Suspension/braking

[CruisingDog]

I have just taken my bike in for it's recalls and a buddy of mine rode it in for me (since I needed to pick him up after in my car - he doesn't have a working car!).

Anyway, mine's an '04 and his is an '03. We have 11K and he has 21K on our bikes respectively.

He commented about the fact that his '03 dives more than mine when braking. Since he's not had a comparison before he's not complained. Anyway, my question is:

Are there any differences between the stiffness of the suspension between the '03 and the '04 non-ABS ST1300's ? If not, is it normal for the suspension to loosen up this much ? Could this be the proportioning Valve issue ??

[Mellow]

I've noticed mine seems to dive a little more now than it did when I first got it. I think dond has replaced the oil in his forks and commented it made a difference.

[Hewhois]

Could it be the linked brake system? If I recall correctly, if a rider were to hit the front brakes the linked rear brake would activate slightly earlier than the front brake to minimize dive. Maybe this was changed a little between model years? Just guessing.

Guessing instead of sleeping 'cause I woke up and can't get back to sleep :mad:

[CruisingDog]

I actually sat on his bike and compared the stiffness of the front shocks. They're way easier to compress and bounce more. I'm guessing it's the oil or the springs. He's gonna get them checked out this week since he's concerned. Rightfully so. Shocks make hell of a difference to your stopping distance.

[Hitcher]

I am surprised that Honda hasn't fitted fully-adjustable front forks to the ST. They must think that what's there is "perfect"! Personally I'd like a bit more rebound damping but otherwise it's not too bad (2002 model with 18,000km).