Dropping forks thru yokes - pointers please! NOW DONE!!

[Corners R Us]

I'm about to complement my shortened rear dog bones by dropping the front forks thru the yokes a smidge, probably 10mm as a first adjustment .

1. Do I need to take the fairing off to make life easier

2. Is it i best to have the bike on a paddock stand and support it with a plank under the pipes and lower it gently once everything slackened off Or is it ok to just have it on a paddock stand

3. How tight are the yoke clamps done up Will an allen key bit in a socket on a ratchet do the job I spy one bar clamp,1 top yoke and 2 bottom yoke allen key bolts either side. Nothing else to undoe is there

Any pointers/pitfalls to avoid appreciated .

I managed to generate a couple of hours me time today and fortuitously my m8 on his 08 GSXR-750 just happened to appear so we took a quick 45-mins around the local twisties to blow away the winter cob webs ! First time I've ridden the bike since buying it before Xmas and I've only just stopped smiling but as usual you notice a variety of little jobs that need doing ....ah its good to be back in the land of fettle ! Also discovered that it had sod all petrol in it...realised when it coughed, spluttered and died on me ! Luckily putting it onto reserve allowed me to get to a petrol station and £14 latter the tank was brimmed again !

Corners

[cobbadiggabuddyblooo]

Gidday mate... no need to remove the fairing to do the job.
I found just by keeping the bike on the stand I'd loosen the left hand fork and with the weight of the bike upon the forks I could grab ahold of of the fork under the bottom yoke and turn and lift it through the yoke.
Then lock it off in place then do the other side.
I personally have about 40mm from the top yoke to the bottom of the fork cap but havent made the the dogbone mod yet. How much shorter did you go out of interest?

[Corners R Us]

Thanks for the insight. Shorter dogbones were on the bike when I bought it. I compared the stock ones to those on the bike and they look to be 20mm shorter? I've got the bag they came in somehwere so will check l8tr.

Corners

[Kayla]

Here's how I did mine-

First check everything's done up properly. Next, undo the top yoke bolts and then re-do them but only until they start to nip up, this is tight enough to hold the weight of the bike. Then undo the lower yoke bolts fully. The bike should be supported at the front by the top yoke. Now, pick a fork leg, left or right it doesn't matter. Just undo the top yoke bolt on that leg (don't worry, the bike is supported by the other leg) and slowly rotate the stanchion, putting slight upward pressure on it as you twist it. You should find the stanchion slides up through the yoke easily. Do each leg 5mm at a time, nipping the top bolt up each time, until you've reached the measurement you want. I did it this way and I'm a feebleton For reference, my bike has a 20mm lift at the rear and a 20mm drop at the front. Lovely.

edit- I just read the posts and Cobba's done it the same way as me

[idl1975]

If you're feeling flush, invest in a yoke-type front end stand. You'll need to make sure it comes with a pin the correct size (quite large - 21mm?).

I'm about to complement my shortened rear dog bones by dropping the front forks thru the yokes a smidge, probably 10mm as a first adjustment .

1. Do I need to take the fairing off to make life easier

2. Is it i best to have the bike on a paddock stand and support it with a plank under the pipes and lower it gently once everything slackened off Or is it ok to just have it on a paddock stand

3. How tight are the yoke clamps done up Will an allen key bit in a socket on a ratchet do the job I spy one bar clamp,1 top yoke and 2 bottom yoke allen key bolts either side. Nothing else to undoe is there

Any pointers/pitfalls to avoid appreciated .

I managed to generate a couple of hours me time today and fortuitously my m8 on his 08 GSXR-750 just happened to appear so we took a quick 45-mins around the local twisties to blow away the winter cob webs ! First time I've ridden the bike since buying it before Xmas and I've only just stopped smiling but as usual you notice a variety of little jobs that need doing ....ah its good to be back in the land of fettle ! Also discovered that it had sod all petrol in it...realised when it coughed, spluttered and died on me ! Luckily putting it onto reserve allowed me to get to a petrol station and £14 latter the tank was brimmed again !

Corners

[Corners R Us]

Done! Had a trying day at work today so decided to treat myself to some me time in the garage with my tool chest and the TRX! And breath one two three....possibly not the best state of mind to undertake a potentially tricky job but I did!!

Did the left fork leg first in 5 mins. 30 mins and a lot of huffing and puffing later I had the same drop on the right side. Ideally I think you need two sets of hands to loosen/tighten/support weight of front end to achieve this job easily and accurately. I 'cheated' in the end and used the handle bar locating pin bolt to fine tune the right side to exactly the same measurement as the left as the fork leg kept sliding too far through - grrrrrrrrrrr! Only by 2-3mm but enough to need correcting! So I set the handlebar on the fork leg to exactly where I wanted it measurement wise then slackened off the yoke bolt a smidge and used the handlebar locating bolt to nip up the gap between the underside of the bar clamp and the top yoke - well it worked for me!! Kinda pround I thought of that all by myself!!

