Fork Air Balance (SG)

[kboehringer]

XS Folks,
Following my recent rebuild of my forks I struggled to get equal air pressure in both forks. Major PITA since the total air volume in a fork is about equal to a soda can any adjustment attempt quickly emptied the air. Eventually, I got them to both hit at slightly less than 10#. The Clymer manual says 14# is maximum.

I've done some searching here and found several threads on using XJ forks on XS bikes and all the huge complications associated with that. I'm not interested in that besides the fact I don't have any XJ forks laying around.

I owned a bike (can't remember which one) that MAY have been my SR500 or one of the few Honda big bikes I owned. The bike had a SIMPLE hose running from top-of-fork to top-of-fork with an air nipple in the middle allowing one-shot air adds or subtracts and obviously equal pressure.

Does anyone offer such a very simple device or hose set-up for the XS forks? If not, I'm going to see if my local Pirtek can make me something....

Thoughts?

Respectfully,
KURT

[jetmechmarty]

I would advise you call it good enough for now. It's cleaned up and serviced. It's going to work fine. Ride it for a while and see how much you like the bike. You've already committed a lot of time and money. You might want to go ahead and upgrade the suspension. Damper rods and air forks are ancient history. With the fluid level that you have, it should be OK without additional air pressure. Also, if the pressure is split by a pound or three, you aren't going to notice any difference.

Enjoy it like it is. Decide on what you want to do to make it better over the winter.

[justinc1081]

agreed! I had air in my forks (80SG) and recently removed all air as an expierment, noticed no difference in ride quality running 7 lbs of air or 0
recently rebuilt forks with new oil should be good with no air if you really want them to match

[kboehringer]

Thanks Folks......

I have plenty of other areas that need a little $$$ and my time & attention so leaving these alone for now is probably the smartest move I can make. I was very pleased with the improvement after cleaning & seals. If there was a cheap little item available I might have tried it.

If funds permit, I may try to have the forks upgraded with emulators and/or whatever is available for an improved suspension. I have no aspiration for making this old DUCK into something that could perform like a modern ride so the $$$ of such an upgrade will need to make good sense for my less-than-aggressive driving style.

Thanks again,
KURT

[MPittma100]

Traxxion Dynamics

Thanks Folks......

I have plenty of other areas that need a little $$$ and my time & attention so leaving these alone for now is probably the smartest move I can make. I was very pleased with the improvement after cleaning & seals. If there was a cheap little item available I might have tried it.

If funds permit, I may try to have the forks upgraded with emulators and/or whatever is available for an improved suspension. I have no aspiration for making this old DUCK into something that could perform like a modern ride so the $$$ of such an upgrade will need to make good sense for my less-than-aggressive driving style.

Thanks again,
KURT

The suspension (fork) upgrade that Marty mentions is available from Traxxion Dynamics in Woodstock, GA.

A few of us here have taken advantage of their service. The general consensus is that "the bike is transformed" into a modern bike suspension. I rate this "mod" as the top upgrade to any XS1100. They offer rear shock/spring improvements as well.

Steering, handling, and less rough road feel are the intended improvements. After this upgrade, you will wonder why you did not do it sooner.

It is not a cheap upgrade, but I firmly believe that it adds value to the bike while you own it and when you sell it.

[jetmechmarty]

Thanks Folks......

I have plenty of other areas that need a little $$$ and my time & attention so leaving these alone for now is probably the smartest move I can make. I was very pleased with the improvement after cleaning & seals. If there was a cheap little item available I might have tried it.

If funds permit, I may try to have the forks upgraded with emulators and/or whatever is available for an improved suspension. I have no aspiration for making this old DUCK into something that could perform like a modern ride so the $$$ of such an upgrade will need to make good sense for my less-than-aggressive driving style.

Thanks again,
KURT

The emulator/spring upgrade will make a huge improvement in braking. It also does better on bumps. It just plain does a better job of keeping the tire on the pavement. It's worthwhile on a machine that is ridden. For a garage queen or museum piece, maybe not.

[MPittma100]

Traxxion Dynamics

Thanks Folks......

I have plenty of other areas that need a little $$$ and my time & attention so leaving these alone for now is probably the smartest move I can make. I was very pleased with the improvement after cleaning & seals. If there was a cheap little item available I might have tried it.

If funds permit, I may try to have the forks upgraded with emulators and/or whatever is available for an improved suspension. I have no aspiration for making this old DUCK into something that could perform like a modern ride so the $$$ of such an upgrade will need to make good sense for my less-than-aggressive driving style.

Thanks again,
KURT

The suspension (fork) upgrade that Marty mentions is available from Traxxion Dynamics in Woodstock, GA.

A few of us here have taken advantage of their service. The general consensus is that "the bike is transformed" into a modern bike suspension. I rate this "mod" as the top upgrade to any XS1100. You will not use the air pressure feature as a result of this upgrade. They also offer rear shock/spring improvements.

Steering, handling, and less rough road feel are the intended improvements. After this upgrade, you will wonder why you did not do it sooner.

It is not a cheap upgrade, but I firmly believe that it adds value to the bike while you own it and when you sell it.

[mlew]

Getting the same pressure in each fork is easy. Set your outlet regulator on the air compressor to whatever pressure you want, say 5 psi. That way when you fill the fork it will only pressurize to that amount.
The fork upgrade the others were referring to work wonders, I did it on mu SG.