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Fork Tube Height


Guest buzzbeater

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Guest buzzbeater

How much fork tube should be showing above the triple clamp on a stock 06 setup. When I bought mine there was a considerable amount. I thought the handlebars should be sitting down on top of the triple clamp.

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41mm is stock on a 6th gen ans 39mm is stock on a 5th! :biggrin:

Many people run and extra 5-10mm to improve turn-in and quicken steering.(46-51mm vtec)

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So your saying 5-10 mm is stock distance between triple clamp and bottom of handle bars?

Let me give you some background that may help with what I'm looking for. I purchased said 06 vfr and noticed it had about 2-3 inches of fork tube sticking up between the triple clamp and bottom of the Heli bars. I ended up wrecking the bike and I'm trying to align the front end where the forks were twisted. I thought I would put everything back stock and go from there.

Now where's that damn service manual I need to purchase :biggrin:

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  • Member Contributer

Im trying to remember, but 2-3 inches sounds like way too much.

Going 5-10 mm higher than stock is fine, as it might make the bike feel lighter. But i raised mine when i installed my bar risers, to quicken the steering and so i didnt have to use the cap thingys supplied with the risers. I ended up moving them back down again, because in certain circumstaces the steering was just wayy to twitchy, gravel roads come to mind as being more of a "handful" now that i think about it.

But I agree; when in doubt, its always best to at least start with stock and work from there if you want.

And, I believe you can download the service manual, or parts of it on here.

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41mm / 25.4 = 1.624"

That's how much tube should be showing above the triple clamp when set stock.

An easy rough-it-in trick is to loosely put the tubes in the clamps, then slide the bars on, and attach the two little circlips in the groove at the tops of the tubes. Now let the tubes slide down until the circlips hit the inside tops of the bars.

I am running 7mm over stock and like it a lot.

Good luck rebuilding your bike!

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  • 5 months later...
  • Member Contributer

not applicable to your bike ( Sorry ) I know but, on the 94-97 it's 39mm from the top of the fork tube (the cap) to the top yoke. I believe that it is about right on the previous post with where the circlips are (or the groove if you are missing the clips).

To measure to you will need to remove the clip-ons.

It does seem quite common to pull them up a little more (by 5mm or so ) to slightly alter the wheelbase for quicker steering. One thing to keep in mind though is that you are in effect "tipping the bike forward" a little.

I find the being relatively light-weight I can never get as much weight as I would like over the back wheel so I find that the back locks-up too easily for my tastes already . Shifting the centre of gravity more forward (albeit slightly) cannot help this matter. I always suspected this to be the case but it seems that the guys at "Wilbers" (the suspension people agree ) " To do so, the fork legs are pushed through the bridges. This will shorten caster, wheel base and seating height; the steering head angle will become steeper. The center of gravity will sink, ground clearance will be less.

Plus: Better handling and turning, heavier load on front.

Minus: Less ride and brake stability, reduced ground clearance, wobbly curve behavior, greater load on the arms, less grip when accelerating."

yes, I know that their section on "lifting the rear" is more implicit to the rear-lifting but lowering the front has to have the same effect to a degree. (?)

I would suggest setting it all to stock, ride it a few weeks to get the "feel" of it and then try the "lowering" to see how that feels too and if it works for you.

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41mm / 25.4 = 1.624"

That's how much tube should be showing above the triple clamp when set stock.

An easy rough-it-in trick is to loosely put the tubes in the clamps, then slide the bars on, and attach the two little circlips in the groove at the tops of the tubes. Now let the tubes slide down until the circlips hit the inside tops of the bars.

I am running 7mm over stock and like it a lot.

Good luck rebuilding your bike!

BTW, the 41 mm is measured to the top of the fork tube (the long chrome cylinder) and not the fork cap. For reference, I quickened my steering up somewhat and I set mine at 50 mm from the top of the fork cap to the top of the upper triple clamp. Figuring that the fork cap is about 1 - 1½ mm thick, I dropped my forks about 8 mm.

If you were on a bike and it had 2-3 inches showing between the bottom of the Heli-Bars and the top of the triple clamp, there's a good possibility that you or the PO bottomed the fender/front tire into the water lines/oil cooler or whatever it would hit under there and caused said accident.

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BTW, the 41 mm is measured to the top of the fork tube (the long chrome cylinder) and not the fork cap. For reference, I quickened my steering up somewhat and I set mine at 50 mm from the top of the fork cap to the top of the upper triple clamp. Figuring that the fork cap is about 1 - 1½ mm thick, I dropped my forks about 8 mm.

There's been some discussion on this in the past. I'm of the opinion that it's measured from the top of the triple to the top of the fork cap, but I could be wrong...

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  • 3 months later...

i just lowered the back suspention last week end,then i did the front .when i mesured the front it was 46 mm from the top of the fork tube (the cap) ,stock setting!!! its a 2006 and purchased bran new so no one ever modified it!!!!! so to keep it at the same angle it s now sitting at 66 mm measured from the top of the triple to the top of the fork cap :blink:

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i just lowered the back suspention last week end,then i did the front .when i mesured the front it was 46 mm from the top of the fork tube (the cap) ,stock setting!!! its a 2006 and purchased bran new so no one ever modified it!!!!! so to keep it at the same angle it s now sitting at 66 mm measured from the top of the triple to the top of the fork cap :blink:

Are you doing this just to lower the bike, or, is this a comfort issue you're trying to fix?

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i just lowered the back suspention last week end,then i did the front .when i mesured the front it was 46 mm from the top of the fork tube (the cap) ,stock setting!!! its a 2006 and purchased bran new so no one ever modified it!!!!! so to keep it at the same angle it s now sitting at 66 mm measured from the top of the triple to the top of the fork cap :fing02:

Are you doing this just to lower the bike, or, is this a comfort issue you're trying to fix?

kind of ,i am short, so to be able to keep both foot on the ground this is why i have lowered the bike!!! :blink:

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