PRELOAD FRONT FORK SPRING ADJUSTER KIT - ebay: SSR

[RobMoore]

Thanks a bunch. I have a couple '08 SV650 caps sitting in my garage, I guess it was too good to be true if they fit. Oh well, at least the .85 racetech springs from that bike are the same.

[ok]

Fork caps from Thundercat works great in therms of size (41mm) and thread. But you have to cut "tube" with compress spring, and use washer. For now i have only photo after install. I will look for rest of photos to show "How its made"  

[Guest ChicagoAJ]

Can someone chime in and let me know if removing the handlebars is necessary for installation? After looking at the bike it would seem like using a jointed socket would do the trick and be able to get by the handlebar. Hell, looks like a box wrench would work too.
 
Also, can you do this with the bike on the side stand? I have a fork stand but it won't take the load off the bike as it's not a triple tree stand.
 
I'm looking to get the SSR adjusters for $99.

[pattonme]

Yes you can do this with the bike on a non-yoke stand. but really just unbolt the handlebars.
 
if you can stomach raw machined aluminum (or the recycled Gold version), you can get my fork caps... $45 or $70.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/180639/Forks-by-Matt/FZ07/2015-10-10%2023.02.56.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/180639/2015-08-15%2001.14.33.jpg
 

[Guest ChicagoAJ]

Awesome, I'll keep them in mind. Trying to stick with my color scheme of silver/blue though. Thanks for the info.

[thegrommet]

Reviving an old thread but I think it is worth it. I put about 2500kms on this bike before I got these and my main complaints were all related to the fork. I was getting heavy dive under even light braking and the front end just always felt soft. I adjusted the rear shock which helped with the back end but made the front end feel even worse by comparison. I bought these and am quite happy. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect but the bike sits flat now and I feel much more confident in the handling. I feel like I now understand what reviews of the bike were talking about - this bike is now a lot of fun. Adding a preload adjustment certainly doesn't cure everything that ails the forks but it makes the lack of rebound and compression adjustments less of a problem (but certainly still a problem if you were planning to track the bike). Also - there is a ton of adjustment available in these- I am using a small fraction of what is available.
Important additional info:
I am ~200lbs without gear - it's very possible a lighter rider doesn't need these to get the handling I am now enjoying.
The bike is my daily driver, I put about 300kms a week on it for work riding on city roads and highways plus whatever other riding I do.
I never take it to a track.
Semi aggressive riding at times- nothing too heavy, just generally fucking around sometimes.
My last bike was a CBR (but it has been awhile)

[Guest ChicagoAJ]

Reviving an old thread but I think it is worth it. I put about 2500kms on this bike before I got these and my main complaints were all related to the fork. I was getting heavy dive under even light braking and the front end just always felt soft. I adjusted the rear shock which helped with the back end but made the front end feel even worse by comparison. I bought these and am quite happy. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect but the bike sits flat now and I feel much more confident in the handling. I feel like I now understand what reviews of the bike were talking about - this bike is now a lot of fun. Adding a preload adjustment certainly doesn't cure everything that ails the forks but it makes the lack of rebound and compression adjustments less of a problem (but certainly still a problem if you were planning to track the bike). Also - there is a ton of adjustment available in these- I am using a small fraction of what is available. Important additional info:
I am ~200lbs without gear - it's very possible a lighter rider doesn't need these to get the handling I am now enjoying.
The bike is my daily driver, I put about 300kms a week on it for work riding on city roads and highways plus whatever other riding I do.
I never take it to a track.
Semi aggressive riding at times- nothing too heavy, just generally f@#%ing around sometimes.
My last bike was a CBR (but it has been awhile)

What preload adjusters did you end up buying?

[ssdawood]

Good info I am watching these and was planning on buying.
 
Your review I think I am going to buy now.

[thegrommet]

I bought the SSR ones - link has changed but they are still available: http://www.ebay.ca/itm/YAMAHA-FZ-07-FZ07-FZ7-BILLET-PRELOAD-FRONT-FORK-SPRING-ADJUSTER-ADJUSTOR-KIT/271960485530?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140620075055%26meid%3Da8d4ef258e644be29bc5b444f61c0674%26pid%3D100011%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D2%26sd%3D231440902372
 
I noticed cheaper ones have since surfaced but I have no information about them.

[detours]

I bought these fork preload adjuster caps for $99 and installed them this morning. I got the black caps with silver adjusters.
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271960485530
 
I don't have a headstand, but I did one side at a time. When you pop the fork cap off, the spacer pushes out of the top. To install the new cap, I had to push the bike toward the side stand to drop the spacer enough to fit the cap. There's probably smarter ways to do it, but it worked.
 
Went for a ride and wow, for all the damping issues in the suspension, it sure is nice to at least have the correct sag front and rear! There's a lot less brake dive, and the front and rear finally respond the same (or close enough) to the same bumps.
 
