No it does not increase the overall preload as you will in turn make new preload spacers that are shorter...

Tony, according to this thread he already has made the  spacers and installed the Sonic  springs and  by  backing out the pre load adjusters all the way  he lowered the front  down which  does nothing to make the front softer. If anything the added weight made it a tiny bit stiffer. Probably corners better though.
He is talking about adding the emulators and yes , that will raise the bike up about 1/4 inch. Nothing a cheeseburger and a couple of beers cant fix.

Tony, according to this thread he already has made the  spacers and installed the Sonic  springs and  by  backing out the pre load adjusters all the way  he lowered the front  down which  does nothing to make the front softer. If anything the added weight made it a tiny bit stiffer. Probably corners better though.
He is talking about adding the emulators and yes , that will raise the bike up about 1/4 inch. Nothing a cheeseburger and a couple of beers cant fix.

Comments were made before reading the 2nd page of the thread..... But in the end my comment is still the same; you will need to make new spacers, spacers that have had their overall height determined after taking the height of the new emulators into the equation. As you have explained pre-load has nothing to do with the stiffness of the springs; pre-load affects overall ride height and/or static sag.

While I don't think this is his issue but a spring rate that is much too high for the weight or the bike and rider can cause a harsh ride. Think about an old  3/4 ton truck with no weight in the bed it will ride rough but once you added a bunch of weight into the bed it smoothed out an rode real nice.

Here I'd be willing to bet that lighter weight oil will soften up some of the harsh ride. As would the drilling of slightly larger holes in the damping rods; these were all old tuning tricks used before the invention of Cartridge Forks or Cartridge Emulators.

Another point to bear here is that if your oil level is too high that under heavy compression you can cause the fork to "Hydraulically Lock" and ride harsh; one must maintain a cushion of air.

For grins I might try my original thought of 10wt fork oil or Dexron.  If that's not good enough I can "bite the bullet" and install the emulators. 

For grins I might try my original thought of 10wt fork oil or Dexron.  If that's not good enough I can "bite the bullet" and install the emulators.

Exactly, 4 bucks and a couple hours is all it is going to cost. Don't overfill, the 170 turned out to be just right for me, I started at 150 as suggested by Sonic and it was harsh.

What about ordering new "blue" springs for the emulators from sonic? And drilling an extra hole in the emulators themselves? I've got the "older" emulators without the "scored" stampings, they have just one small hole and gold springs. Proper fluid level, backed out emulators, 15 wt fork oil and the thing shakes off the faring. No longer fun to ride anymore on Ohio's terrible roads. But, as stated, fully loaded, it rides a bit better.

You problem could be  the 1.1 springs, that may be too heavy a spring for your use. I run the 1.0 Racetech springs and  I could go lighter than that if ride quality was of a higher priority to me.

You problem could be  the 1.1 springs, that may be too heavy a spring for your use. I run the 1.0 Racetech springs and  I could go lighter than that if ride quality was of a higher priority to me.

Good point, and if I had it to do over I would go with the 1.0 springs, instead of the 1.1's. 

What about ordering new "blue" springs for the emulators from sonic? And drilling an extra hole in the emulators themselves? I've got the "older" emulators without the "scored" stampings, they have just one small hole and gold springs. Proper fluid level, backed out emulators, 15 wt fork oil and the thing shakes off the faring. No longer fun to ride anymore on Ohio's terrible roads. But, as stated, fully loaded, it rides a bit better.

My springs look kind of yellow.  I'm not sure how old mine are since I bought them from someone on this board, but they were new, not used, and had been sitting on the shelf for some time before I got them. 

I pulled out the 15wt oil that was at 150mm and poured in Dexon II at 170mm, took it for a ride, and now the forks are noticably more supple over bumps.  Maybe all I really needed to do was put the 15 wt oil at 170mm, but I'm happy with how it feels for now.  I've always liked the feel of the forks being a bit softer than the shock. 

Last Saturday was cool and rainy so I spent about 6 hours pulling the forks and installing the eumulators that have been setting on the shelf for two years, and then I reinstalling the forks.  Today I finally had an opportunity to try them out and and oh my....   What a difference!  I found my self looking for rough spots and potholes in the road to try out the new found "suppleness".  Places in the road that I've avoided before were now targeted and now "smooth"!  There's also a great improvement in braking, with much less fork dive.  I'm sold on these things!  Sorry it took me so long to give them a try.