Last Spring, I crashed in Death Valley after being run off the trail by an a-hole who wanted to go faster... despite the ride leader in our group specifically saying not to pass. I ended up with a f'd up left elbow (still screwed up to this day), a dented Acerbis gas tank and other damage. Well today I discovered yet another problem that goes back to that little incident.

I was looking the bike over, and noticed the front wheel seemed like it was pointed to the right. The bars seemed to be off to the left. So I removed the bars and lined things up as best I could. Yep, wheel's aimed to the right. Pulled the wheel. Took quite a bit of work getting the axle out, which tells me the tubes weren't aligned properly.

Oddly enough when the wheel came off, the bottom of the fork tube dropped several inches. I played with it. You could hear the spring inside... it was loose. WTF? This isn't good. So I pulled the tube. Had to hammer the damn thing out, it was stuck in there good.

Took the cap off. Well this is neat, something down in the tube. Dumped all the oil out. A little collar thing came out and so did the spring. And this long rod thing with a white plastic piece slide out (but is still attached in the fork bottom).

I decided to pull the other one off for comparison. Oh, okay, so that's how it goes together. The cap actually screws onto the rod. Well apparently, either due to improper installation or the accident, the rod ripped itself out of the cap and took most of the threads with it. BTW that part alone is $73. Fawk.

I'm hesitant to spend that on a freakin' cap without knowing if the whole fork is shot first. If it is, then I need to find a used set I guess.

So at this point I'm not sure what to do. The other fork will have to come apart anyway since it's leaking. And I was going to do Gold Valves soon too.

So... Opinions? If it wasn't for that expensive cap, I could put the thing back together with some fresh seals and oil. But I'd almost rather buy a new set of used forks instead, if I can find a set at a fair price. For that matter, what will fit this bike?

Rob

 

cjbiker has forks for sale that have been set up;
ADVrider

I picked up a few of the other things he had in that listing. Everything was as described.

 

While I'm normally a proponent of revalving the stock fork, your situation may be the catalyst to pursue a "better" used fork...KX or similar. It's worth a look around for a fork or donor bike. Might be better to put your money toward that if you can get a complete front end and wheel.

 

TNC, not a bad idea... though cj's set could be the ticket! I'll PM him for a start.

Thanks!

Rob

 

Thanks guy... I'm buying the set from cjbiker. Can't pass that deal up. I don't have the budget to do a KX or other conversion right now anyway.

While I'm at it, I disassembled the whole front end to check the bearings and regrease as necessary. I figured some photos would liven up the thread a bit.







Anyway... the bearings look good (they should with only 2500 miles on it). I applied a little more grease and reinstalled the stem. Now I'm in a holding pattern til the new forks arrive in a week or so.

Rob

 

The next time that happens (bars one way, wheel the other) you can fix it trail side(usually), if you notice it, by loosening the lower triple clamp bolts and then whacking the wheel until it straightens out, then retorque the bolts.
Leaving the forks twisted probably helped to break the internals over time, if the crash didn't.
I had leaking fork seals, until I reset the front wheel because I tightened the bolts without pumping the fork(which seats the axle correctly in the fork) and bound the forks enough to cause a leak.
I imagine CJ's forks will be nice. I bought his wheels and when I picked them up, we got to talking, he mentioned those forks were set up and were way better than stock.
Enjoy.

 

Good idea on re-centering; thanks.

I'm looking forward to the new forks. I already had new springs in mine, but I was wanting to do Gold Valves soon, so this is a nice package.

Rob

 

RobG, what springs are in your current forks? I might be interested if you wnat to part with them once you get your new ones. I thought of getting those forks from Cjbiker but want the next springs up, his are for up to 175#. I'd want from about 170# and up. not sure on the lingo.

 

I have Moto-Pro .48's in there now. I'm not sure if the springs in CJ's will be too soft or not. When I went to the Moto-Pro site and plugged in my bike info and my weight (175), it says I should have a .42 spring. For ****s 'n grins, I went back and plugged in 200 and it still says a .42 spring. At 225 it said a .44. So, wow, maybe I went overboard? I dunno. The bike sure felt good with that spring in it.

So I'm gonna try them as they come at first and try to decide if I want to swap them. If I don't swap them, there IS one person in line ahead of you.. my friend Cory who lives in Eugene. He's like 225 or so.

I put 0.48's with Gold Valves in my DR650 just recently and they're fantastic.

Rob

 

OK thanks. Keep me posted maybe by PM so I don't miss it. Maybe I'll settle for the "leftover" springs once you decide which set you're going to keep.