Guest Jlewis50 Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 In the process of replacing my front fork springs and oil and next year revalving them. I weigh 265lbs and since mounting my Ohlins the bike doesn't feel balanced. Anyway, can I replace the fork springs without pulling the cartridge assembly? I am aware I will need to produce a spacer and am fine with that. Is the spring and cartridge assemble one piece? Is it retained to the cartridge rod with a cir clip or does it cover the assembly as on an older style rod style fork. Just curious on this. I have two different wt. fork springs pairs and wanted to do a quick change out and decide which one without having to pull the complete assembly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Jmmymc750 Posted February 13, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted February 13, 2011 If they are the same as 5th gen, it can be done from the top without removing anything but the spring. You should PM member "BaileyRock". He has an abundance of knowledge. And pictures! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud786 Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 From what I understand you bought some oHlins and they are worse that stock? You can pop in different springs, beware the damper rod is attached to the cap , so that has to be broken loose and you loose 5 to 10 mm oil height doing this, which could make the situation even worse. Do you know the spings your wanting to install are heavier or lighter? Any way the spring , oil height and valving all has to work together, you really need a known base set up, or your going to be taking it apart alot, unless you get lucky. or is it an ohlins shock you have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 I appreciate the feedback. I have a .95 and a 1.05 rates to test. My issue is with the fact that my fancy Ohlins shock is set up correct rate for my weight, the stock forks are way to soft now. I never realized how soft the stock suspension was until I purchased the new shock. The Ohlins shock is the best investment I have purchased for my bike. stock f Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud786 Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 The answer is no, you dont have to pull the damper assembly, But the rod its attached to the bottom side of the cap. and once you remove from the cap the rod will fall down into the spring. So you have to pull the rod up and fish the spring down, or fish the rod through the spring to reattach to the cap, and also need correct spacer, thats in between the spring and the top of the rod.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baileyrock Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 In the process of replacing my front fork springs and oil and next year revalving them. I weigh 265lbs and since mounting my Ohlins the bike doesn't feel balanced. Anyway, can I replace the fork springs without pulling the cartridge assembly? I am aware I will need to produce a spacer and am fine with that. Is the spring and cartridge assemble one piece? Is it retained to the cartridge rod with a cir clip or does it cover the assembly as on an older style rod style fork. Just curious on this. I have two different wt. fork springs pairs and wanted to do a quick change out and decide which one without having to pull the complete assembly. Yes, you can easily change out the springs with little effort. It you only want to change springs just place the bike on the center stand and remove the fork Caps one at a time(only change one spring at a time) or you will need to support the front end. When you remove a Cap you will see a C-clip type washer that sits atop the spring, remove it. You will need two 14mm wrenches at this point, one to hold fork cap bottom(machined flats) and the other to loosen the jam(lock) nut. At this point you can just unscrew the cap off the rod assm., caution the rod will fall down into the fork if you don't grab it. The spring washer, spacer & spring itself will just slide off/out. One you figure out and cut the new spacers you can just drop the new springs & spacers back it reversing the process and your good to go. If you want to change fork oil too than you might try my "30 min oil change" BR BTW do you know what Rate spring they installed on the Ohlins ? I would guess it should be at least a 22-23kg spring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Thanks for the input. The Ohlins came with a 1098 spring. The Ohlins distributor set the shock up for me based on my weight. I think 23/24 kg spring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baileyrock Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Thanks for the input. The Ohlins came with a 1098 spring. The Ohlins distributor set the shock up for me based on my weight. I think 23/24 kg spring. Wow, if that is a 1098 lb spring it is only 19.5 kg. Based on that I would only run the .95's in the forks. IMO at 265 lbs you should have at least a 1300-1400 lb spring (23-24kg)!!! :blink: I'm 190 lbs and run a 20kg spring on my Ohlins and my numbers Rider & Free sag are spot on. Have you ever checked your SAG numbers? BR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 My bad, it is actually a 1200 rate. Ohlin's numbers are deceptive on springs . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baileyrock Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 My bad, it is actually a 1200 rate. Ohlin's numbers are deceptive on springs . That's better, but still Soft IMO. Run the .95's for better balance then. :fing02: BR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iMotoPilot Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 I realize this thread may be a little old but here are my questions: I recently purchased a 6th Gen VFR that the previous owner had installed stiffer fork springs and rear shock. Previous owner (200 lbs) and I (180 lbs) differ in weight. Coming from an older gen Kawi Concours, the springs on this VFR feel a little on the tight side. The owner did adjust the springs to their softest setting and gave me the original springs if I needed to go back to then. Wondering if should leave well enough alone or go back to the original springs? Thx! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baileyrock Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 I realize this thread may be a little old but here are my questions: I recently purchased a 6th Gen VFR that the previous owner had installed stiffer fork springs and rear shock. Previous owner (200 lbs) and I (180 lbs) differ in weight. Coming from an older gen Kawi Concours, the springs on this VFR feel a little on the tight side. The owner did adjust the springs to their softest setting and gave me the original springs if I needed to go back to then. Wondering if should leave well enough alone or go back to the original springs? Thx! That's Not a huge difference in rider weight! It would be more helpful to know what rate the front & rear springs are right now? Stock was .74kg front & 15.3kg rear, soft for 180lbs. Have you set sag for your weight yet? This should be your first step. There are "How To" on setting Sag and many other things here in our threads. If you need help there is probably a willing member close by who would give you a hand. BR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iMotoPilot Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Good idea Baileyrock. Thanks for the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaskan Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Cartridge assembly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baileyrock Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Cartridge assembly? Yes, basically (almost) all modern forks are what they call "cartridge" type. You can pull out the entire cartridge assy just by removing the one bolt in the bottom of the fork leg(caps off). BR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iMotoPilot Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Alaskan, I apologize for my lack of information but I'm not sure. I believe they're stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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