[joe c]

so i rebuilt my cb550 forks. im pretty sure my springs are totally clapped out. there is about 1.5" of sag when i unweight it and then let it drop. then when i sit on it another probably 3/4". i put a zip tie on the tube and it bottoms pretty easily under moderate braking. and i have noticed it sometimes crunches pretty hard in some of our nice city potholes. im running 145cc 10 weight. like the book says. how much of a difference are my new springs going to make??? anyone??? or will it still have that crappy mush feel?

jc

 

[ttilghman]

i've just put a 550 front on my 350....not tested yet. but have read up to 160cc of oil and i've added and inch of spacer in each leg....15wt. i'm sure there are others that know better and yeah, i still have to test mine.

best. tt

 

[aaron]

160cc of 30w and a 1" spacer for preload

 

[jbranson]

Yep...what they said...that's the setup I use on my 550 front end.
JohnnyB

 

[joe c]

this is for a 550 though. im already bottom the suspension with the current setup. another 20ccs couldnt hurt i suppose. i ordered some new springs from progressive but i dont want to add a spacer since im already bottoming it. ill just do the same with the spacer, just ill be sitting higher off the ground. keep in mind this is on a street bike. i also have the tubes dropped about 3/4". so i think the weight is transferring that much quicker. so i guess i should try putting that back. it seemed to make a big difference dropping them too. it was really hard to notice on the racebike, but something i ride everyday made a huge difference. i have no problems with them on my 350 at all. but on the 550 i can pretty much bottom them just sitting on it. guess ill just have to wait and see what the new springs do. ill add another 20cc also. maybe go to 30w.

and something else, ive noticed my brakes drag. the front brake. ive pulled it apart, adjusted that stupid little adjuster bolt setup. i cant get it to stop dragging. any thoughts??? it just squeeks and its annoying as shit. and its a disk.

jc

jc

 

[racerchris46]

rebuild you caliper, or try rebleeding the brakes. The piston is hanging up a little. either that, or the pivot for the caliper needs to be greased (special high temp stuff).

BTW, your fork springs are totally shot. That part has nothing to do wtih how much the forks are dropped in the trees (are those maple or oak anyway?). All the spring does is hold the bike in the air. The oil controls how fast the fork compresses or rebounds, sort of controls the feel.The oil is trying t control the spring! If you think about it in extremes, a totally shot spring is like no spring-the whole front end collapses. A brand new spring is the opposite-holds the bike up "higher."

You can pour 80 wt in there if you want, then it will rebound so slowly, that the forks would keep compressing if you went over a series of ripples, eventually bottoming out. If you took all the oil out (presuming you have new springs), sprayed some WD in there to keep it from sticking, the thing would be like your bed getting a serious, friday night work out. Or so I've heard. try it. Its fun!

BTW, I can see you don't trust me.

 

[joe c]

so, 80w in one of tex's forks, and wd40 in the other.

im hoping just new springs will fix it. i guess ill have to order a rebuild kit of my stupid caliper too. it seems like its getting worse too.

jc

 

[joe c]

ps, thanks everyone.

jc

 

[texmawby]

joe,

chris is an ace at rebuilding the calipers on a 500/4. he did mine at uch's many moons ago and it got rid of the squeaking. also he has a nicer kitchen than yours.

tex

p.s.- i just got a ride on a ducati 748 at summit! hello v7 middleweight!

"who's scooter is that?"
"joe clancy's"
"where's joe clancy?"
"sleeping!"

 

[UngaWunga]

If you want to stiffen the springs, cut them and replace the length with spacers (pvc). Cut an inch off at a time. Worst case, you go too far and have to buy new springs. Best case you solve your problem.

 

[OC Steve]

This article is all about suspension tuning for vintage bikes:

http://www.strappe.com/suspension.html

I tells how to measure spring sag, and what to do about it.

 

[kenessex]

Joe,
Heres the deal on your front brake. Both the pivot and the caliper are the problem. First, remove the whole mess from the fork. Then drive the pivot pin out and clean the corrosion off of it and out of its hole. Grease it up and put it back together. I usually used white lithium grease cause I had lots. I don't think the kind of grease is critical. The most likely scenario with your caliper is a build up of gunk behind the o-ring in the caliper body. So, with the caliper apart and the brake pads out, but still connected to the master cylinder pump the piston out of the caliper. It is messy but it works. Next take out the o-ring. It is supposed to be square and so is the groove it rides in. The gunk is causing the o-ring to be too tight and dragging on the piston not allowing it to retract. I scrape the groove clean with a pick and replace o-ring if it is the least bit suspect. I generally run without the weird adjuster screw and spring. If everything is working the caliper just floats where it is supposed to be. All in all it is just routine maintainance on these caliper systems.
Ken

AHRMA 412
Vintage racing - old guys on old bikes

 

[joe c]

yeah, i was finally figuring it was a dirty caliper. ug. off to find the ring for it i guess.


jc

 

[texmawby]

you joe! from philly craigs list......

LAST CHACE come get the rest of the 550 parts bikes $150 OBO!!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reply to: [email protected]
Date: 2006-03-29, 8:05AM EST


come get the rest of these before i junk them....they have both motors, one has an exhaust, both have the front forks, and the swing arms...still lots left..come get them by saturday for $150 OBO for what ever is left or there getting junked....


this is in or around de

no -- it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests


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texy

"who's scooter is that?"
"joe clancy's"
"where's joe clancy?"
"sleeping!"