a lot of time between my spring replacement though, and pics could be deceiving but just by looking at that pic I would still stick to my first impression!
 
#22 ·
Ohlins thicker coil on the right, thinner wire stock `09 ER6n on the left.
They appear to be of the same length so mine were definitely much shorter.

There were designed and produced by Wirth solely for the first generation Er as they are not available for later models.

So I guess they were intended to be fitted with the spacers off.

Can't complain about the results though :)
 
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