question regarding the fork damping...
Thread Starter
Senior Member
SuperBike
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,011
question regarding the fork damping...
so I just randomly noticed the other day that although I have my adjusters set to the same position (turned clockwise all the way then adjusted back from there) that the right one is higher up then the left one... like it raises above the top of the fork more then the other... what the heck? seems odd but should I be concerned at all.. What would cause this? I had the forks rebuilt and racetech springs thrown in last spring
Seņor Miembro, Ay Caramba
SuperSport
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 562
From: a little north of DC
Can we assume your preload adjusters are the same?
Something actually went wrong when I put mine back together, so I only get 3/4 of a turn for one rebound adjuster. I'm curious to see what these intelligent folks here think is your issue.
Something actually went wrong when I put mine back together, so I only get 3/4 of a turn for one rebound adjuster. I'm curious to see what these intelligent folks here think is your issue.
Senior Member
SuperBike
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,864
From: Fort Wayne, IN
When the forks are reassembled the fork caps are secured to the valving rod. This must be set to a particular height. If the one cap was turned in more than the other it could cause what you describe. This really isn't an issue unless you are trying to use the adjustments near full soft (all the way out). If the caps were set incorrectly this would affect how far OUT the screws can go.
Senior Member
Superstock
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 474
From: Merritt,MI.
just a suggestion but there are spacers with the racetech kit,I don't have them yet but a guy I know who installed them on his hawk had to cut the spacers to lower the front end could they be cut different?
Administrator
World Champion
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 105,287
From: Fulton, MO
I fixed the spelling error.
The spacer length has nothing to do with this problem. It's as Jamie says, the fork caps are threaded on one more than the other. This is fairly easy to fix. I can do a writeup on it if you want to tackle it yourself. Lemme know.
The spacer length has nothing to do with this problem. It's as Jamie says, the fork caps are threaded on one more than the other. This is fairly easy to fix. I can do a writeup on it if you want to tackle it yourself. Lemme know.
Administrator
World Champion
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 105,287
From: Fulton, MO
Okay, this can be done with the forks on the bike, but it's safer if you use a front and rear stand and take them to a workbench. Keep them upright so no oil drains out. The on-the-bike procedure is in smaller font.
- Back off the preload adjusters, noting the number of turns. This minimizes the spring preload inside the fork.
- Loosen the fork cap. It's 24mm and the fork cap is aluminum, so be careful not to bung it up. Sometimes a paper shop towel between the socket/wrench and the fork cap will prevent marring the finish. It's better to loosen them on the bike even if you're going to take the forks off. Also, you may need to loosen the upper triple clamp before you loosen the cap.
If you're doing this on the bike one fork assembled is enough to hold the bike up while you work on the other one. The front of the bike will drop quite a bit though when the first fork cap is unthreaded. Suggest you have a second person to ensure the bike does not fall over.
- Slide the male tube down enough to see the spacer, washers, and locknut.
On the bike, as the front of the bike drops it will expose the fork internals enough to loosen the locknut
- Loosen the locknut holding the fork cap to the damping rod. There are flats on the bottom of the fork cap to hold it steady. I believe both are 14mm. See attached pic.
- Unscrew the fork cap from the damping rod a few threads, not all the way off.
- Using a flat screwdriver, turn the damping adjuster ONLY (not the fork cap) all the way in so that it lightly seats. Now gently screw the fork cap onto the damping rod just enough so that the dot on the adjuster lines up with the arrow on the sticker AND the adjuster is about flush with the top of the preload adjuster.
- Now carefully tighten the locknut making sure to not turn the fork cap on the damping rod. Reinstall the fork cap. It doesn't need to be tight, just snug. A little oil on the o-ring would be good.
- Check the rebound adjuster to ensure you have at least 3 full turns from fully seated to fully backed off.
- Reassemble the fork and reinstall on the bike, if necessary.
- Reset preload adjuster to previous setting.
FWIW, the service manual mentions nothing of this procedure.
- Back off the preload adjusters, noting the number of turns. This minimizes the spring preload inside the fork.
- Loosen the fork cap. It's 24mm and the fork cap is aluminum, so be careful not to bung it up. Sometimes a paper shop towel between the socket/wrench and the fork cap will prevent marring the finish. It's better to loosen them on the bike even if you're going to take the forks off. Also, you may need to loosen the upper triple clamp before you loosen the cap.
If you're doing this on the bike one fork assembled is enough to hold the bike up while you work on the other one. The front of the bike will drop quite a bit though when the first fork cap is unthreaded. Suggest you have a second person to ensure the bike does not fall over.
- Slide the male tube down enough to see the spacer, washers, and locknut.
On the bike, as the front of the bike drops it will expose the fork internals enough to loosen the locknut
- Loosen the locknut holding the fork cap to the damping rod. There are flats on the bottom of the fork cap to hold it steady. I believe both are 14mm. See attached pic.
- Unscrew the fork cap from the damping rod a few threads, not all the way off.
- Using a flat screwdriver, turn the damping adjuster ONLY (not the fork cap) all the way in so that it lightly seats. Now gently screw the fork cap onto the damping rod just enough so that the dot on the adjuster lines up with the arrow on the sticker AND the adjuster is about flush with the top of the preload adjuster.
- Now carefully tighten the locknut making sure to not turn the fork cap on the damping rod. Reinstall the fork cap. It doesn't need to be tight, just snug. A little oil on the o-ring would be good.
- Check the rebound adjuster to ensure you have at least 3 full turns from fully seated to fully backed off.
- Reassemble the fork and reinstall on the bike, if necessary.
- Reset preload adjuster to previous setting.
FWIW, the service manual mentions nothing of this procedure.
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