'07 919 fork spring swap

[mdntridr]

Hi, I recently bought a set of Traxxion fork springs for my 919, and assumed (big mistake, I know) that changing springs was as easy as it was on my old SV650. The directions that Traxxion supply for my bike indicate that I need special tools to remove the top part of the rod and then the springs. Is this the case? Does someone have a diagram of the '07 forks that they can share so I can judge the level of effort?

In case it matters, I'm very mechanically inclined and have a nice assortment of hand tools as well as an electric impact gun, but no motorcycle-specific tools. I have obviously never worked on a cartridge fork before either...

Thanks in advance,
Greg

[zaq123]

very easy:

I never did it without removing forks but I'm sure it can be done.

remove handlebars out of the way and remove front wheel axle.
undo top caps (don't worry, spring won't jump out) and slowly raise the bottom part of the fork leg so chrome slide goes into it a little. Be careful not to raise it to high or oil will leak. As you raise the leg, the cartridge rod will come up and you will see the spacer and the spring.
Remove slotted washer that sits between nut and the spacer and than take the top cap of with the wrench while holding that lower nut.

pics tell a thousand words

[mdntridr]

I see. It appears to be only slightly more difficult than a straight damper-rod fork. Thanks for the pics, waaaay easier to understand having seen them!

Greg

[rmb]

Thanks for the tutorial!

[zaq123]

Originally Posted by rmb

Thanks for the tutorial!

btw, once you remove the spring, don't let go to the cartridge rod, tie a wire to it or something before you let it go. If you let it go, it will just sink inside and you will need to take forks out as the lower triple won't let you raise the bottom leg far enough so you could reach that rod

[rmb]

Originally Posted by zaq123

btw, once you remove the spring, don't let go to the cartridge rod, tie a wire to it or something before you let it go. If you let it go, it will just sink inside and you will need to take forks out as the lower triple won't let you raise the bottom leg far enough so you could reach that rod

Thanks! After my warranty is up(over next winter) I'm thinking of doing some susp work, I need to recover from recent spending sprees. I think I'll improve greatly with new springs and shock, I have three Givi cases on the back and I'm probably 240 with gear. Still playing with preload setings, havn't touched rebound yet.

[zaq123]

Originally Posted by rmb

Still playing with preload settings, haven't touched rebound yet.

are you talking about the front?
if so, there is no need to play with stock forks as they are way out of your weight range. Crank that preload all the way in and put rebound 2.5 turns out from full in.
I wouldn't wait for the warranty and at least do the min - put 1kg springs in the front. Being 240lbs you will see a drastic difference from the stock, it will be just like new bike. It will be the best $100 you can spend on your 919.

BTW, warranty on 919, especially extended warranty is the biggest scam going IMO, they just don't brake. I've yet to see anyone with 919 who claimed a manufacturing defect

[rmb]

Originally Posted by zaq123

are you talking about the front?
if so, there is no need to play with stock forks as they are way out of your weight range. Crank that preload all the way in and put rebound 2.5 turns out from full in.
I wouldn't wait for the warranty and at least do the min - put 1kg springs in the front. Being 240lbs you will see a drastic difference from the stock, it will be just like new bike. It will be the best $100 you can spend on your 919.

BTW, warranty on 919, especially extended warranty is the biggest scam going IMO, they just don't brake. I've yet to see anyone with 919 who claimed a manufacturing defect

Thanks for the tip, I'll do that tomorrow, I did set preload two more notches and that made a world of difference. I plan on springs(possibly in the near future). What would you recomend for the rear, currently I have preload @3and havn't touched rebound yet. What brand of springs is good?( Racethch, Ohlins?) I think I'm going to save my pennies for Ohlins rear shock over the winer.