Valkyrie Riders Cruiser Club

I have seen posts in the past about these springs but don't remember the comments. I having the new front seals put in my 99 standard next Saturday and I was thinking of having a set of progressive springs shipped to me and having them put them in while changing the seals ?

Thoughts...

How many miles on you girl? Mo than likely the ones it the forks are still fine,fresh oil will make a huge difference.

She only has 61,000

Front springs are probably fine. I would just change the seals and put new oil in and ride it!

I'd say yes, do it now.  ;)
If I understand you correctly, you are not lookin' to replace yours because they are bad. ???
Progressives is what I want to install on my standard. I had them installed on my VTX1800 and I could not believe the improvement in handling. :o
No more "Pogo-Stickin" and great control when coming to a stop. Better feeling of control in the twisties too. :cooldude:

+1 on what paxton said... Progressive springs will make a big difference...

-Mike "no more pogo stickin"

Just did mine, and it made a world of difference. :cooldude:

I am also looking to install progressive springs and based upon what is stated here, it's confirmed.

Can someone recommend a matching set of progressive REAR shocks?  I'm inclined to go with the 444's yet would love some input from those who have already retrofitted Progressives.

One consideration is I would like to lower my 2000 Tourer by 1".  Presuming stock shocks are 13", I would order 12".  Not sure on the heavy duty or standard springs though.  My lean is heavy duty springs right now because I do occasionally ride two up, and at least once a year I gear up for a long distance jaunt.

Thoughts?

Over 100k and never felt it "Pogo Stick"as you call it but does get softer when the oil in the  forks gets old , but with a change and new seals fells like new.

Kunkies:  I have Progressive springs in front and 444's with std springs in the rear & WHAT AN IMPROVEMENT!  How heavy are you and your passenger?  Do you pull a trailer?  If you order 12" shocks you will be decreasing your travel and sacrificing some ride comfort.  Things to think about......

I have Progressive springs in front and Heavy duty/444's in rear. I'd rather have stock springs but this is the way I purchased it.
I also like the way a Cadillac rides compared to a Ferrari. 

On traditional forks, sure, just a little coin for new springs that have to come out anyway.  But on the Valkyrie inverted forks, changing the seals is a fairly quick job and does not require spring disassembly.  Probably twice as much labor to include the spring change.  And you need the special tools.

Pogo effect is shock dampening so related to fork oil, not springs.

Given that, if you want it do it.  If money is a concern, buy more gas instead.

I like the progressives, installed them over a dozen years ago. My recommendation is decrease the fluid by 2 ounces.

Pogo effect is shock dampening so related to fork oil, not springs.

Andy... I can only guess you don't have progressive springs in your bike.

-Mike

Tell us how the Progressive springs prevent "pogo stickin"

Tell us how the Progressive springs prevent "pogo stickin"

You just drop them in and boom.

-Mike "oh, you meant describe the science behind it...  :coolsmiley: "

Mike,

I changed the Goldwing to Progressive at last fork seal replacement.  Valkyrie springs have not been changed by me, just the seals and oil.

As far as dampening vs. spring load, I'll be glad to admit I'm wrong.  I interpreted "pogo sticking" as continued bouncing after going over a single bump.  I seem to remember way back when that the best way to test auto shocks was pushing down on the bumper and seeing how many times the car bounced.

Stole from Wikipedia:
Pneumatic and hydraulic shock absorbers are used in conjunction with cushions and springs. An automobile shock absorber contains spring-loaded check valves and orifices to control the flow of oil through an internal piston.

One design consideration, when designing or choosing a shock absorber, is where that energy will go. In most shock absorbers, energy is converted to heat inside the viscous fluid. In hydraulic cylinders, the hydraulic fluid heats up, while in air cylinders, the hot air is usually exhausted to the atmosphere. In other types of shock absorbers, such as electromagnetic types, the dissipated energy can be stored and used later. In general terms, shock absorbers help cushion vehicles on uneven roads.

Vehicle suspension

In a vehicle, shock absorbers reduce the effect of traveling over rough ground, leading to improved ride quality and vehicle handling. While shock absorbers serve the purpose of limiting excessive suspension movement, their intended sole purpose is to damp spring oscillations. Shock absorbers use valving of oil and gasses to absorb excess energy from the springs. Spring rates are chosen by the manufacturer based on the weight of the vehicle, loaded and unloaded. Some people use shocks to modify spring rates but this is not the correct use. Along with hysteresis in the tire itself, they damp the energy stored in the motion of the unsprung weight up and down. Effective wheel bounce damping may require tuning shocks to an optimal resistance.

Spring-based shock absorbers commonly use coil springs or leaf springs, though torsion bars are used in torsional shocks as well. Ideal springs alone, however, are not shock absorbers, as springs only store and do not dissipate or absorb energy. Vehicles typically employ both hydraulic shock absorbers and springs or torsion bars. In this combination, "shock absorber" refers specifically to the hydraulic piston that absorbs and dissipates vibration.

My front end "settled down" a great deal with the progressive springs. It used to be "nail the throttle"
and the forks would extend, shut down the throttle and they'd compress way down. Lots of
brake effect on them too... I just liked Paxton's "pogo stickin" as a description. I know almost
nobody who was not happy to have changed to progressive springs. To me, they changed
the forks from crummy to good.

-Mike

I am one of the Nobody's....I had them put in my std. and I absolutely hated them. Felt like I was riding on a 2x4, one day is all I lasted. Made my own tool to remove them and put the OEM back in..
I do admit to having fork problems, which turned out to be improperly assembled forks from the previous seal replacement and then the dealer put them back together the way they came apart and only noticed the problem when I took them back for "clunking" like it was being hit by a sledge.

I just had a set of forks rebuilt with Progressive Springs. I really like them, certainly improved handling and eliminates the extending on acceleration and diving on braking.
My plan is to do my other bikes with Progressives.

I got them years back and did not like them.

But what I discovered was that the very hard post-instal ride was due to too much fork oil, not the PS springs. 

The advice to use a bit less fork oil per side (than called for) is good advice. 

More fork oil than called for will increase the effective spring rate of the forks by reducing the amount of air in the forks, thus increasing the compression ratio of the air.  Heavier fork oil will firm up the ride and reduce the tendency to dive when brakes are quickly applied, and the tendency to quickly extend when throttle is quickly applied.

OEM fork springs have a progressive spring rate, but Progressive springs have more of the spring with a stiffer winding.  Dag's photo from his http://www.valkyrienorway.com/forksprings.html (http://www.valkyrienorway.com/forksprings.html) web page.  OEM spring at top; Progressive at bottom.

(http://www.valkyrienorway.com/a4.jpg)