Fork advice.

[joeheaven]

I was recently the victim of a hit and run on my way to work which involved me doing a stoppie into the bonnet of a Ford Focus. Luckily I survived relatively unscathed, but my poor bike has been written off. On the plus side, the insurers have given me a cheque for what I payed for it and said that I can keep the bike.
The damage looks mainly cosmetic, the entire fairing and subframe exploded and bent so I have been perusing ebay for replacements and had a bit of a spending spree in the hope that that is all that is wrong.
I pushed it the 1/2 mile back from the accident and it felt fine, by sight the forks look straight and the bar ends appear even so I'm hoping they'll be alright. It was a relatively slow impact, and mainly on the brake so I actually did a stoppie but the rear of the bike lifted as I made contact and the top of the screen and fairing were crushed.
What I really want to know is if there are any other checks I can do on the forks? The damping seems crap, but it always was, and they seem to have a 'notchy' feel at the bottom of the stroke.
I also need a good nick black front fairing cowel if anyone has one....

[husky03]

theres a few black ones on ebay at the mo

[joeheaven]

Yeah, got my eye on a couple, tah. Now, forks...who wants to talk forks??? I'd love to upgrade them to something that WORKS, but I want to retain my speedo etc and not have to make too many 'specialist' alterations. Demon tweaks have cartridge inners for £300, then new Santions if I need them are £200 from Wemoto (though I'm reliably informed I could get them bent back, if they are bent at all) which might be a good option...
Any way of telling if the yokes are OK????

[Dangerous Dave]

by sight the forks look straight

The forks certainly look bent in that picture mate....

[Spikenipple]

+1 the forks definitely look bent.

[joeheaven]

You are probably right of coarse but I don't think you can tell from that picture.

[joeheaven]

The front wheel is actually turned slightly away from you. Honestly, if they are bent at all, it's mm, not cm or inches.

[Bibio]

The forks certainly look bent in that picture mate....
i was just going to say the same thing ..

[Dangerous Dave]

You are probably right of coarse but I don't think you can tell from that picture.
The front wheel is too far back, you can see just below the bottom yoke where the bend starts even though there is a reflection there.

http://forums.sv650.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=2730&d=1226510777 (http://forums.sv650.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=2730&d=1226510777)
http://i.xanga.com/dumdumsun/SV650K4.jpg

[Dangerous Dave]

Your front wheel is in align with the centre of the radiator, it should be in front of it (see above picture)

[Bibio]

if you have the money .. get a gixer front end and shokky on it .... you wont regret it.. you will even be able to recoup some of the money from the other bits of your front end, excluding the forks coz there bent...

[Bibio]

as a rough idea of prices and bits look here:

http://forums.sv650.org/showthread.php?t=117391

[BBadger]

Sorry to hear this.
I had the same thing.. forks felt ok but were creased but the front wheel was only off by 2cm at most. Get them checked and changed is the best thing to do.
The rest of the bike sounds like it should be fine apart from fairings as they hold up pretty well.

[joeheaven]

OK. You may well be right but I'm still not convinced having looked at this very carefully, baring in mind that the bike is not upright as in your comparison picture, the fact that these pictures were taken with a very wide angle lense quite close up, and all the broken bits are obscuring a proper view.

I guess the only real way to find out is to ride it. I did ride it up the Garden onto the patio and it felt fine...hoho

[joeheaven]

New stantions from Wemoto then by the looks of it....

[Bibio]

I guess the only real way to find out is to ride it. I did ride it up the Garden onto the patio and it felt fine...hoho

no.. take the forks out and have them tested.. or do it yourself with a straight edge.. once you have done that get someone else to look at them with a straight edge...

your in denial... :D

[Dangerous Dave]

Sorry to bring the bad news, just don't want to see ya go through all the repair work and find the forks are bent and so have to remove everything. Get them tested by a professional.

The bike may be parked at an angle but that doesn't change the distance between wheel and front cylinder.

[stevo_sv]

dave's right they do look bent.

after my incident mine looked ok, but as soon as you ride the bike you can tell something isn't right, feels very funky.

if you don't want to ride it an easy way is to get a straight edge on them and you will be able to see it easily

[svtomo]

easy way to check is to loosen top and bottom yokes and handlebar (1 side at a time) and rotate the stanction. if the front wheel oves back and forth the fork is bent.

[yorkie_chris]

Cool, you've upgraded it to a naked one! :-P

That notchy feeling in forks shows they're a bit Stoke-on-trent.

[BBadger]

Just no, stop making excuses !
I would still have them checked out, or at least start with putting a stright edge againtst them just to make sure.

[joeheaven]

OK, so I'm in denial. I MISS MY BIKE. OK? Its a hard reality to face. Seriously though, thanks all for sound advice. Guess I should resign myself to a lengthy winter project and try to get my kicks elsewhere for a bit...

Now, how am I going to get the thing in the air so I can strip the front end down!? I'm guessing any damage to the yokes or head bearings would be fairly obvious?

[BBadger]

My forks were bad and i had no problems with head case or yokes, i think it got knocked abit so things needed to be re-aligned but it should make itself apparent.
good luck with getting it all back together soon !

