Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127263
WORKBENCH By Brian Catterson GJlMe{. Sacked out SUPERCROSS SERIES I recent Iy purch ased a used 1987 H onda 600 Hurri can e. Everyth ing about the bike is fine excep t for th e fra n t suspen sion. It see ms th at the forks use half their travel 'w i th me j ust sitting o n the bike. I'm not rea l heavy, so I don't th ink th a t's th e problem. Is there a n easy way to fix m y front end? Curtis Fogg Torrance, CA Wel l, Curtis , since yo ur bike is th ree yea rs old, it's likel y that yo u r fork spri ngs ar e sa c ked out. Me tal fa tigues wit h age, a nd i n th e ca se o f co il-ty pe spri ngs this means that th e amo unt of weight th e spri ng is able to su p port will be reduced , a nd th at th e sp ri ng will co m p ress furt her whi le supporting the sa me weigh t. T hi s is wh y th e front end of yo ur bike no w d rops m or e than it did wh en it was n ew. The correct ter m fo r thi s is suspen sion sag , and det erm in i ng ho w much sag is th e co rr ect a mou nt sho u ld be the sta rti ng po int fo r a n y suspe ns io n ad j us tments. In th e case of a sport bike suc h as you rs, yo u ' ll want abo u t o ne inch of fro nt su spension sag with the bike sitt i ng a lo ne, and between o ne a nd a ha lf an d two in ch es wi th th e rider si tti ng on it. If you do m or e touri n g o r co m mu tin g tha n sport ridi n g , yo u may want slig h tly mo re sag for a cush ier ride. T h e easiest cu re for yo u r p rob lem is to repl ace the fo rk sp ri ng with new ones - .ei ther th e O EM stock replaceme nt parts or a n af termarket set from P rog ressive Suspension, Works Per fo rma nce o r the like. One adva n ta ge of buying a n afterm arket set is tha t yo u ca n ta ilo r the sp ri ngs to yo u r exact weight. You ma y a lso want to tr y a set of progressi vely-wou n d or dua l-ra te fo rk sp ri ngs, whi ch p ro vide a cushy ride over small bu mps an d beco m e sti ffer as th ey n ea r maxi m u m trav el. The re are o th er less exp en sive cu res for yo ur p robl em , bu t th ese are not a s good. Since th e onl y pro visi on for adju stment o n yo u r Hurri cane' s for ks is air ca p s, yo u co u ld tr y infla ting the fo rks to a higher p si. T h is ma y give you the desired ride height, but will likel y ca u se more . for k stictio n , which h in ders their sm oo th o pera tion. I You co u ld al so try fitti ng a set of adj u stable p reload fork ca ps, wh ich wo u ld a llow yo u to increase th e prel oad of yo ur sacked springs to th e po int tha t th ey migh t agai n work. Or yo u co u ld try stacki ng spac ers (be th ey wash ers, a len g th o f p ipe, o r co i n s) atop yo ur fork sp r ings to ac co m p lis h th e sa me res u l t. Th e o u tside diame ter o f th ese sp acer s sho u ld be just sm all er than th e in side diam eter of yo ur forks. Whi le yo u're in th ere, re p lace th e fo rk o il wi th fresh stu ff, and expe riment wi th th e visco sity a n d the vo lu me to fine-tune yo ur dam p ing rates. OKLAHOMA CITY FAIRGROUNDS SUNDAY, JUNE 10 SPARTAN STADIUM SATURDAY, JUNE 16 2:00 P.M. SAN JOSE CA LIFORN IA 7:30 P.M. TICKET PRICES: $2 5. $19 Res ; $19 GA ' TICKET PRICES: $2 5, $20, $15 $20 Adult TIckets Ava ilable at Part icipating Hon da Dea lers. TIC K ETS ON SALE NOW: Fai rg rou nds Are na Bo x Off ice, A ll OK TIcket Outlets, all Pralt grocery stores, incl udi ng TInk er Alrforee Base, Heritage Park Mall in M idwest City , Ma il boxes Etc. In Ed mo nd & Ca rt unes In SllIlwa ter. TI C K ET S O N SALE N OW AT: All BAS S Tlc ket mast er O utl e ts. (service charge at outlets) IN FORMATI ON/CHARGE BY PHO NE: 4 15-76 2-BASS 408-99 8-BASS 707-762-BASS MAIL ORD ERS SHOU LD BE ADDRESSED TO : BASS/Tlcket master San Jose Ticket Olliee 29N San Ped ro . San Jose, CA 95 110 Ch ildren $5 (1 2 & u nd er) ' AL L ADULT TI CKETS $1 MORE DAY OF RACE INFORMATION/ CHARGE BY PHONE : 40 5-948 -6 800 MAIL ORDERS SHO ULD BE ADDRESSE D TO: OK T1C KETS/SU PERCROSS P.O. Box 74943 Oklahoma City, OK 731 47 (Add 51.00 per-order, Enclose self·addressed stamped envelope. Checks payable to OK Tickets.) • ISUZU PASS AVAILABLE AT ALL ISUZU DEALERS. • $3 .00 DISCOUNT AND EARLY ENTRY PASSES AVAILABLE AT AL L PARTICIPATING YAMAHA AND HONDA DEALERS. Ch ild ren $6 (12 & under) (Add $3 .00 per order pl us 2% for cre dit card purchas e. Encl ose selfadd resse d stamped envel ope. Check s payabl e to BASSlTl cketma st er.1 ' ISUZ U PIT PASS AVAILABLE AT ALL IS UZU DEALERS. • $3 .00 DISCOU NT AN D EA RLY ENT RY PASSE S AVA ILABLE AT ALL PARTI C IPATING YA MA HA A N D HONDA DEA LERS. ~ ~YAMAHA G zzi Got 'Em! The Dr. John Moto Guzzi takes second at RoadAtlanta, Pro Twins G.P. 1 Doug Brauneck and Dr. John Wittner with the Dr. John Moto Guzzi ~ Wo rk bench is a weekl y co lu m n de a lin g with m o torcycle mai nte n a n ce, perfo r ma n ce a nd eq u i p m en t . Ha ve so m e th i ng tha t Work bench ca n address? D r o p a line to W orkben ch , Cy cle News, P .O. Bo x 498 , Long Beach, CA 9080 1-0498. ~ ~ [iJ@LJ@ @OO~~D · For the location of your nearestdealerand a copy of our Iull-color literature, contact: Mote Guzzi, North America. Dept CN, 1501 GatonAve., Baltimore, MD 21227 23