Hi, I recently bought a 2012 Evo 300 Factory, absolutely love it, except the forks feel very soft. I have adjusted them on the top of the fork legs but it doesn't seem to make a great deal of difference.

I have seen some different fork springs somewhere - has anyone tried anything other springs and what difference did they make?

Or am I best just putting different oil in?

My last bike was a 2006 rev 3 270 which also had a fairly soft front end but still much stiffer than the evo.

Cheers

id try thicker oil first much cheaper than buying a spring

Watching you ride on Saturday, I don't think you need to change anything

Those two things do separate suspension actions

Spring gives you your ride height and travel rate

Oil can increase damping

You cannot improve one by adjusting the other, take the time to decide which component is the problem and change it

I'm a 200lb guy and had to change my springs, damping was not my problem

It depends on how much you weigh??!!!

I weigh 14 stone and messed about with different fork weights, But my tip would be to stick with the 5wt oil but buy a progressive spring from SXS (steve saunders..) it was 50 quid well spent and really sharpened up the front end, It also helps stop the front mudguard hitting the rad when you're braking hard (or doing endo's!)

I just dropped the stiffer fork and shock springs from Steve Saunders into my 2013. Very happy with the feel of the bike now.

yeah im tempted to go for them ones

What was funny is I was dreading the shock spring change. I pulled the back wheel and airbox off and crawled under the bike on a stand to get at the bottom shock bolt but it really was pretty easy. The forks that I thought would take me 5 mins took a lot longer as the adjuster was solid in the fork cap. Even with a big wrench and breaker bar on the allen bolt it wouldn't free up. I had to lay into it with a big propane torch which carbonized the small o-ring in the cap. Only when it was really hot could I move it at all. When I finally got it all the way out it wasn't the threads of the adjuster that were jammed. (surprise) It was where the adjuster shaft with the allen socket goes through the cap that was so tight. Dremel tool with a grinder bit and a new o-ring sorted it out but man was that a bear to get apart.

I've only ridden the new springs once but it was immediately apparent it was a good choice. The bike has lost none of it's stability but seems to be easier to time over obstacles. It's a little more enthusiastic about rotating the front end up when I hit somthing with the front end.