First time rebuilding forks and my left one doesn't have a strut rod. Whats up with that. These are from a Honda CBR600 F2. I know that this isn't the first time they have been opened. Haven't opened the right one yet. Just seems weird that there is no strut rod.
Found this bit of info from the web, so grain of salt; "First, a little bit of histort on the model. 1994 was the last year of the F2 but the first year it came with some decent suspension. Away went the sloppy/harsh feel of dampening rod forks and in came rebound/preload adjustabe cartridge forks. This really improved rider confidence as the steering was more controlable through rough corners. Those with earlier years can run RaceTech emulators to obtain the same feel but they are not externally adjustable."
^sounds accurate. Many of the sport bikes ditched the damping rod forks in favor of cartridge forks in the mid 90s. Performance oriented guys who have the old style will go out of their way to swap to forks from a bike with cartridges.
These are on my hawk gt so I am not sure what year they are from. However, I don't have two adjustments up top.
My VFR got CBR9something fork guts and they're single adjustable, I believe rebound damping. There's probably a part number on the fork that would help you determine what they're from.
Based on the time I rebuild Suzuki GS500 forks, I think that if the fork rod was missing, you'd have no damping and possibly a hole in the bottom of the fork that was meant for a retaining bolt to keep the rod stationary in the fork.
This is everything that came out of the fork.
There is a hole in the lower retainer that could/should hold the damper rod.
Took the other one apart and it is exactly the same. It seems a little light on parts to me but I am just going to throw new seals in there, fill them up and forget about it. They already have progressive springs, my only adjustment is preload. Still confused but am not going to dwell too hard on it.
Maybe find a bike specific rebuild walk-through?
Read this, and you will understand.
http://racetech.com/html_files/DampingRodForks.HTML
In reply to foxtrapper:
OK, now I feel like an idiot. Thanks for the information.
Id ditch the progressive springs and add racetech emulators to those forks.
I would like to, but I don't have the extra 130 dollars laying around for the bike at the moment
In reply to singleslammer:
Depending on the diameter of your forks you may be able to use cheaper emulators from http://www.mikesxs.net/product/27-1086.html
interesting site, didn't see any 41mm fork tube emulators though. I will think on it for a day with the Race tech emulators
Emulators like racetech are neat. No doubt about it. But, simple holes or fixed orifices do work. Oil viscosity changes will change the damping. Oil column height will change the air cushion bubble rate.
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