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Cannon Racecraft (Springs)

Joined
Jul 17, 2014
Messages
331
Reaction score
3
Location
Liberty Hill, TX
First Name
Nate
Last Name
Pina
I wanted to write a brief review of my recent experience with Cannon Racecraft out of Oklahoma City. First let me start off by saying that I am a very large rider, probably too large to be riding dualsport but that hasn't stopped me yet. After recently buying a 2000 XR650L from a fellow TWTr I knew quickly I would need new springs to hold the extra weight.

I used the RaceCraft spring rate calculator to figure out what spring rate I needed. According to the RT website the stock spring rate on the XR650L is 10.5 Kg/mm and I needed a 19.2 Kg/mm spring :shock:

I decided to give Cannon Racecraft a call since they are based in Oklahoma which is much closer to DFW than RT. I liked having the option to drive up there if need be. I spoke to Angela C. and she was wonderful. I told her right off that bat that I needed a custom heavy spring, probably heavier than they have ever made before. She was very nice and said they make heavy springs all the time and didn't skip a beat when I told her I needed a 19.2 Kg.

She said an "off the rack" spring in a range of spring rates is $99, which would work for most people. A custom spring made to whatever spec you need, in your choice of powder coating color would be $139 plus shipping. I thought this was extremely reasonable and decided to go for it. I gave her my CC info and she said a custom spring usually takes about 3-weeks to make. I ordered my spring on August 25th and it was at my door on August 31st! I plan on removing the rear shock Saturday morning and swapping the spring. I plan on ordering a set of fork springs later this month, which she said would also be $139 plus shipping for both.

Bottom line, if you are considering new springs I would highly recommend Cannon Racecraft; especially if you carry a little (or alot) of extra weight like me. :rider:
 
:tab Nate, don't forget, the spring is just one part of the mass-spring-damper system... You and the bike are the mass. Now you have the spring. You will likely need to have more damping to keep the bike from riding like an old Cadillac. The cheap solution for the front would be to just use a heavier weight fork oil. If that is not sufficient, then you might look at actually changing the stock valving. You might be able to try the same thing with the rear, it's just a little more work messing with the rear than messing with the forks.
 
Thanks Scott that is a really good point. My plan ultimately will include new valving in the front and rear, along with new front springs. It will be a slow process but i'll get there. Since the XR isn't my primary bike i'm not in as much of a hurry. I'm just happy the back end doesnt sag as much now :D
 
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