adding front fork suspension travel
Road Warrior
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 1,755
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From: Northern Los Angeles area.
I'd like to know also. I too ride an XL Low and at this stage all I could come up with is to change the front end and put in Roadster damper rods, springs etc... not sure if that makes sense though, seeing I am too new to understand the implications of such a swap.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 3,212
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You can't noticeably increase the stroke on the stock suspension. The small change really isn't worth the effort/money. Easiest way to achieve what you want would be to swap a longer one onto it.
Last edited by Scuba10jdl; Mar 18, 2013 at 10:32 PM.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2012
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From: Bumfuk Egypt
If your already bottoming out, then your at the max suspension travel already.
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Club Member
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From: Bedford UK
Yes, you can! I have done it on my SuperLow. What I found, having identified the appalling ride quality, was to have my dealer strip my forks and check them. There was nothing actually wrong, according to them. Looking more closely, I realised that although they have 4" approx total travel, most of that was taken up by static sag. In other words when sitting on the bike, most of the fork travel was used up.
I had the forks stripped and the springs replaced with RaceTech single-rate springs, and had the static sag set correctly. Instead of just over an inch of travel, I now have just over two inches. So my travel is increased by around an inch. Is my comfort improved? Not really! I also have Gold Emulators and they are no improvement either. A lot of money spent to get an extra inch....
However to answer OP's question, by adding a suitable spacer above the stock springs, you may be able to achieve the same results as me, of giving yourself extra fork travel. I haven't tried it myself, but worth investigating.
I had the forks stripped and the springs replaced with RaceTech single-rate springs, and had the static sag set correctly. Instead of just over an inch of travel, I now have just over two inches. So my travel is increased by around an inch. Is my comfort improved? Not really! I also have Gold Emulators and they are no improvement either. A lot of money spent to get an extra inch....
However to answer OP's question, by adding a suitable spacer above the stock springs, you may be able to achieve the same results as me, of giving yourself extra fork travel. I haven't tried it myself, but worth investigating.