Disassembling a Falco Showa fork

Message

#1 Post by **mangocrazy** » Sat Aug 01, 2009 5:55 pm

I've noticed that the forks on my Falco aren't using all the available travel, in fact according to the cable tie around the fork slider there is approx 25-30mm of unused travel. This has made me think that the oil level in the forks may be too high, leaving insufficient air gap. Id like to pop the fork tops off, compare the fork oil level between both legs and perhaps reduce the oil level by about 15-20mm.

How easy (or difficult) is it to do this? I've no real desire to completely disassemble the fork; I was hoping that I could jack the front end up (I have a Harris fork paddock stand that locates under the steering head), put a chock under the the front wheel and then just pop the fork tops off.

Is this a goer? Has anyone else done this?

Fausto · #2 Post by **Fausto** » Sat Aug 01, 2009 7:20 pm

How do you know what the available travel is ? I have a zip tie on mine and it never gets closer than about 20mm from the bottom.

To check and remove oil you should be able to remove the top caps in situ I would have thought. Loosen he top yoke bolts and unscrew the cap. The level can then be checked and if need be you could suck out unwanted oil using a syringe.

#3 Post by **mangocrazy** » Sat Aug 01, 2009 7:49 pm

Available travel is 125 mm (according to the specs), at which point the zip tie should be pretty much at the bottom of the sliders, if it was using full travel I guess. If it was 10 or 15mmm on the zip tie I wouldn't bother, but 25-30mm is a bit much. Or maybe I'm just not using the brakes hard enough...

I'm OK with the syringe bit; just wanted to know if anything untoward would happen if I unscrewed the fork tops (albeit with the forks properly supported)...

Falken · #4 Post by **Falken** » Sat Aug 01, 2009 8:01 pm

I would have thought that 25mm of unused travel was ok.
If you reduce this any more, you stand the chance of bottoming the suspension out, which could lead to a spill.
I'm no expert on this, but i'd check with a suspension dealer first before altering anything.
Maybe it's just compression damping that needs adjusting.

Falco9 · #5 Post by **Falco9** » Sat Aug 01, 2009 10:57 pm

I'd give Gareth a ring at Reactive Suspension in York. (01904 -491188)

He's a great bloke and knows these Showas forks inside out.

A quick call (I'm sure he'd advise) could save you a whole heap of bother in the long run.

I can also highly recommend his fork re-valves..the difference (improvement) is superb!

F9

back_marker · #6 Post by **back_marker** » Sun Aug 02, 2009 7:33 am

You need to support the front of the bike, not the forks so that there is as little tension on the spring as possible. You can do this either using an ABBA type stand (or a rod through the swingarm pivot on a couple of axle stands) and a jack under the front of the bike, or by suspending the front of the bike fron the rafters of your garage (if this is practical).

It is relatively easy to adjust the oil level but to be honest unless your fork oil has been changed in the past couple of years you are probably just as well replacing it altogether. ONce you have got the front of the bike off the ground and the front wheel off it is just as easy to drop the forks off altogether and work on them on their own instead of attached to the bike. PLus, if the Falco forks are the same as the Kayaba ones on my crosser, air gap is measured with the spring removed and the fork completely collapsed.

Hopefully that will be of some help to you. I am assuming that you've already attempted to adjust the preload on the forks using the adjusters on top. I took the plunge and gave them a twiddle and found an instant improvement.

paddyz1 · #7 Post by **paddyz1** » Sun Aug 02, 2009 8:19 am

Mine have about 25/30mm of travel during road use. When i was on the track they bottomed out almost (the cable tie was at the bottom). My forks have Maxton internals and are set up for my weight. I say your forks are fine

back_marker · #8 Post by **back_marker** » Sun Aug 02, 2009 9:28 am

In theory your forks should be set up for your riding style so that you are using the maximum amount of suspension travel, this is where the cable tie trick comes in. If you have a about 10mm travel left that is about right.

As Paddy points out you will be using them a lot harder for track use, which is why you generally tighten up all of your setting when riding on track (Not forgetting that your average track is a damn sight smoother than Her Majesty's Highways so the suspension can be set harder as it doesn't have to absorb all of the bumps and potholes).

#9 Post by **mangocrazy** » Sun Aug 02, 2009 10:29 am

I should have mentioned that I've wound the preload out to minimum, and it's made no difference at all. Last winter I had a set of Hyperpro progressive springs fitted (didn't do it myself) and the oil was changed then. My guess is that there's too much oil in the forks and there's a bit of a hydraulic lock going on.

I'm with back_marker, 10mm free travel is about right; 25-30mm is excessive. I mean - Aprilia gave us 125mm travel, why not use it all (or nearly all)?

Thanks for all the comments; I feel emboldened to have a look...

MartDude · #10 Post by **MartDude** » Sun Aug 02, 2009 9:37 pm

Griff's rule-of-thumb says, when riding & braking, your forks should use about 70% of available travel; i.e. 25 - 30 mm unused travel is about right.

beckh · #11 Post by **beckh** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 10:50 am

I have a pair of knackered forks going for free if anyone wants to experiment ? An erroneous ebay purchase, going in the skip at the end of august if no-one wants. They are in Godalming, Surrey (near Guildford).

#12 Post by **mangocrazy** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 12:49 pm

PM sent...

Falcopops · #13 Post by **Falcopops** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 2:21 am

beckh wrote:I have a pair of knackered forks going for free if anyone wants to experiment ? An erroneous ebay purchase, going in the skip at the end of august if no-one wants. They are in Godalming, Surrey (near Guildford).

HA, I used to live in Godalming (well Farncombe really) worked for what is now Parsons Brinkerhoff at Westbrook Mills (dodgy chicane under the railway bridge).

Lovely little town, much improved by the removal of a noisy Falco I'm sure.

How's your health?

MartDude · #14 Post by **MartDude** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 10:36 pm

Here's a step-by-step guide to dismantling/re-assembling the Futura's Showa forks - courtesy of Pat's Futura site *
Don't know if the Falco forks differ significantly

http://mcnamee.tzo.net/motorcycle/futur ... index.html

* http://www.apriliafutura.co.uk/index.shtml

#15 Post by **mangocrazy** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 9:29 am

Hi Mart,

That's excellent; certainly gives a very good idea of what steps to take and what special tools are likely to be needed. I'm just wondering how easy or difficult it would be to make up a copy of the Race-Tech fork spring compressor. That looks a handy tool.