rd84 Posted November 18, 2012 Report Share Posted November 18, 2012 Hi, I'm building a RD500 special with 2002/3 R1 front forks - I need to unscrew the fork caps to let the suspension collapse so that I can check the clearance between a YZR500 fairing and the front wheel / mudguard. For info I've never worked on a modern bike before - just 1980's bikes - So I took the weight off the front wheel and tried unscrewing the fork caps like I would on old non-adjustable forks - however when I get to the end of the thread the fork top won't come out - but there is a click each time I rotate the fork cap. Any ideas what I'm doing wrong ? - is there something else I need to do in addition ? - I've stopped working on the forks at the moment so that I don't do any damage. Many thanks. Regards Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex_H Posted November 18, 2012 Report Share Posted November 18, 2012 The fork tops are attached to the damper rod I think it is - if you've got the fork fully extended then the top won't come off. Let the bike sit on the front wheel, then you'll get what you want I reckon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tootall Posted November 18, 2012 Report Share Posted November 18, 2012 This ^ Lower gently and the cap and cartridge will push out of the slider. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rd84 Posted November 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2012 Hi, Thanks guys - that worked a treat - I was nervous of causing any damage - but in fact just lowering the bike gently on a small scissor lift did the job nicely. Anyway - I think that taking the fork caps off wasn't really the answer - the forks wanted to collapse all of the way onto the mudguard - so now I need to figure out what the maximum fork will travel will be so that I can make a template to check mudguard clearance on the fairing - I'll try and check on the internet - does anyone have a good method of making sure that everything is safe regarding clearance at maximum fork compression ? Thanks. Cheers Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rd84 Posted November 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2012 The 5PW manual says 120mm fork travel - so I suppose for safety this is the clearance that I must achieve. - allowing for the fork angle of course. Thanks. Cheers Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex_H Posted November 18, 2012 Report Share Posted November 18, 2012 I think you need a project thread for this mate, a lot of people will be interested in what you're doing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rd84 Posted November 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2012 Hi, I'll try and sort something out in the next few weeks. This is a photoshop of what I'm trying to achieve........ Cheers Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorenzo Posted November 18, 2012 Report Share Posted November 18, 2012 In the past I've found a nice way of measuring fork clearance was to take just the one fork cap off, as it means the bike is partially suspended by one fork, so it neither flops to the ground, but doesn't try and sit as high as it would with both forks. You can then tweak the height a little with the preload on the fork that's still in 1 peice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rd84 Posted November 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2012 Thanks Lorenzo Cheers Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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