I marked all the bolts before I undid them to ensure I didn't overtighten them, but I'll invest in a torque wrench in the next couple of days to check all the bolts I've disturbed tonight. Happy days - another tool for the tool chest!!

When people say they have 40mm through do they mean from the top of the fork leg (excluding adjusters) to the top of the top yoke? Thats what I've gone for in the end as anything less didn't seem worthwhile. Bike still leans over a fair ways with the shortened dog bones but it doesn't look so precarious as before. I can also get both feet flat on the floor where as before I was more on tippy toes - I am only 5ft 8" short!!

Looking forward to some dry roads and getting out and seeing how this mod coupled with the dog bones sharpens up the steering.

Corners - just about a competent DIY mechanic!!

[steve speed]

well done, don't it feel good doing it yourself ? now buy a proper torque wrench from 0-25nm and check your bolts you need a good one of these as its needed for the cam caps when you do your shims

[Corners R Us]

Yep, very satisfying when you achieve something outside of your comfort zone - I'm an office worker and my lap top is my chosen weapon of choice not a spanner!! I stopped fiddling with cars and bikes years ago when my salary hit a level that meant I could afford to pay someone to do it...but whats the fun in that!!

I've looked in the Haynes manual and the torque settings are Nm. I've been having a poke around Machine Mart to see what they've got and found this relatively cheap 3/8 drive torque wrench which is compatible with my 3/8 socket set and the allen key bits in sockets I bought to do this job.

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/produ ... wrenches-2

However I notice its range is from 1.4 to 11.1 Kg/m ( 120 to 960 in/lbs ). How does that stack up to Nm's!!

Probably a numpty question but I'm on a learning curve here!! Off to find a conversion table on the net.....

Cheers, Corners

Done a bit of research and I think 1Nm = 8.851lb/in? If so the above torque wrench wont go down low enough for the bolts in question. Think one of them was 10Nm = 88.5lb/in and this wrench starts at 120 in/lbs? Correct??!!

Done a bit of poking about Evil BAy and Draper do one that looks like it will fit the job better:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/DRAPER-34570-3-8- ... 240%3A1318

Might be a trip to Halfrauds for one then! Any pointers where else to get a decent/reasonably priced 3/8 torque wrench appreciated.

Corners

[steve speed]

the one i use is a sealey 3/8" drive model No.stw 1012 and its 2-24nm or1.47-17.70 lb.ft ,,, get this one if you can it comes with a calibration certificate ,, you do NOT want a cheap one this cost me £25 from evilbay and it is perfect for cam caps and engine work

[Corners R Us]

Nice one Steve. I think I spied some Sealey ones on my travel on the bay! I'll go have a poke around some more. Before you know it I'll be doing an 878cc rebuild from the bottom up!!

Corners

[steve speed]

Nice one Steve. I think I spied some Sealey ones on my travel on the bay! I'll go have a poke around some more. Before you know it I'll be doing an 878cc rebuild from the bottom up!!

Corners

its one of the best mods ive done ,,, not cheap though my motor has had nearly a grand spent on it now,, and i did all the work ! but i still would not have any other bike ,, were in the world are you ??

[Corners R Us]

Gloucester...down sarf (M5 jnc 11).

Found some Classic Car online outlet selling the Sealey STW1012 for £33 + £5 P&P (RRP £67). Ones on evil bay are £38 + P&P. Happy to spend that kind of money for a quality tool!

Will have a mooch round my local suppliers at the weekend and see what I can turn up as it looks unlikley that the TRX will be seeing the streets this weekend! More fettling looming!!

This is the second TRX I've had and I'll be keeping it for the long term so an 878 rebuild over a distant winter is likely when the motor needs refreshing. Currently got 13K on the clock and bikes a minter so I'm keen to leave largely as is and improve the running gear rather than change its looks dramatically - sleeper TRX is my intent.

Currently spec as I bought it is: K&N filter with Harpoon oval cans (baffles still in at moment). 16T front sprocket. Shorter dog bones/forks dropped through now and I have a set of Ohlins springs still in the box they came in as they were never fitted to the bike. They'll be fitted at some point soon, possibly by me! When the rear shock needs replacing I'll upgrade that end too. Bike also has blue spots off a Thundercat and I'll likely investigate a better master cylinder to further improve stopping power. Waveys all round are also on the list of replacement items when the OE discs wear out. Only other mod likely is a set of rearsets and some race plastics for track days. Thats the next couple of years sorted!!

Ideally I'd like to put some flat bars on it but retain the fairings and mirrors as is to keep the sleeper aspect going. More investigation required on that front!!

Thanks again for pointers. I love forums!!

Corners