Anyone have any ideas of fixing the stiff front forks on these bikes , bikes are ok when you push on the front end at a stand still , floats up and down nicely , on the road they both feel as if they ain’t moving at all ? .
Maybe they all do that Sir .
Just a wondering if thats something i have to live with ?.
Cheers
Chill
you can put heavy duty springs in and new dampers,transformed my G5
My Spada (of similar era) is the same. It feels like a rigid front end when trying to hurry along the bumpy country lanes.
As Keith says, progressive springs and new dampers are what is required, but you are looking at a few hunderd pounds for the full works.
Thanks for the reply
Somehow thought it would be an expensive remedy ,still i now know thats how they ride .
Where abouts are you based? Any local branch meets where you could compare the forks?
Start with progressive springs. You will know if the dampers are knackered or not straight away, they either have resistance or they don’t.italianmotor2014-07-30 20:31:21
Can’t remember having this problem with my Spada, but maybe my expectation threshold was different.
I think speed of compression depends on the damper. But there’s a danger of going too far the other way and having it too soft. As ever these things are a compromise.
Something else I just thought of, if forks compress too easily this further changes the steering head angle when you do hit bumps, this would not be too good when cornering. Ergo compromise.
Just a thought
I too have the original basic spring/damper setup on my S3 and apart from the fact it will very occassionally jolt or bottom out on potholes, never really had any complaints. You don’t know until you try something else I guess…
As an aside, my old Ford (long extinct) used to feel like the springs had turned into solid rods if the bumps got too ‘fast’ – and that was a luxury saloon!
McPherson struts! I remember changing the ones on my '77 Ford Escort van for ones taken from a scrappy, on the kerbside of course.
Thanks folks , these days i was just looking for a nice comfy ride on my refurbed T3 , have my G5 special for blasting around on when i’m in the mood .
Looks like its a pretty standard set up on both the bikes .
Cheers
Chill