Originally Posted by rooti

Following what was going on while you were trying to set your sag I'ld guess the .90 is going to be the best choice...Can't wait until you get it in and start playing with it.

I've decided to go back in and change the fork oil to 5w and cut my spacer another 1/4-1/2" and see how I like it before I spring for the spring. I'll let you do all the expermentation first.

Thanks Pal

Originally Posted by rooti

Don't you want to test out your new springs with the 5w before changing back? With the lighter springs you can actually set the sag properly and actually have some tension on the springs. I'm going to hold off regardless since I am changing out the bars now. I've got the new bars in and love the position. It was exactly what I was looking for. Gotta pull the tank again to get more throttle wire and get to the wiring. I ended up going with bikers choice bars, 8" tall, 8.5 pullback, and 30.5 wide. That may seem like alot of pullback to you, but my bars are 3" shorter then yours. The pullback puts me right in the same place as the stock bars but raises my arms and also straightens my wrist some. I'll post pics when I get it finished. The bonus is I don't have to take the bars off when I take the fork caps off. Big time saver.

I wouldn't have done the bars yet if it wasn't for you and the new windvest clamps. Mocked up the clamps and windvest and it will work out great. If you want my stock chrome clamps I'll send them to you.

Did you need more throttle wire when you did your bars? What was the easiest way to pull more slack?

Originally Posted by SC-Longhair

I wanted to add my setup to this since I recently repaired a blown fork seal.

I ordered some #5 Amsoil Shock Therapy. Had it in two days, direct from Amsoil. I certainly can't complain about the combined Amsoil/UPS effort to deliver it quickly.

I was going to purchase a set of 1.0kg single rate springs from Traxxion but after talking with Dan @ Traxxion he recommended I start tweaking with the stock springs first. He mentioned the stock springs are in the .96/kg range. Just food for thought.

After I disassembled, cleaned all internal parts and reassembled using approx 30oz of #5 in each tube (service manual calls for 29.6oz for my fxdwg) and my Intiminators.

I cut new spacers using 1.25" sched 40 pvc (if I recall it has an O.D. of 1.5") and added about 1.5" of preload to each side. Oddly enough the measurements from the top of the spring to the top of the tube differed by 1/4". Didn't make sense to me at all. One side was 8.25" and the other was 8.5". So spacer lengths are 9.75" and 10.0" respectively. I wonder if the Intiminator on the lower side hadn't fully seated. I may have to double check it now to see if the measurement changed. If so I'll cut a new spacer to more closely match the other side.

I went out for a good ride last night, doing about 50mi round trip on city and highway. The bike definitely felt more stable with regards to the front end. Previously I was really losing confidence in it.

Brake dive isn't completely gone but it's quite a bit less than what I previously experienced.

The larger bumps and such in the road are still kinda harsh but I s'pose that's the compromise you make is having a suspension that is more planted. The smaller ones are barely noticeable compared to before where I felt just about everything.

I can say this...the fork oil I had in there previously (redline #5) was way too thin and after only about a year was a murky purplish compared to the bright red it was upon install.

I've thought about purchasing a set of the preload adjusters like Squid but I lack the clearance between tree and handlebars. I'm running 1.5" tall risers. Apes look stupid on tall(er) risers, at least IMO, so I guess my setup is not necessarily a good candidate.
Would be nice to have that extra level of adjustability. If I decide to swap out to a T-bar style handlebar, then I'll look into the preload adjusters.

I didn't take any photos or videos of the disassembly/assembly.

I set the forks approx 1 1/8" above the top tree. I don't usually run them that high as I had nice chrome fork cap covers but I think the slight drop in the front end helps to tame it a little. It's still no sportbike but I definitely rode with some confidence last night.

I may change the springs in the future but doesn't make sense at this point since my riding season is quickly coming to a close.

I think my bike just became fun to ride again.

[EDIT] I did take two photos of my homemade fork tube holder that I made out of a scrap piece of 2x4. If I had a band saw available it would have been much more precise but I made due with my cordless skilsaw.





I just couldn't justify spending $50+ on a fork tube holder that I could make for $0.