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AndyW 04/2004
Why? - Lowering the front of the bike (raising the forks through the
yokes) in relation to the rear
improves the rate/ease that the bike turns in at. With a reduced
length of fork below the lower triple clamp the bikes overall
geometry is changed - the bike will turn in faster but the rear may
become less settled under hard braking as weight has been
transferred further forward and less stable in a straight line at
higher speeds. The balance between achieving the desired
better turn in and undesirable affects is important - dropping the
forks 5mm (amount favoured by most members) gives a notably improved
rate of turn in but has negligible adverse affects. Some members
have dropped the forks through the triple clamps by as much as 8mm
(personal preference, riding technique etc are obviously different
for every rider).
The exact same effect can be achieved by
increasing rear Preload and/or decreasing Preload on the front and
ideally you would only consider dropping the forks after suspension
Sag has been set properly (which we all do....not!). So assuming you
are happy with your Preload settings, drop those forks!
See:
Suspension Settings Notes and
Members Suspension Settings
And here's how to do it á la Skidz:
By
Skidz 10/2003
First of all, locate the clip-on bolt as shown here
(NUMBER 2) and loosen it.
Slide the clip-on down the fork 5mm. Best way I found to do this was
by a metal tape measure.......then tighten up just enough so the
clip on grips the tube but can be moved if required.....
Check when you lower the Clip-on, that the metal lug
pictured here will be in line with the recess in the yoke.....
(Number 3)
Now back to the first picture and time to undo the
yoke bolt for the fork (number 1)
Now, Go down to the triple clamp and undo these
bolts. I suppose there is no particluar order, but i did top first.
(4) Don't forget to do the other side also!
Then when the forks slide down of their own
accord, ensure the clip-on lug has gone fully home.
Check that your 5mm has gone through by checking the part where the
ring has not previously seen the light of day. (AndyW: check that
you have moved both sides equal distances! - a Vernier gauge is
useful if you can get hold of one)
Finally, remember to tighten all bolts up. If you
are in a fortunate position to be able to have a torque wrench, then
set to 16 1/2 lb/ft and tighten up.
For those bolts which are very hard to get to, or if you have the
"pointer" type torque wrench (which will not apply) then tighten
until you are happy.
Jimbo77 29/10/2003
I first put my bike up on the rear paddock stand. I then got out my
floor jack, placed it under the engine by the oil drain plug, then
raised the bike up enough to lift the front wheel off the ground. I
then lowered my clip-ons 5 mm, and tightened again. This gave me a
stop so the tubes didn't go up too far when lowering the bike back
down on the jack. I then loosened the triple clamp bolts. ( I heard
a "boing" sound as the fork tubes alinged themselves in the clamps.
I then lowered the jack ever so slightly till the tubes were raised
up to contact the clip-ons. Re-torqued the clamp bolts, which was a
bitch to get a torque wrench in there. Now, I have a much crisper
turn in, without sacrificing stability, all for about 30 minutes of
work. Kurt was right in saying to try this.
Move both clip-ons down the 5 mm before you loosen
any of the clamp bolts. This way you have the comparison of the
amount moved prior to raising the tubes. And move both tubes at the
same time. It will be hard to move one tube that much, while both
tubes are still tightened to the front axle, and the pinch bolts are
tight also. I would suggest using the floor jack to take the
pressure off the forks even if you don't put the bike up on a
paddock stand. The paddock stand keeps the bike even, with even
pressure on each fork, though.
Afterburner 13/10/2003
I just lowered my front end (raised the forks) 6mm. My mechanic told
me I should tighten down the preload because the fork guards on my
naked could hit the clamp.
Is this a problem with raising the forks - hitting/damaging the fork
guards?
Sid Squid 13/10/2003
My naked has forks poking 10mm above the top yoke, tube not cap,
(standard is flush on Naked's, 6mm on faired), steering is lighter
and more precise, nothing touched, haven't noticed any downside yet,
if I do you lot will be the second to know.
(AndyW: increasing front preload alone will counter
any drop in the forks - not read anywhere of anyone having problems
with the triple clamp hitting the front fender)
Stevezuki 15/10/2003
Just got back from my first ride since dropping the yokes. What a
difference! I'd previously been using the MCN fat bastard settings
with a bit more pre-load on the rear, quarter turn from hard on
front rebound and 34psi front pressure which was OK but turning in
was nothing special and changing line damn near impossible. I was
seriously beginning to question both my and the bike's abilities,
now its just me.
I can assure everyone that it doesn't upset stability under hard
breaking. Rounding a bend to find a 4x4 parked on the road with
another coming the other way resulted in my first ever rolling 'stoppy'.
The bike just kept going exactly where I pointed it. ...
So if anyone is considering dropping the yokes just go for it, its
dead simple and it does make a difference.
Rather than measure the amount I moved the clip-on down like Warren,
I used a 5mm straight sided screwdriver (or use any suitable object
of the desired width) to get the gap between the underside of the
top yoke and the clip-on. There's no need to worry about the forks
sliding straight up through the yokes as you can do one side at a
time.
Rogfog 15/10/2003
.........but what is the FINAL measurement between top of fork leg
(minus fork cap) to the yoke??
Stevezuki 15/10/2003
I now have 11mm of fork tube showing. (AndyW: stock 6mm plus
the 5mm the forks have been dropped)
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