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Fork time!!!

Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 11:10 am
by MACHINE GUN
Okey dokey gents...fork build time for me! Stock forks...good shape, no rust or pitting. Pretty damn clean actually. Aside from the obvious stuff (seals, dust seals) what's the general consensus on upgrades? I'm planning on cutting the springs to achieve the desired rate & I read quite a few articles about the emaulators. But what about adjustable pre-load caps? Does anyone make these? Fork oil recommendations??? I read that article in the wiki & now I'm curious as to lots!

Re: Fork time!!!

Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 12:51 pm
by mrfreeze5
Kudos on finding the WIKI, lots of good info there. Another useful tool on our site is the search button. It works really well, I greased it myself. :cheers: Emulators, preload, springs, oil, etc has all been covered in depth in the past. And be sure to add your location to your profile. FZRs can vary depending on the year and continent you're on.

Re: Fork time!!!

Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 2:06 pm
by yamaha_george
MACHINE GUN wrote:Okey dokey gents...fork build time for me! Stock forks...good shape, no rust or pitting. Pretty damn clean actually. Aside from the obvious stuff (seals, dust seals) what's the general consensus on upgrades? I'm planning on cutting the springs to achieve the desired rate & I read quite a few articles about the emaulators. But what about adjustable pre-load caps? Does anyone make these? Fork oil recommendations??? I read that article in the wiki & now I'm curious as to lots!
Hi,
JEM did pre-load caps at one time, emulators require non-progressive springs ,no idea where in the world you are so emulator manufacturers and sellers at this point is pretty useless. Spring makers likewise.

Re: Fork time!!!

Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 3:10 pm
by MACHINE GUN
Shiaat!!! Sorry George...I keep forgettin to add my location...will do now! But for the record I'm on Long Island in New York, USA...

Re: Fork time!!!

Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 3:35 pm
by sweekster
I went the very simple and cheap route with my old fzr600 forks when I did the forks...I just went with heavier fork oil. Stock oil is 10w and i went with 30w (no typo there). If I had it to do over I would have just went with 20w oil and a longer pre load spacer. But that's just how I did it.

Re: Fork time!!!

Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 5:00 pm
by fzrbrandon
For my street 600, the oil level recommendation given to me by Race Tech's calculator was 130mm. However, that was with their springs & emulators. For the track 400, the level was 120mm (again - with RT springs & emulators). As previously mentioned, JEM Machine made the preload adjusters but they're no longer in biz. ThatKid was contemplating making some if there was enough interest in them. I have them and have offered to provide pics and measurements so we can get that going. I think he's still mulling it over thoough. For oil weight - stock is 10w, typical upgrade is 15w (maybe even 20w - Duane, 30w??? Sheesh!!!).

Hope that helps! :cheers:

Re: Fork time!!!

Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 7:56 pm
by thatkid
fzrbrandon wrote:For my street 600, the oil level recommendation given to me by Race Tech's calculator was 130mm. However, that was with their springs & emulators. For the track 400, the level was 120mm (again - with RT springs & emulators). As previously mentioned, JEM Machine made the preload adjusters but they're no longer in biz. ThatKid was contemplating making some if there was enough interest in them. I have them and have offered to provide pics and measurements so we can get that going. I think he's still mulling it over thoough. For oil weight - stock is 10w, typical upgrade is 15w (maybe even 20w - Duane, 30w??? Sheesh!!!).

Hope that helps! :cheers:

Oh yeah. I was thinking about these again today. If you do get the time to snap a few pictures and measurements I'd be all about attempting a set. I'm wondering if I can use the stock cap and modify it. If so I think it will cut down a ton of time depending on what the rest looks like. I was also pulling apart a set of LE forks I had lying about. The tubes were bent but the internals were all good. They do some interesting things to the bottom of the tubes. I can see why it costs so much for them revamp the 'ol guys.

Re: Fork time!!!

Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 9:21 pm
by fzrbrandon
thatkid wrote:
fzrbrandon wrote:For my street 600, the oil level recommendation given to me by Race Tech's calculator was 130mm. However, that was with their springs & emulators. For the track 400, the level was 120mm (again - with RT springs & emulators). As previously mentioned, JEM Machine made the preload adjusters but they're no longer in biz. ThatKid was contemplating making some if there was enough interest in them. I have them and have offered to provide pics and measurements so we can get that going. I think he's still mulling it over thoough. For oil weight - stock is 10w, typical upgrade is 15w (maybe even 20w - Duane, 30w??? Sheesh!!!).

Hope that helps! :cheers:

Oh yeah. I was thinking about these again today. If you do get the time to snap a few pictures and measurements I'd be all about attempting a set. I'm wondering if I can use the stock cap and modify it. If so I think it will cut down a ton of time depending on what the rest looks like. I was also pulling apart a set of LE forks I had lying about. The tubes were bent but the internals were all good. They do some interesting things to the bottom of the tubes. I can see why it costs so much for them revamp the 'ol guys.
LOL! I just responded in an unrelated thread about this. I'll try to see what I can do over the next couple days. As for using the existing caps, I'm not so sure that will work because you'll need a fair amount of material for the adjuster's threads. Besides that, they use an o-ring on the male "screw" part for sealing, blah, bla, blah. You'll see what I mean when I get some pics.

Re: Fork time!!!

Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 2:58 am
by markd
I would be interested in buying a set of the adjustable caps! maybe two

Re: Fork time!!!

Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 4:04 am
by fzrbrandon
markd wrote:I would be interested in buying a set of the adjustable caps! maybe two
Yeah, you're not the only one. We should do a poll to find out how just much interest there is.

*EDIT* Okay, I created a poll in the General Discussion forum. Have at it fellas! :headbang: