Springs can be made less stiff by removing some of the material on the outside of the spring. This can be done quickly and easily on a large stationary belt sander. Slide a piece of tubing inside of the spring and allow the spring to rotate slowly on the tubing as the belt removes material from the outside of the spring.
One of our club members is also a motorcycle shop owner and all round cheap guy. He uses this method to reduce spring stiffness on moden mono shock bikes. He has done this for lighter riders who do not want to purchase an expensive new spring, only to find out they require an even lighter spring.
At some point the spring will become too weak for the job, so some testing is involved. You might try a 5% removal then a refit and tryout.
The easiest way to keep track of the amount removed is to weigh the spring before sanding then again after a small amount of removal.
Note that a small portable belt sander can be used to create the wear marks on sidewall and chamfered gearchange referred to by Vibrac.
Glen
One of our club members is also a motorcycle shop owner and all round cheap guy. He uses this method to reduce spring stiffness on moden mono shock bikes. He has done this for lighter riders who do not want to purchase an expensive new spring, only to find out they require an even lighter spring.
At some point the spring will become too weak for the job, so some testing is involved. You might try a 5% removal then a refit and tryout.
The easiest way to keep track of the amount removed is to weigh the spring before sanding then again after a small amount of removal.
Note that a small portable belt sander can be used to create the wear marks on sidewall and chamfered gearchange referred to by Vibrac.
Glen
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