Dropping the forks through the yoke

[Jase22]

Anyone done this and can you give me a few pointers on what I'm lkely to expect by doing it, how far I should drop em for optimum effect etc.

My bike's a 2000 carbed model.

Cheers
Jase

[Scoobs]

PM Falc. He's done this recently. 10mm!

[northwind]

it seems like you can take them down about 15mm without clashing hard parts. I did 10, and liked it... Then put the rear up something like 2 inches and liked it even more :) But I don't think that would be a very good idea with stock suspension parts.

[Jase22]

Why would you not recommend it with stock suspension bits? I can see that if I drop the forks too far I might end up with my forks bottoming out/hitting something, but I wasn't planning going any further than 10-12 mm and definitely not further than 15 so was hoping it'll be ok. :?

As for raising the rear, that's on the agenda but is still in progress. What problems do you think would be caused by keeping the stock shock and replacing the dog bones with shortened ones?

[falc]

PM Falc. He's done this recently. 10mm!

What you get me into Scoobs eh? :D

Yer I did 10mm like northwind, It does make it feel a bit more flickable, felt a bit better on roundabouts and the like, felt easier to get it down.

But to really appreiciate it I think you would need to do what Northwind said and raise the rear. Im waiting to get a rear GSXR shock first before I try that.

[Flamin_Squirrel]

Why would you not recommend it with stock suspension bits?

Because poor suspension and agressive steering geometry is a recipie for a tank slapper.

[northwind]

Eggsactly. Should be fine with the front down alone but front down, rear up with a stock rear shock to me is asking for trouble. I've actually calmed mine down a bit, I had to drop the rear after my accident and now I find I've no desire to put it back up- still higher than stock though.

[Jase22]

I'm not really that clued up on the whole suspension thing, I still only refer to myself a relatively new rider having only been riding about 5 years.

Being totally honest, I haven't noticed that the suspension on the SV is as bad as what everyone says. But I appear to be alone on that one.

Would you think I'm likely to cause myself some serious problems if I leave the suspension as standard and perform both front and rear tweaks? Are we talking falling off time or just a bumpy ride?

[fizzwheel]

Well if you speed up the steering and then speed it up to much, then I would think that bumpy road, plus hard riding might cause you a nice big fat tank slapper as Flamin_Squirrel says, if you've never had one they can be nasty and could well result in a nice big crash.

Notice what Northwind says about lowering his rear end

If I were you I would leave your bike alone and save up some money and get the front forks resprung and get it sorted out professionally if you dont know what you are doing

TBH if you dont think its that bad as standard then why fiddle with it at all

HTH

[Jase22]

It's only since I bought the SV that I've had this crazy desire to tweak any of my bikes!!! :lol:

Ideally I'm not in the search for a good tank slapping on me bike, I much prefer life on the seat rather than bumping down the road (I joined the hole-in-yer-bikegear brigade on another bike).

So in answer to my question, it seems a resounding no to performing both the suspension tweaks with standard bits. I had best start saving... :(

[suzsv650]

you can drop them a lil bit ive done mine about 6 mm it seams fine to me enough to speed up the handling but not enough for it to tank slap and be dogey whilst at high lean angles

[northwind]

Yup, I wouldn't worry too much about playing with the front- it's free, easy and isn't likely to get you in too much trouble- but the rear shock's not up to dealing with really aggressive geometry. In fact, even with a better shock it needs to be well set up to work well like that.

[chazzyb]

you can drop them a lil bit ive done mine about 6 mm it seams fine to me enough to speed up the handling but not enough for it to tank slap and be dogey whilst at high lean angles

That should be OK. A naked SV has the forks through by 6mm as standard for some reason. I find the front end on mine just a little bit too prone to sudden deflections by nasty surfaces - something I've not really experienced before on other bikes (mostly a long time ago).

[jim@55]

on the subject of gtng forks resprung anybody rec somebody to do it prop pref in glasgow or surrounding area

[haggis]

Careful when you get that GSXR shock put in.

