[Slicks]

I have an 800A and my best friend, Scott, bought a 800B. We ride together all of the time. Charlotte (my bike) loves to meander the back twisties and I'm well known for staying off of the beaten path. "If there aren't curves, what are we doing here?".

Scott, on the other hand, prefers state roads, cruising a steady 50 - 55. I thought this was a personality preference but we switched bikes for a good part of the day recently and I led. I couldn't get over how much his bike "wanted" to get off of the back roads and settle into a nice steady speed. Constantly shifting and meneuvering switchbacks just didn't seem "natural" on his bike. Conversely, he said curvy roads were easier and more fun to negotiate on my 800A and he found himself gunning it out of the corners and having to "back off" so he didn't run me over (normally, he's playing keep-up with me).

What's your experience or opinion? Do standard models have a greater affinity for the back twisties than the classic models? :?:

 

[woodchucks800]

Good to see you post Slicks. From what I've read elsewhere on the net. It has to do with the 21" tire an wheel . With it being narrower an taller than the classic it tends to turn in quicker on the curve's , but it also tends to want to track in the wear ruts in the road due to it being narrow. For you guys that haven't changed out your front springs to progressive, I highly recommend doing so . It definitly helped on the superslab not to mention firm it up in the twisties. This is a mod that can be done for around $80.00 :lol: It will also reduce the nose dive at stop's by about 60 to 70% (don't notice the difference until you ride another bike that hasn't done the spring change).

 

[bikeaholic]

re

couple of good points here-

i notice a BIG difference in the A and B models
exactly the way you describe slicks
ground clearance seemed better on the A and response was better thru the corner - it was much harder to make a correction on the B

i was running a 21" on the sporty and switched to a 19" with a 100 tire
and man what a difference it made-the bike is not nearly as squirrely
as it was

 

[Slicks]

Good to see you post Slicks.

Thanks for the personal email inviting me back man. I actually felt missed.

It's excellent responses like the two above that would keep anyone coming back here.

So what's up with this progressive shock deal? I ride the corners fast and hard at times (way too hard for a 21" according to my dad and coming from Mr. Evil Knieval himself, that's pretty bad ). Anyway, better shocks might be a good idea.

 

[woodchucks800]

Slicks The progressive fork springs are a piece of cake to change. you aready got a jack, raise the bike ,pop the chrome fork caps on top of the triple treeyou will need a little help with a broom stick or 3/4" or 1" dowel rod , have someone push in on the top of the fork with the stick take a small screwdriver an pop out the snap ring. then pull out the old spring . What I notice when riding is when you lean in the curve you don't feel the fludder in the front end until about 65 to 75 mph. with the new springs it moves the fludder up to 80 to 90 mph. reduces the nose dive quite a bit, an helps a little on the freeway with the trucks blowing you around. I also changed the fork oil to 15 wt. As far as 21" tire following road grooves, going with a tire like metzler where the tread design goes crossway's to the direction the tire rotates, helps fight falling in the grooves. You might want to adjust the rear shock by knocking the pre load up a couple of notchs ,it definitely firms up the rear end of the bike in the curves. If you don't like how it rides bump it back down.

 

[Tristen2000]

Fork springs and shocks

I also ride an 800B, i never been on bike forums before, its good to here the same kind of talks I have with my bike buddys. A bunch of my buddys including me have switched there progressive forks and also there shocks over to a company called Wilbers. Our rides have been better than we ever thought they could be. Its a high quality shock, but we believe its the fully adjustable High and low speed compression damping option that has made the big difference. We all take rides all over the country, and ride hard, were all sport riders, we couldnt be more happy. I dont know what kind of product line they have for all kawasakis but u can email this dude Steve at uh [email protected]. He'll let you know any details you need. Have fun riding