Squidgy front suspension refurb
 

Mornin' all.

I'm thinking of doing a bit of work on the front suspension on my bike this winter, it's a 40000 mile bike and has never had anything done to it!

So can anyone tell me exactly what I will need in terms of parts?
My guess would be:

Springs
Seals
Oil

errr, that's it! I don't want to do a full GSXR type upgrade, but suggestions of any decent non SV bits that will just slot right in would be cool.

Thanks!

I have the same some front suspension questions ;)

During my long nights in front of the PC , i have found 3 or 4 possible ways to upgrade the SV forks.

- Gsxr front end :
Expensive , long time to get all the parts , and needs lots of knowledge that i dont have

- Matris SV forks kit , or traxxion ak20 kit
matris SV fork kit
http://www.traxxion.com/Axxion%20Car...Cartridges.htm
Matris kit has a fair price , looks good , costs about £300 , but haven't read any feedback on their quality.
Traxxion ak20 , very expensive $999 , + customs tax.

-New oil , or oil + springs :
This what i would like to do in my SV , springs and oil are cheap , and sinse my biggest issue with the SV forks is the front dive under hard braking , i believe harder springs and new oil , could be a nice improvement.

Springs , oil and emulators
-i have no idea what those emulators are for :oops: ... anyway if i add the price of oil , spring and emulators , it will cost almost the same as a matris kit !


For a little more than £100 i believe that springs and oil are the best option ,but as nekkid , i need some expert opinions , on what i need to buy , best place to buy online , better options etc..

That Matris kit looks interesting, although I wonder why the kit for the SV is cheaper - is it missing some of the adjustments?

"R type compression needle adjuster for CBR1000RR"


The SV kit only has adjustable preload , but they say they rebound and compression its factory tuned for the SV !

"factory tuned for the SV" is fine, but it needs to be tuned for bike, rider and riding style. I think they do an R product forthe SV as well but can't swear by it. Pers'nally I'd say to do a whole front end swap since it's cheaper- can be free, in fact- and brings with it brake upgrades and weight loss too, but no denying it's a bigger project and there can be insurance issues too.

If you want to keep stock front, then springs and oil first- no loss here if you don't like it, just upgrade to the cartridge kit or emulators at a later date- springs are springs, you don't need special ones for emulators and I doubt you do for the Matris kit. But you might find it makes all the difference you want. Emulators are a very mature product, thoroughly tested and widely recommended, so don't rule them out just because they're technically inferior...

Personally I reckon if the forks have done decent miles it's worth replacing the seals at the same time, while the forks are out, but there's no need to- you can just drop the springs and oil and replace them if you want. Seals are a wee bit more fiddly to do, but just about anyone could do springs and oil as long as they've got all their hands and a functioning brain :) Suspending the front is often the hardest bit.

Thanks Northwind, that's the advice I wanted! The seals will need doing as they are quite badly coroded (on the outside at least)

Do you know if I'll need any special tools, or is it just standard stuff?

Hmm..

Specialist tools. I have a impact driver for the bolt at the bottom of the forks and it's worked for me everytime. Some people's seize in place though and really need a lot of effort to release.

For driving in the new oil seal, use the old oil seal and a screwdriver/hammer to lightly tap it in place. The retaining clip, hmm, could do with needle nose pliers to get that out or any sharp, thin object.

I changed my bushes and seals on the weekend, realy easy, used drain pipe, cut it down the center and slid it over the fork tops to drive the seals in. New seals will go in realy easly.

just dont whatever you do tighten the bolts up with said impact driver. they do not need to be done up anywhere near that tight