Lowering forks - A little help....

[Squidly McSmearstain]

I've done a search but can't find precisely what I'm looking for.....

This is where you get to make fun of me..........

I recently bought a 2000 RSVR that will become my track bike. I have an '07 Tuono. The Tuono handles beautifully while the RSVR seems slow to turn. I decided to raise the forks one line to see if that would quicken up my steering.

The bike had three lines showing, so I thought a 1 line rise would be a good start to see how things felt. I loosened the pinch bolts in the upper and lower clamps, and pulled up on the fork tube. You can probably guess what happened.......I loosened the bolts too much and the fork tube slid WAY UP (maybe 12 or 13 lines showing). I think to myself, "That's probably going to be a little too unstable." So, I grab the fork tube and start pulling it down. I can get it down to 9 lines showing, and then nothing. Hmmmmmmmm.

I pulled all the preload I could out of that side of the fork, and set compression and rebound to fully open to get things as soft as possible.

With a lot of grunting and groaning and swearing I was able to get the fork pulled down to 5 rings, but oh my God it took every ounce of strength I possess to get the fork tube moved down that far.

What do I need to get the damn fork tub moved lower so that only 4 lines are showing? Do I need a steering head stand to remove all weight off the front suspension (this is my guess). Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Yes, I know it's a dumb mistake. Hopefully my ignorance will have added a smile to your day.

 

[hitman5532]

Use tie down to suspened the triple from the rafters

 

[Junkie]

Yeah, you need to somehow take the load off the front end.

 

[Zerox]

Do I need a steering head stand to remove all weight off the front suspension (this is my guess).

I use a PitBull front stand when messing with the fork height. You just gotta have a front end stand in the bike maintenance arsenal. When I remove the forks, I use the front stand plus I secure the bike from two tie-downs attached to the garage rafters, just to be safe.

If you don't have a front stand you probably have two friends or neighbors who can pick the bike up by the bars while you slide the fork to the desired fork height.

Just about everybody has made the same mistake you did, don't feel too bad.

 

[Jello_Biafra]

Wait, didn't you complain that the rear end was soggy as hell? I bet a properly stiff rear end makes a huge difference in how fast it steers..

This may be oversimplifying (I'm far from be learned in suspension tuning) but lowering your front end is done to put weight over the front tire. This aids turn in. So the opposite must be true, that a bike that will squat in the rear will turn slowly and will push wide on exit. This also means that lowering the front won't mean much if your rear end is still gonna squat when the power is put down.

I say fix your rear end (on the bike and otherwise) and then you can start tuning from there. Otherwise I think you're gonna end up undoing a lot of stuff once you do get the rear end sorted.

Oh and a steering head stand would help you out a lot, to answer your question. I have one that you could borrow but I dunno when our paths will cross next..

 

[masameet]

I can't say for sure this is what he did. But this is what I observed and my memory may be slightly off as I was sorta paying attention. Last December, when Evolution Suspension's Rob worked on my SV, he first loosened the pinch bolts on the triple tree, etc., then using a jack he raised the bike under the frame/engine side. After he finished swapping out the rear shock, he lowered the jack, which caused the forks to lower themselves on the triple tree. I shouted, Magic! And he laughed. It was that simple.

 

[Squidly McSmearstain]

Wait, didn't you complain that the rear end was soggy as hell? I bet a properly stiff rear end makes a huge difference in how fast it steers..

This may be oversimplifying (I'm far from be learned in suspension tuning) but lowering your front end is done to put weight over the front tire. This aids turn in. So the opposite must be true, that a bike that will squat in the rear will turn slowly and will push wide on exit. This also means that lowering the front won't mean much if your rear end is still gonna squat when the power is put down.

I say fix your rear end (on the bike and otherwise) and then you can start tuning from there. Otherwise I think you're gonna end up undoing a lot of stuff once you do get the rear end sorted.

Oh and a steering head stand would help you out a lot, to answer your question. I have one that you could borrow but I dunno when our paths will cross next..

I did firm up the rear suspension quite a bit. The shock was set really soft!! The preload seemed basically okay, so I firmed up rebound and compression. This helped a lot, but the rear end still felt too low (especially compared to my Tuono). I looked at the ride height adjuster on the shock, and it looked like there wasn't a lot of adjustability left, so I decided to drop the forks one line.

I really appreciate the offer for the steering head stand. Mine is on the way. IF I'm going to learn how to do this stuff, I should have the right tools.

 

[i8marcus]

If you've run out of ride height adjustment on your shock you could try a spacer/washer on the rear shock mount to give you more height in the rear. It's a bit more work but IMO its better than lowering your forks too much and shifting to much weight on your front end... Or if you haven't already running a 195/55 rear tire helps also.

 

[Yody]

Wait, didn't you complain that the rear end was soggy as hell? I bet a properly stiff rear end makes a huge difference in how fast it steers..

This may be oversimplifying (I'm far from be learned in suspension tuning) but lowering your front end is done to put weight over the front tire. This aids turn in. So the opposite must be true, that a bike that will squat in the rear will turn slowly and will push wide on exit. This also means that lowering the front won't mean much if your rear end is still gonna squat when the power is put down.

I say fix your rear end (on the bike and otherwise) and then you can start tuning from there. Otherwise I think you're gonna end up undoing a lot of stuff once you do get the rear end sorted.

Oh and a steering head stand would help you out a lot, to answer your question. I have one that you could borrow but I dunno when our paths will cross next..

 

[Squidly McSmearstain]

If you've run out of ride height adjustment on your shock you could try a spacer/washer on the rear shock mount to give you more height in the rear. It's a bit more work but IMO its better than lowering your forks too much and shifting to much weight on your front end... Or if you haven't already running a 195/55 rear tire helps also.

I'm not dropping the forks too much. I'm talking about dropping them a single line (3mm?). They're had never been moved from their factory setting (three lines exposed).

I'm going to have the bike set up by an expert, but I'd like to be informed about it's current settings and get a feel for what changes to these setting do before having someone else start changing things.

I've thought about adding spacers to the rear shock, but dropping the forks a single line seemed an easier (I thought) solution.

I like to tinker, so this is all fun and games.

 

[Yody]

lowering front reduces ground clearance, raising the rear does not.

Also raising the rear can affect the swingarm geometry in a good way(possibly a bad way as well though)

 

[Jello_Biafra]

Mine is on the way. IF I'm going to learn how to do this stuff, I should have the right tools.

If only everyone thought this way. Say, need to borrow my chain tool by any chance?

You should consider having your suspension re-valved/re-sprung at some point as well. At the very least keep up on the fluid changes.

 

[Hooli]

I really appreciate the offer for the steering head stand. Mine is on the way. IF I'm going to learn how to do this stuff, I should have the right tools.

I have one that you can use, but I don't know if any of the pins I have (R1/R6, GSXR1000, 2003 ZX6R) would fit. Check and get back to me about it.

 

[Squidly McSmearstain]

If only everyone thought this way. Say, need to borrow my chain tool by any chance?

You should consider having your suspension re-valved/re-sprung at some point as well. At the very least keep up on the fluid changes.

The bike has got Ohlins front and rear. It's probably more than adequate for me right now given my skill level. A fork oil change is probably not a bad idea.

I have one that you can use, but I don't know if any of the pins I have (R1/R6, GSXR1000, 2003 ZX6R) would fit. Check and get back to me about it.

You guys are awesome!! I ordered the attachments to my front stand to make it a steering head stand. Hopefully it won't take too long to get here. If the wait becomes too long I'll send you a PM.