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Yamaha Tech Originally the Yamaha XT600 Tech Forum, due to demand it now includes all Yamaha's technical / mechanical / repair / preparation questions.
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  #1  
Old 3 Feb 2004
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fork preload
anybody try to preload the front forks on a XT600E ? i was thinking of placing a piece of pipe on top of the springs to preload them a little. the bike is fairly new 03 mod with about 6000km on the clock, but i think the front is waay too soft and sags down when im on it( and no.. im not extremely overweight just a smidgen above 80 kilos) any recomendations on how long the spacer should be and what material i should choose? galvanized pipe,pvc,brass and so on
*keep the rubber side down*
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Old 3 Feb 2004
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Preloading the fork springs with a spacer will only alter the point at which the forks begin to compress. Once you've reached that point, they will compress at exactly the same rate as they do now.

If you want the forks to be firmer throughout their whole stroke, then use a thicker oil to increase damping. This slow's down the action of the forks during compression. It will have the same effect when the forks extend.

Alternatively, add a small amount of fork oil, of the same viscocity, to each fork leg. This will reduce the air gap at the top of each fork & will have a slight damping effect, possibly more towards the end of the compression stroke(?) - this is the cheap & easy option.

If still not happy, preload the forks as you mentioned or try heavy duty or progressively wound fork springs.

You may need to try a combination of the above. THere are books on this subject.

Steve

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Old 3 Feb 2004
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yep im definately going to change to a slightly heavier weight fork oil, but my main concern is the initial sag when i get on the bike.
Adding a homemade spacer is the quick and easy fix, just not sure what i should make it out of and how long each preload spacer should be
*keep the rubber side down*
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Old 3 Feb 2004
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If sagging is the problem you will need other springs. The spacer is NOT a good solution.

Since you are in Norway check out http://www.esp1tech.no/ , he does a great job!

Lykke til!
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Old 3 Feb 2004
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I have'nt looked at a '03 model,but most XT's have an air valve on the top of each fork leg,
If you use a foot pump(not an air line) to increase the air pressure equally in each leg this will help with the sag and the compression,making them much firmer under braking.I usually run mine at 12psi each on the road and 3psi off road.

Good luck,
Griff.
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Old 3 Feb 2004
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Don't think the 'E's have air pre-load - another example of cost-cutting?

If you really want to improve the front then you might try Rach Tech emulators (www.race-tech.com). You can get these in the UK from www.thumpersonly.com for £140.

I don't have anything to do with either of these companies but I have heard great things about these emulator thingos - basically they drag your 60's design fork damping into the 90's. There are many limitiations with the standard XT fork damping - you either get too much or too little. Modern cartridge-type forks are more sophisticated and give better damping. Don't ask me any more questions as that's all I know. I do know that new bikes' forks are way better than old bikes' forks and this is the cheapest way to get new into old. Make sense? I hope so...

Was I sucked in by the hype? We will see...

Why am I so enthusiastic? Because I just forked out (no pun intended) £140 for a pair for my 3AJ. They will take a couple of weeks to arrive but I will post a review here.

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Barry
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Old 4 Feb 2004
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hmm ok Barry i will let you be my guinea pig on this one, be sure to post your findings.. YAY! the snow has melted so tomorrow im riding the bike to work for the first time in 3 weeks.. life is sweet
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Old 4 Feb 2004
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The emulator will not decrease the sagging but it will improve the performance. Cartridges will improve the performance even more then emulators and you will probably eliminate the sagging because you have to get new springs anyway:-))

IMHO air pre-load is not the right thing for a touring bike, but it is easy to make...
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