I know I'm reviving an old thread, but it's exactly on topic and in the right section so I didn't want to dilute information by opening a new thread.
Anyway - as my personal details will attest, I live in Sheffield. For someone with an interest in engineering, and motorbikes and a car to fettle, I doubt there's a better location in the UK. Pretty much anything and everything I need is within a radius of a few miles. As an example, I live just over a mile away from a company called Springcoil. It's even on my way to work. As you can guess from the name, they make springs; just about every type imaginable.
The other day I picked up a motorcycle shock spring that I'd ordered a week or so earlier. It cost me £55 and was made to my exact specification; free length, inside diameter, spring rate (either kg/mm or lb/in), powder coat colour and distance to coilbound (this can be an issue on bike shock springs). While I was there I asked about springs for the Beta and they said no problem, we can make whatever you want; shorter/longer, different spring rate etc. The price would be around £45 per spring. Is this the kind of price point that might elicit interest? Is this something that Betaboyz might be interested in following up?
If you would like more details about the company, this is their website:
http://www.springcoil.co.uk/. They also make springs for other companies to sell (at higher prices) under their own brand name. One such company is D Faulkner springs, a well known company in Motorsport. Springcoil make all their stuff...