Lowering Forks

[mxmatthew]

Hi, I was recently out riding in some tight sand trails with a lot of hairpins and sharp corners and I was having quite a bit of trouble keeping any speed going through them, I always felt like my front end was going to wash out. I have noticed there are 3 outside knobs ripped half off on one side of my front tire so that could be part of the problem but I'm also wondering about lowering my fork in the tripple clamps to turn a little bit quicker as most of the time i had the bars turned almost all the way.
The fork is as high as it can be right right now and I'm just wondering how much you usually lower them (an inch, 2 inches?) Also is there anything you need to be carefull of or make sure that you do while you perform this job besides tourqeing the tripple clamps back up to spec?

As you can see ive never done this before so thanks a lot for any tips!

 

[Bodge]

its as high as it will go now? Lowering the forks will make it worse.

 

[mxmatthew]

i'm pretty sure the higher the front end of the bike is the more stable it is at high speeds and and slower it steers. I might've worded it wrong, i meant lowering the front end.

 

[biglou]

"Raising the forks" is what you want to do. I think you knew that, just worded it wrong! ;) Yes, raising the fork tubes in the triple clamps should tighten the steering up a bit while sacrificing some high speed stability (possibility of headshake).

 

[mxmatthew]

ok thanks, i guess i just worded it wrong. I looked on my fork tubes and theres only about 2 or 2 1/2 inches that i can move the forks up before it tapers off so should i just try moving it about an inch or so? does a little adjustment make a fairly significant difference? thanks

 

[reelrazor]

Yep, small adjustments there make for pretty noticeable changes. I would start with an inch and go from there. You could also try uppping the preload on the rear shock.

 

[mxmatthew]

alright, thanks a lot everyone

 

[Jaybird]

When your forks are flush with the top of the clamp, you have it set for highspeed.
Taking them higher than the top clamp by an inch is a mistake. Way too much. Try 5-7 mm for a maximum.
If you know how to set sag for front, I suggest you go through that procedure first. You may well have a spring or spacer issue.

 

[mxmatthew]

well they are flush right now and it is kind of top heavy because of the huge gas tank so i might try moving the forks. I'll just try little amounts at a time like you said because i have no idea how to set fork sag, is it pretty involved?