I had the mother of all tankslappers a few weeks ago. Came completely out of the blue, I was not really pushing it either. About 10 lock to lock with the rear up in the air. Left a 60ft squiggle on the road and similar in my leathers. :oops:

I'm still setting up the shock and took off too much rear preload I think, and not enought rebound?

Anyone else done this mod, what's your ballpark settings.
p.s. I'm a flyweight, 10st 6.

[Graham]

Can't be done on my 2000 model, The sliders only clear the bottom triple clamp by 2mm. The forks are only as long as they need to be. Anyway the thing turns like a demon from standard.

[Scoobs]

Can't be done on my 2000 model, The sliders only clear the bottom triple clamp by 2mm. The forks are only as long as they need to be. Anyway the thing turns like a demon from standard.

Are you sure???

[northwind]

I tested mine with the springs out and there were no clearance problems with the 10mm drop...

Jim, respringing the forks is a dead easy DIY job, it's not like revalving better forks- all we can do is dump the springs and oil and fit new stuff. I'll give you a hand if you fancy, I've done a couple before...

[Graham]

Yes i'm sure, Checked the clearance when replacing the springs.
Obviously this is different between models so you should check your individual bikes before attempting

[Scoobs]

Was this with the springs out of the forks? It's not that I don't believe you, but I just fing that a bit strange. I am sure that there is loads more than that on my '99.

[PeterM]

I've dropped mine 5mm and found things much better than std. I've done the springs/emulators/oil at the front end too. Ther rear is std and seems to be coping, ok thus far.

Don't drop them too far. Yes, a tankslapper is one problem but bear in mind the front end is weighted up much more and this will increase your chances of a lowside as well.

Regarding fitting shorter dogbones - be very bloody careful. The suspension geometry back there affects the relative force acting upon the shock. The reason the classic SVs have such high spring rates is because the bike already has quite short dogbones. Compare them to a GSXR, there's quite a bit of difference.

The rear shock can be replaced with an early GSXR unit but it will need rebuilding to fit an appropriate spring and then that means the valving/oil is out. $$ Another option is a ZX10 shock unit. The spring rate in slightly higher than std so if you're heavier than you average Japanese test rider (65kg) it's looking pretty good with minimum hassle.

[Jase22]

Right, I've dropped by 7mm and am fairly happy with the result. Feels a little quicker into the turn without feeling awful.

I am totally re-thinking the lifting of the rear suspension. :-k Basically my understanding is that if i lift the rear together with dropping the forks through it'll have a double effect of decreasing the rake angle of the forks, which is not good for stability. Hmm.

So at that, I doubt if even replacing the stock shocker with a gixer one will make it any more stable if my thoughts and workings are correct. :?

[jim@55]

yeah ,,thanks northwind ur on ...ill get the bits and pm u and come through to yours ,its something ive thought about ever since i got the bike as the standard settings are WAY too soft ...i cant push the performance like but i can feel a lot of fork dive....im about 13 stone and theyr too soft so i think a change is needed.i would have a go on my tod but its nice to know someone whos actually done it ,,,,cheers m8 :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :notworthy:

[KayDee]

I have been thinking of doing this mod. How do I do it?

[northwind]

You've got an S, so it's pretty easy. You can unbolt the clipons from the yoke and the forks- 2 bolts on each clipon, one big one to the fork, and a small one to the yoke. Then slide the clipons down the forks by however much you want- I say keep it gradual, 5mm down at the most at first- and tighten them back up with the big bolt. Now, one leg at a time, you can undo the bolts that hold the yokes to the fork leg- there's one bolt in the top yoke, 2 in the bottom. As you undo it, it ought to simply slide down to sit on the clipon- though this can need a bit of persuading.

Once it's done this, tighten that leg back up and do the other leg in the exact same way. Then, once both forks are firmly secured back into the yokes, undo the clipons again and position them properly, before bolting them back to the yokes and finally doing their pinch bolts up.

If you do it this way, you can even do it on the sidestand. Ideally, you'll want a torque wrench.

[GSXR Carlos]

technically you drop the yokes down the forks, so that you've got more tube showing, if you did it the way you asked, you're top yoke (triple tree/clamp) wouldn't be connected to anything :lol: and would slow down the steering too (if it were possible)