[joeheaven]

OK, I've stripped the front end and taken the fork legs off ready to fit the new stantions and rebuild them. just so that you all know, initial investigation (using the roll on flat surface test) show that one fork leg is bent by about 4mm, and the other is still straight. How anyone could spot this on a photo I do not know!? I think it was even the leg furthest away too but the photos were taken with a wide angle so would look bent even if straight. The frame is also straight as an arrow. Thank God they are bent or I'd be writing an irate post saying I've spent £200 on new legs cos you said they was bent and they AINT! Anyway...

Does anyone know anyone thats an expert when it comes to rebuilding forks? Preferably in SE London? I can do it meself but would be nice to get someone who knows to and who can interpret my needs into fork oil densities and spring requirements effectively....

[Dangerous Dave]

just so that you all know, initial investigation (using the roll on flat surface test) show that one fork leg is bent by about 4mm, and the other is still straight. .
Told ya, sorry.

How anyone could spot this on a photo I do not know!?
Experience and knowing an SV from any angle, plus the wheel to rad distance.

[joeheaven]

5mm!? Can you rebuild forks too?

[Dangerous Dave]

5mm!?
But that distance in exaggerated the further down the forks you travel.

[joeheaven]

OK so you have a keen eye. Well spotted!

So, does ANYONE KNOW A FORK SPECIALIST/WIZARD in SE LONDON???

[Dangerous Dave]

So, does ANYONE KNOW A FORK SPECIALIST/WIZARD in SE LONDON???
What is it you are looking for, just a rebuild are a rebuild to suit you weight, or a rebuild with Race-Tech internals?

You can do all three yourself, if you stripped then you can rebuild them.

These guys have a good reputation;

Setup Engineering
1 East Hill
Marcilly Road
Wandsworth
London SW18 2HT
England

Tel: 020 88 77 32 55
Email: enquiries@setupengineering.co.uk ( enquiries@setupengineering.co.uk)

[joeheaven]

Thats brilliant, thankyou!

I'm not really after a Race setup, as I commute on this bike all through summer as well as use it as weekend warrior on road trips to Wales and poss even the south of France this year. I may do a track day sometime, but it's an all round fun & functional bike really. I looked at internals available from Demon Tweaks but they are a bit expensive (£300) and over the top for my needs.

I'm thinking I'd like a bit more damping and slightly less 'dive' which I guess means slightly heavier oil and progressive springs???

I might ring these chaps and see if they can do it this week.....

Much appreciated!

[yorkie_chris]

Yup stiffer springs and heavier oil.

[joeheaven]

Just spoke to your man. He said NO progressive springs, I'd need .95 LINEAR springs for my weight and new valvage (clever valve that operates throughout the entire stroke) from PDQ motorcycles. Labour would be £150, and he can do it after Christmas. This guy obviously knows his stuff, but it's a bit expensive (I could get the funky 'racing' inners from Demon Tweaks for that) and means a long(ish) wait. JHS Racing in Bristol said they could do it for £100 in a day, and another guy I know in Hereford (hometown) that used to do the setups on race bikes will also do it for £100 but would take a bit longer so I think I'll go with one of the cheaper options....

[Dangerous Dave]

If you fancy the ride I would recommend booking it in with JHS.

You can get linear springs to suit your weight exactly, with progressive springs it is more of an oil judgement to get them sorted.

[joeheaven]

I think thats what I'll do, not sure about London to Bristol on XT350 with SV650 fork legs as luggage though! haha. Might take the car...

[Lozzo]

I was always told with an SV that progressives work best on the road and linears work better on track.

I don't know anyone who runs linear sprngs on a pointy for the road.

[Dangerous Dave]

I always fit Progressives to a road bike, however a correctly set up front end with linears is just as good.

[joeheaven]

I've booked it in with JHS for the weekend. I'm thinking I'll call them and ask them to order some progressive springs and slightly heavier oil. Hopefully that'll mean less 'dive' on the brakes and a bit more surefootedness....

[Dangerous Dave]

I've booked it in with JHS for the weekend. I'm thinking I'll call them and ask them to order some progressive springs and slightly heavier oil. Hopefully that'll mean less 'dive' on the brakes and a bit more surefootedness....
I would hazard a guess that they will have a large variety of oil, and very unlikely they won't have progressive forks in stock for a bike coming in for this treatment.

You are travelling a long way, so you might want to double check.

[joeheaven]

Thats what I thought, but apparently they are unsure so I'm waiting for a call back.

[joeheaven]

Well, the forks were bent about 4mm on one leg. How the hell it was possible to tell that from a photograph I have no idea. It's pretty much fixed apart from new indicators, mirror, and a few fasteners. (Anyone know where I can get the chrome allen bolts that go into the top corners of the fairing by the screen and the ones that bolt it to the frame???) Just need to MOT and get some fresh rubber for summer!!! Whoohaa.
Thanks to all for the help and advice. Lots of pictures on my Faceberk...



http://www.facebook.com/people/Joseph-Heaven/820785525 - Joseph Heaven's Faceberk profile

[Dangerous Dave]

Well, the forks were bent about 4mm on one leg. How the hell it was possible to tell that from a photograph I have no idea.
Some of us are sad......

[joeheaven]

Sad maybe, but also extremely useful!

Got a well used but well loved Yam XT350 for the commute 'til spring. Great fun. Green laning anyone???

[Dangerous Dave]

Anyone know where I can get the chrome allen bolts that go into the top corners of the fairing by the screen and the ones that bolt it to the frame???
Have a look on the Probolt website for different colours and materials available, you could ask you nearest dealer as they usually have a few laying around spare and don't normally charge you the full whack.