Very stiff

[planedick]

I wonder what I can do to make the forks move a little more up and down. They are so darn stiff they only move about one inch and that is over a speed bump hard enough to rattle my teeth. My other forks would move as much as 4" on hard braking and these don't move only about 1/4" with hard front brake use.

[XSPastor]

Hmmm. Do you know if a PO may have replaced the springs with much stiffer ones? Have you changed your fork oil lately? I guess if the oil got really sludgey or if someone put gear lube in the forks, that could make them pretty stiff. Those are the only ideas I have.

[skids]

The fluid only acts as a damper. If the springs are at maximum compression, ie bottoming-out, it is time for new ones. Preload only starts the springs at an already shortened length, so that will probably not work to adjust that if they are actually bottoming out...

I wonder what I can do to make the forks move a little more up and down. They are so darn stiff they only move about one inch and that is over a speed bump hard enough to rattle my teeth. My other forks would move as much as 4" on hard braking and these don't move only about 1/4" with hard front brake use.

[randy]

Rich,

The fork preload is adjustable. Pull the rubber covers off the tops, you'll see a slotted adjuster in there, three settings are available, full left is soft, full right is hard. Use a BIG screwdriver and push down/turn to set.

[XSPastor]

The fluid only acts as a damper. If the springs are at maximum compression, ie bottoming-out, it is time for new ones. Preload only starts the springs at an already shortened length, so that will probably not work to adjust that if they are actually bottoming out...

He is saying that they hardly move at all - not bottom out.

[dbeardslee]

I've got progressive springs in mine, and they stuck out of the tubes about 1.5" before the caps were on when I installed them. Even with these much-longer-than-stock springs I still get some dive in the front end on hard-braking. Are you sure your tubes are straight and undamaged? If they are I'd go with the good reverend's suggestion and change the fork oil.

[Ivan]

too much air in the forks?

I am not sure what the air is supposed to be, but I have 28 psi in mine, since 9 just wasn't enough to keep from scraping the pipes on bumps. I am a big guy, so if you weigh in at less than 300, 28 is probably too much. JAT

[bikerphil]

Compare the springs in your "new" set of forks to the springs in your old set. You could swap them out. The new forks might also have spacers in them to increase the pre-load. JAT

[wa407mpp]

My Manuel calls for 10wt. oil, if you use a heaver oil or overfill the tubes it will cause the forks to be stiff, Did you use preload spacers? I run Progressive springs with a Windjammmer fairing and no spacers without fork sag in fact I cut one turn off the springs and still have 1/2" of the fork above the triple clamps.

[motoman]

Stiff forks

Sounds like you may have some other issues going on. Theres alot of variables to try and eliminate. Make sure physically the forks and tubes are in good shape before resorting to a hydralic issue. My factory dresser likes Silcolene 15w and 6-9psi. Still has the original springs and has no "sag". I believe if front were to bottom out, you already wrecked. What happens over years and miles of hydralics forcing the oil through small orfices to dampen compression and rebound speed is enlargement of orfices, even as minimal as this is, the heavier viscosity oil slows that dampening speed back down. Don't skimp on cost of fork oil either, as the above is as good as it gets, and thats from years of moto-cross racing, not a promo. Let us all know here what the issue was when you get it all straightened out

[planedick]

Oil

I recently purchased these forks from Andreas, very straight, stock springs and arrived seemingly without oil. I found that I had filled them too full. Apparently there was some oil in them and when I put the required amount it was too much. I have since drained out a little and the forks are now much more like what they should be.