Special triple tree standard lower fork tubes

[rangerguy302]

I found a SCREAMING deal for a complete front end with air shocks on eBay. It's for a 79special and I'm wondering if it's a direct bolt on, and if the lower fork tubes from a standard are compatible with the special upper. Any advice?

[DiverRay]

The tubes will NOT interchange. You CAN bolt the Special forks and tree's onto the front end of the Standard, though.

[rangerguy302]

What about the rest of the lower hardware? I know the breaks won't work but will the rim axle bolt and such work? Didn't find anything in the interchange guide.

[Eveready1100]

Mate, you'd be best off using the complete fork setup off the Special. However, at a pinch, you CAN fit the Standard lowers onto the Special upper tubes. You have to use all the inner bits to match the sliders but it does work. The main downside is that you end up with a set of forks that are about 4 inches longer than normal, so some improvisation is needed to give you peace of mind when you put it on the kickstand, and a lot more effort is required to heave it up onto the centrestand. I did this with my bike due to a parts drama some years ago which was supposed to be temporary until the correct parts arrived, but it stayed this way for about 2 years before I got around to fixing it properly. My solution was to make a set of bar risers that lifted the bars about an inch, but also move the bars back enough to allow me to slide the fork tubes right up through the triple trees to get the bike sitting more or less level.


^ you can see how far the tubes protrude from the top of the triple clamps in this pic


The bike sat nicely and the forks worked perfectly in all conditions

P.S> here's where this mod was talked about originally - http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread...ighlight=forks

[rangerguy302]

Hey Eveready 1100 thank you for the link. Do you remember what all parts had to be swapped to make the forks work? I've got the riser issue under control, just need to know what I'm walking into do I can get it done in a day with (hopefully) no supprises. Never had a set of forks apart before , are there any trouble some wear points you know of ?

[Eveready1100]

Mate, it won't be too difficult to get it done in a day so long as you have a manual handy for a reference.
Trickiest bit of the process is getting the Allen bolts undone in the bottom of the fork sliders. It's easiest to first drain the oil from the forks, then with the bikes weight still on the front end, loosen those Allen bolts.


^ Special tools for the job,
11/16ths head for the Special's forks
3/4 head bolt for the standard forks
If you've got a rattle gun, use it as those bolts sometimes have been Loctited in. Then put the bike up on the centrestand and loosen the fork tube caps before undoing the bolts on the triple clamps. Then remove the front wheel, guard and drop the calipers off and tie them up to the bike frame to keep them out of your way. If you have successfully gotten those bottom Allen bolts undone, the sliders should just slide off the bottom of the fork tubes. If not, drop the forks down out of the clamps and work on them on the bench. Tip the sliders upside down and the damper rods should fall out. Keep the matching Allen bolts together with the sliders, as they are a different size to the ones used on the other forks. Here's a link to a thread where different tools are used to hold the damper rods in place if all else fails.-http://xs1100.com.au/forum/index.php...sg2786#msg2786

The damper rods are the main difference in the internals of the different sliders.

Disassemble the other set of forks (on the other side of the bench) and clean everything and lay them out keeping all the respective bits together. You'll notice the the Special tubes (and springs) are about 3 1/2 inches longer than the standard ones. Also note that the Special caps are a different thread to the Standards, so you can't really mess that up.

Now get the Standard damper rods and fit them into the Special tubes. I held the rod on my Special tool on a looong extention bar and lowered the slider onto it. Then put the Allen bolt in from the top. Much easier this way



Then simply turn the fork up the right way and drop the Specials spring in.
I then found its easier to fit the fork back into the triple clamp just to hold it while refilling the fork with oil then fit the fork cap.
repeat the other side and you should be all done.
Any dramas, Pm me.

[rangerguy302]

Thanks again eveready, I built the tool today. I'm hoping that when I get into the standard tubes I don't find broken bits. The battleship has this jumping back n forth thing at 80mph....scares the SH*T out of me. I'm hoping this will fix the issue as well as the rebound SMACK it's had since day one when I bought it. Waiting for the risers to get in and to get a chunk of PVC for the fork seals. I'll get the kids involved in this too, give them the 1/4 rattle gun to play with. Teach them young....

[skids]

[QUOTE=rangerguy302;505949]Thanks again eveready, I built the tool today. I'm hoping that when I get into the standard tubes I don't find broken bits. The battleship has this jumping back n forth thing at 80mph....scares the SH*T out of me. (snip)/QUOTE]

Don't forget to check the adjustment on the trailing arm bearings. It can make a big difference. Also be aware of the typo in the Clymers book for torque (I can't remember what it is supposed to be...)

[motoman]

[QUOTE=skids;505955]

Thanks again eveready, I built the tool today. I'm hoping that when I get into the standard tubes I don't find broken bits. The battleship has this jumping back n forth thing at 80mph....scares the SH*T out of me. (snip)/QUOTE]

Don't forget to check the adjustment on the trailing arm bearings. It can make a big difference. Also be aware of the typo in the Clymers book for torque (I can't remember what it is supposed to be...)

Rangerguy, using an air gun will spin those bolts right out without spinning the fork tubes.

+1 on the torgue specs in Clymers manual Sid........definitely a serious misprint! Also can't remember what actual torgue is, but what Clymers has printed IS way,way to many ft.lbs of torgue and WILL ruin those swing-arm bearings...even if it allows swing-arm to pivot up or down!

[rangerguy302]

Good thing I'm doing those this summer....got a feeling that I already screwed those up. Would you happen to know what the torque is?

[motoman]

Good thing I'm doing those this summer....got a feeling that I already screwed those up. Would you happen to know what the torque is?

Not right off, but someone may chime in with the correct torgue spec.

[Radioguylogs]

Swing Arm Bearings

Swing Arms bearings torque should be 47 inch lbs. not 47 foot lbs as shown in the Clymer's.

[rangerguy302]

Yup....I I'm sure I ruined them now, I remember seeing 47lbs somewhere and did just that. Thank God for eBay...going to do the forks this weekend hopefully, the kids are chomping at the bit about going for a ride.

[FJ111200]

I'm confused now.
So the Haynes manual and the info on the UK forum is wrong?
http://xs1100.com/forum/index.php?to...39307#msg39307

[DiverRay]

Yes, they are both wrong.
From Yamaha LIT-11616-02-42, -40. My '78 through '81 Yamaha Service Manual.
Page 5-17, swing arm /frame gap.
Gap should be withing 1.6mm (0.062") of each other.
Torque pivot shaft 0.5 to 0.6m-kg (43 to 52 in-lb)
When gaps are within 1.6mm, tighten pivot shaft lock nut to 10m-kg(72.3ft-lb)