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Front suspension mod for Suzuki Gixxer

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  • #1

    Front suspension mod for Suzuki Gixxer

    Hi fellow xbhpians!
    This is Shreyas Chaphekar from Indore, and I own a 2017 Suzuki Gixxer SF.
    Lately, I'm into a lot of offroad and long distance adventure rides and so, want to make changes to my Gixxer's front forks as they are very soft and almost bottom out even during light off-roading.
    I listed out a few options but not sure about proceeding. They are as follows :-
    1) Switch to a thicker front fork oil.
    2) Swap the stock springs to stiffer ones.
    3) Swap the entire front forks with that of the RE himalayan.
    P.S. :- I'm not looking to spend a fortune on this mod so please suggest some cost effective solutions.
    Thanks in advance! Happy riding!
    Last edited by xBhp; 07-20-2019, 01:27 PM.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: Front suspension mod for Suzuki Gixxer

    Thread approved.

    Comment

    • #3
      Re: Front suspension mod for Suzuki Gixxer

      I had the same issue with my Karizma ZMR. Note that karizma ZMR has got full length spring inside the fork, no OEM spacers. I am pretty sure there must be a spacer tube inside your gixxer's fork. If it's there that means your fork spring is quite short in length, say 10 inches or so.

      First I told my mechanic to put a rebound spring (which is a 1 inch stiff spring normally found at the bottom fork section) on top of the standard fork spring, but that resulted in a horribly stiff front suspension. The front suspension refused to compess under normal riding conditions, even while turning and leaning. It would only compress under heavy braking. I didn't like that setup so took it to the mechanic again to told him to replace the spring with a 2 inch long piece of steel pipe. Now the setup is exactly as I like, a little stiffer than default but not too much.

      In your gixxer, I don't know whether you can find a rebound spring of the same diameter as the OEM fork spring. If you do, you can get it installed on top of the fork spring (with a washer in between) and try it for a few days. Else replace it with a piece of steel tube of the same diameter.

      Regarding the options provided by you:
      1. Thicker fork oil won't be of much help as a standalone solution, try the above solutions in addition to thicker fork oil. I bought Motul HEAVY 20W fork oil from Amazon website.
      2. It will be almost impossible for you to find stiffer fork springs of the same length and diameter. Kindly google yourself for the same.
      3. Replacing front forks means replacing and modding a lot of dependent parts like headlight/fairing mounting points, switchgear, clutch and brake yokes etc. It will be a costly affair and even then you will find the front suspension too stiff for your liking.

      P.S. I got the idea from this webpage where the guy installed PVC (not even steel) pipe as a spacer in a Ninja 250:

      https://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=29141
      Last edited by arya809; 07-25-2019, 01:52 PM.

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: Front suspension mod for Suzuki Gixxer

        Originally posted by arya809 View Post
        I had the same issue with my Karizma ZMR. Note that karizma ZMR has got full length spring inside the fork, no OEM spacers. I am pretty sure there must be a spacer tube inside your gixxer's fork. If it's there that means your fork spring is quite short in length, say 10 inches or so.

        First I told my mechanic to put a rebound spring (which is a 1 inch stiff spring normally found at the bottom fork section) on top of the standard fork spring, but that resulted in a horribly stiff front suspension. The front suspension refused to compess under normal riding conditions, even while turning and leaning. It would only compress under heavy braking. I didn't like that setup so took it to the mechanic again to told him to replace the spring with a 2 inch long piece of steel pipe. Now the setup is exactly as I like, a little stiffer than default but not too much.

        In your gixxer, I don't know whether you can find a rebound spring of the same diameter as the OEM fork spring. If you do, you can get it installed on top of the fork spring (with a washer in between) and try it for a few days. Else replace it with a piece of steel tube of the same diameter.

        Regarding the options provided by you:
        1. Thicker fork oil won't be of much help as a standalone solution, try the above solutions in addition to thicker fork oil. I bought Motul HEAVY 20W fork oil from Amazon website.
        2. It will be almost impossible for you to find stiffer fork springs of the same length and diameter. Kindly google yourself for the same.
        3. Replacing front forks means replacing and modding a lot of dependent parts like headlight/fairing mounting points, switchgear, clutch and brake yokes etc. It will be a costly affair and even then you will find the front suspension too stiff for your liking.

        P.S. I got the idea from this webpage where the guy installed PVC (not even steel) pipe as a spacer in a Ninja 250:

        https://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=29141
        Is it possible to reduce the pillion seat height and install handle bar raisers for a better riding posture?
        I like to meditate a lot.. On my BIKE!

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