Interesting Find Inside a Set of Forks

This weekend I had a few Gold Valve installs to do so I thought I would get them all done all at once. After taking out the compression valve I noticed something strange. It didn't take long to figure out what it was. This fork probably had very little, if any, compression damping:




AAHHHH!!!! That's much better!



The moral of the story here is a reminder to keep everything as clean as possible. I don't wipe my workbench down to a sanitized level after each step or anything, but I certainly do not allow stuff like this to float around inside of a set of forks that I work on! I've seen some questionable stuff before, but this was a first.

 

I read an internet story in the past about a 6th Gen owner that disassembled his forks and found bits of metal in the compression valve stack, and possibly the rebound, too. He disassembled them and cleaned them up, and was amazed at the difference (imagine that!).

Do the RT's make a noticeable difference in the 6th Gen's?

 

These were not from Honda - they were from a poor assembly procedure by someone else. I could tell that the forks had been apart before and could see where the aluminum chunks came from. Someone wasn't very careful, that's for sure.

Yes, it's a big difference.

 

No wonder the front end dove like mad! I'm glad I sent the forks up to you! Thanks Jamie!

 

I just got a 84 vf700r The forks bottom out ridiculously easy.. like hit the brake going 2 miles an hour and bang. I believe it to be because the kid i bought the bike never replaced the seals and all the oil leaked out and figured when the oil quit leaking it fixed its self.....What do you think?

 

Pretty typical - I've seen stuff like that quite often over the years. The stock 1984 VF700F forks don't have very good damping in the first place and with no oil it goes to zero (though that's not a very long trip). The 84's use damping rod technology which is totally different than the modern cartridge design shown the first post.

 

yea the first gen forks suck monkey balls, im ready for my new forks :biggrin:

 

Finally Riding the New Forks

I couldn't wait any longer, so I put my 93 VFR back together. I was going to wait for the new body panels, but wanted to try the rebuilt forks (from Jamie). WOWOWOW! What a big difference! It is actually fun to ride, again. No more diving with just thinking about using the front brake. With those and the new converted rear shock/spring from Jamie, also, the VFR is now a real pleasure to ride. It tracks well, leans better, and stops much better. I'm now sorry I waited so long to get it done. Forget buying new shocks. Get Jamie to rebuild your present ones. It costs a little less, but the workmanship and customization are worth much more! Thanks again for the excellent work!

 

Awesome! I'm really glad you like it. The RaceTech valves really make a big difference, your results are typical of people that I perform this service for. I run them in my own bikes, what does that tell you!

 

i think my fork tubes may be off a 1000 because its got the 4 way adjustment on the bottom left tube and on the top right tube , and the rear shock has got the air and a 4 way adjustment on the top of the shock. my honda manual says that the 700s use a flat screw adjustment on the right tube but there is a knob.. what do i have is it a freak?

 

The rear shock is supposed to have those adjustments, so that sounds ok. The forks also sound like stock VF700F parts to me. I'm not really sure what your manual is referring to, but your bike sounds stock to me.

 

That adjuster on the bottom left fork slider is for the TRAC anti-dive. While it does keep your forks from diving under braking, it does so by stiffening your compression damping (IIRC) so if you hit a bump while braking you will have basically a solid front end. Best to leave it on 1 in my experience.

 

You are correct, it's best on #1. In fact, it's really best if you get rid of it all together!

 

yay for the eighties.

I tore into the forks last night and the right one went pretty straight forward. the left one, well all i have to say next time i will stick with instinct rather than the book. My clymer book made everything more complicated than it should have been. except for some minor details and fluid levels. I closed the book after it angered me. after a bit, put a little thought into it. the forks went back together and compared to what they were like they work amazing..The only thing is the top 3 way adjustment on the right fork does not click anymore. I took the bike out and wow!! i have dampning.. I put the anti dive on 1 and put 2-3 psi in the fork and all i can say is feels like a new bike. Now though i realize really how shitty the rear shock is. I cant wait to get a new rear shock!!!!

 

ummm

how do i get rid of the anti dive?

 

You leave all of the parts in there and just drill out the holes in the damping rod on that side. You must have Gold Valve Emulators installed when doing this.

You think it feels good now, just imagine what it would be like with the GVE's. The stock damping rod technology sucks really bad!