Heavy Weight Springs

[femurcrash]

I weigh about 215 lbs. and am wondering what they bigger guys have done to their suspention. I am thinking stiffer springs in the front and tighten the preload in the back. I ride a lot of street, but also ride in the desert some too. I am looking for a setup the will be compatible with both. I know I cannot have the best of both worlds, but i want to find something close. Any reccomendations??? ?

[Whiteman]

www.racetech.com

[OLDFATGUYRACING]

I am 260 ? I have the heavier springs front and rear. They do make a difference. Go to the race tech site and plug your numbers in. Get the part numbers and order them through the TT STORE ?

[01DRZRIDER]

I am 240-245 lbs and am riding with the stock suspension! ?

I am planning on the racetech springs as well. Have heard nothing but good things about them.

Jerry

[JoeDints]

I'm 235 - 240 and I have the stock springs with the sag adjusted in the rear and since I not racing for points on my dual sport, I find the rear suspension works very good in the woods. Good enough not to spend $100+ on a new spring...

[tneely2327]

I am 6'3" and weigh 215 also. I went with heavier springs and valve work on both front and rear for desert riding. The stock suspension is just too soft, I tried adjusting the sag and decided to spend the money and do it right. Suspension is money well spent. ?

[drjack]

Man there's a lot of us porkers on DRZs ? I weight less than I did a year ago, but more than a DRZ is set up for. Initially I just installed heavier springs in the forks and tightened up the rear to get the sag right. But after about a year I got the correct (heavier) shock spring installed and it makes a world of difference ? Oddly enough I notice it the most on the street, it's more compliant and doesn't seem as stiff. It also works better on the track, landings are noticably better ? and it settles into corners easier. So if nothing else do like all the rest of us did and go to racetech.com, figure out the correct spring rate for your weight (in ALL your gear) and get new springs front and rear. You'll be happy you did ?

[MilleonAir]

What kind of person was the DRZ designed for? You can't reach the ground if you're any less that 5'7" but anybody of 6ft or over needs higher bars. The stock springs are not for you 200lb plus guys but I'm 6ft and 154lbs and the stock springs are probably too heavy for me.

Does anybodys bike fit like a glove?

Ian

[JoeDints]

Guess I should further my comment, I only street my DRZ to get me to the woods and only ride for fun, if it were 10 to 20 years ago, or I was 10 to 20 years younger the bike would have been resprung and re valved, but then I would more then likely have a diffrent bike then the S model for serious riding. But for what I want, it performs good enough, I know it would work better with springs, but I got a wife, 2 kids, a mortgage, 2 car payments, another loan for my street bike, my and my wife's students loans, should I go on...... If I were to set it up to make it the best it could be, I'd get a new spring in the rear...

[drjack]

What kind of person was the DRZ designed for? You can't reach the ground if you're any less that 5'7" but anybody of 6ft or over needs higher bars. The stock springs are not for you 200lb plus guys but I'm 6ft and 154lbs and the stock springs are probably too heavy for me.

Does anybodys bike fit like a glove?

Ian

I believe it was designed for what they felt the average rider would be, 5'9"-5'11" and 170-180 lbs. It was also sprung softer because it is a dualsport (or trail) bike. Guys who buy bikes designed as mx racers to ride trails or dualsport wind up softening their suspension. No bike is going to fit a wide range of heights and weights without some changes, but the DRZ cockpit could have been more proportionally correct. If you're tall enough for it, the stock bars are too short and close in. If the stock bars work well for you, you are probably looking for a way to make the bike a little shorter. It weighs too much, it's not jetted right, the CV carb sucks, the computer is a piece of crap, yada yada yada. It's not perfect, but it's still the best dang dualsport around ?? Besides if it was perfect, what would we have to talk about here ? What would we have to spend all of our extra time and money working on ? We'd have way too much spare time to spend just riding. We'd have to spend some of it with the family ? Maybe I should get a Huskqvarna ?

[kfcz400]

i am 200 and went to race tech springs, set the sag and what an amazing difference. not only handles better but is way safer in the whoops. even if you mainly ride road all it takes is one bad bounce on the dirt....kc

[MilleonAir]

but I got a wife, 2 kids, a mortgage, 2 car payments, another loan for my street bike, my and my wife's students loans

You should definitely get heavier springs if you're carrying all of those! ?

Ian