Conventional 50mm WP forks for supermoto

Bergini · Dec 22, 2012

My only issue with them is how much they dive under even light braking, is there a way to resolve this??
I have no problem going into the forks i just do not know what to do when i got there......

i dont race it, but want it to be somewhat race ready, i do get aggressive on the back roads frequently.....

any ideas besides live with it or buy usd forks?

so far what i have done to resolve this problem is set sag, think about how annoying it is, google search, and ask you lovely people

jtg_york · Dec 22, 2012

mine were diving a lot. I put in new bushings and seals and replaced the fork oil with new bel ray 5W high performance. That put new life back in them. The previous owner had some valve and spring work done by Precision Concepts Racing, so I don't know what they were like stock, but they are great right now. He had the bike set up for street riding and said it was amazing. I got tear down and rebuild instructions straight from WP's site in a PDF. Good luck.

Bergini · Dec 23, 2012

hhhhm, i knew i tried to help you for a reason :lol: the forks had seal savers on it when i got it, i have peeled them down a few times and cleaned out any debris and the seals look good, no seepage at all, obviously if i go in there ill replace them anyway, maybe just the fluid has broken down or is low? maybe a place to start is just swapping out the fluid and see what happens, ill look there for the pdf file thanks :cheers:

i have heard bumping the oil weight like to say 10w-15w and putting in a little more then the recomended spec could stiffen them up any thoughts on this? obvoiusly not the right way but will it work without damaging things?
even a small improvment is better than nothing........

i am quite certain that these forks are stock inside, the previous owner said he had the seals replaced and new oil put in a couple years before i got it (probably 4 years ago now since fluid change seals?) i dont know how quick the oil breaks down? i also am not very smart when it comes to reworking suspension (if you couldnt tell :lol: )

my sag is set within spec and all clickers in the factory setting up front......i have tried to adjust up the compression side a little but it didnt seem to help

any other thoughts?

jtg_york · Dec 25, 2012

I would guess that trying out a 7W oil would not be a bad idea. That is a normal weight oil for a rear mono shock, whereas standard 5W is most common in front forks. have you messed with the air bleeder screws? Your owners manual should tell how your forks should be maintained for minimum / maximum or even no air pressure in the forks (that alone can make a huge diff in any hydraulic system). Also, I would recommend making only one change at a time like over filling or changing the oil weight. It would seem reasonable that a change in oil weight will affect both your damping and your rebound settings. When I changed my fork oil I used almost 2 full quarts of oil and my shocks are 43mm WP's. So, I am guessing that you will use more that I did. Good luck!

You might look into adding more shims into your stack which will pre-compress your springs giving you a firmer feel.[attachment=0:1iu2em3z]Capture.JPG[/attachment:1iu2em3z]

Taffy · Dec 26, 2012

my advice would be to get to the rods inside the cartridge tube. you'll see some floating shims there and if you put a feeler gauge on both sides and measure the gap it will be around 1 -1.5mm. drop that down to .75 as a start. it is called your free bleed and at 1mm plus it'll be too much.

to do it can be done two ways. add some shims with 8mm ID (not usually sitting around when you need them!) or machine the post that the piston sits on by the correct amount. I believe that someone tells you about the ZP3 mod in the doc and it's the same thing.

you're trying to make more oil go through the valving rather than 'free bleeding' through.

By the way it is these shims that you should strengthen (more of them etc) in balance with a few on the base valve if you go down that route.

regards

Taffy

jtg_york · Dec 26, 2012

Taffy, just wondering is the common cause of wear inside the fork increased particulate in the oil or is it bushings allowing free movement? Or, is there something else that is not being mentioned that could be the root cause of problems? I only ask because I don't like to do work and not fix the cause of a problem.

Taffy · Dec 26, 2012

I'm not sure what you mean by 'wear'? I don't see that much wear, indeed I think the forks come a little loose. you can clonk them on the first day!

regards

Taffy

Bergini · Dec 26, 2012

jtg_york said:
You might look into adding more shims into your stack which will pre-compress your springs giving you a firmer feel.[attachment=0:30jp7bpw]Capture.JPG[/attachment:30jp7bpw]

Using the picture as a reference and combining what you guys are saying is...

Make more shims to go on top of the shim that is already there in the pic but to make them a slightly larger diameter so that the shim to wall clearance is .75mm

Add the same amount of shims to the bottom of the spring? (base valve?) that i add to the top to balance it, and they should be the same diameter wall clearance as the top too?

How tall of a shim should i add to start? Do the same for both tubes?

I would like to still have some suspenion

thanks guys

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