I probably should have ordered the $35 ones on ebay, but didn't want to wait 6 weeks to get them. Plus, these have a little more preload adjustment than the others (starts at 7.5mm instead of 10mm). I didn't know how much preload I would need and wanted to start with less and work my way up. I'm about 200 lbs geared up and I only needed a few turns to firm up the forks. I'll experiment with more settings over the next few days.

[peteinpa]

For no cost, see this post: http://fz07.org/thread/6187/fork-spacer-more-preload

[sixthandredline]

I have a question about preload adjusters. I installed some cheap ebay ones and I noticed that if I push down on my front end I can hear a little bit of air being pushed in and out of one of them. Preload adjusters in general dont look like they would be super air tight but is this something I should worry about? I am considering putting the stock caps back on and doing spacers if so. I guess more than anything I am worried about moisture getting in and causing the oil viscosity to change over time.

[sansnombre]

They are supposed to be airtight. Do they have an o-ring?

[Guest ChicagoAJ]

I have a question about preload adjusters. I installed some cheap ebay ones and I noticed that if I push down on my front end I can hear a little bit of air being pushed in and out of one of them. Preload adjusters in general dont look like they would be super air tight but is this something I should worry about? I am considering putting the stock caps back on and doing spacers if so. I guess more than anything I am worried about moisture getting in and causing the oil viscosity to change over time.

Did you swap the big o-ring from the stock fork caps to the new preload adjusters? If not, there's your problem. 

[sixthandredline]

It came with comparable o-rings. Maybe I should use the stock ones. Im sure they are a better material. Its hard to tell but it sounds like its coming out of the adjuster in the center. Ill swap this weekend and see what happens. On a side note, check out my apparatus for getting the front wheel off the ground.

 

[Beemer]

I would think just about any 41mm adjustable fork caps will work. No need to be spendy! http://www.ebay.com/itm/XT500-FRONT-PRELOAD-FORK-CAP-YAMAHA-XT-500-1990-1996-ADJUSTABLE-FORK-CAP-/261461612577?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3ce0539821&vxp=mtr

$65 savings, wow!

[Guest ChicagoAJ]

I would think just about any 41mm adjustable fork caps will work. No need to be spendy! http://www.ebay.com/itm/XT500-FRONT-PRELOAD-FORK-CAP-YAMAHA-XT-500-1990-1996-ADJUSTABLE-FORK-CAP-/261461612577?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3ce0539821&vxp=mtr

$65 savings, wow!

There's some that are around $30 bucks now with free shipping. Would I trust them? Probably not. 

[pattonme]

I installed some cheap ebay ones and I noticed that if I push down on my front end I can hear a little bit of air being pushed in and out of one of them. 

One set that came to me had an O-ring that was WAAY too small to have any prayer of sealing. And leaked significant oil. This was between the bore of the preload adjuster and itself. I don't know if I'd call even good ones air-tight by any stretch but the leakage should be minimal. A component of the fork behavior is that of an air-spring and if your air is leaking at will you have none.

[pattonme]

Not to be a crass advertiser, but I can supply adjustable fork caps in either gold or silver main bodies with silver preload adjusters. See my thread: http://fz07.org/thread/3169/product-silver-adjustable-fork-caps
 

[Guest ChicagoAJ]

Not to be a crass advertiser, but I can supply adjustable fork caps in either gold or silver main bodies with silver preload adjusters. See my thread: http://fz07.org/thread/3169/product-silver-adjustable-fork-caps

Do they come with o-rings?

[pattonme]

Do they come with o-rings?

 
Of course. Both the main one and the one that goes on the preload adjuster.

[Guest ChicagoAJ]

Do they come with o-rings?

Of course. Both the main one and the one that goes on the preload adjuster.

What's the main one? Is there one that goes on the inside of the fork tube or something?

[pattonme]

unscrew your fork cap a bit and look. Yes there's a ~32x4mm o-ring.

[Beemer]

$65 savings, wow!

There's some that are around $30 bucks now with free shipping. Would I trust them? Probably not. 

I feel the same way but if I see enough positive reviews about something or I know what to look for and the specs look good I'll take a chance. In my experience, not all inexpensive things are made cheap and if you do get a bad apple you can usually return it. Come to think of it, I've bought expensive things and they turned out to be sh*t so what does that say about price alone?

[hugson2wheels]

I took a gamble on some Chinese adjustable fork preload caps from eBay. Total utter GARBAGE!!!!! I installed them using a cloth rag as to not scratch the anodizing. Small chunks of aluminum broke right off! They cost me $28 shipped. I examined the metal using a 10x photography loop and the color of the aluminum varies a lot and looks awful. I'm just glad it happened during install and not under load. Lol [emoji12] [emoji38] [emoji16] I'll post a pic and the name of the brand.... They make rearsets and some other stuff. I would stay away.
 
 
PS Anyone know where I can buy some quality adjustable preload fork caps? I want to pair them up with some 15w oil.