The front suspension was in need of an upgrade I wanted something that was more adjustable so I could set up the bike better. so I looked into a fork swap, but thats some serious $$$, then I looked into cartridge emulators, which are very adjustable, but not that easy to adjust (I also ride in weather from 35 to 95 degrees and I didnt want to have to run thicker oil) Plus these forks were about half what the emulators cost.
My main objectives is to make my bike work better without spending to much money (I own a house so money is tight). My riding consists of rough Maine roads and no track time, some commuting, two up and some fast fun.
Things to keep in mind:
1. I have not ridden this bike since I have done this mod, its winter in Maine.
2. I started it 2 weeks ago, and I am still putting the finishing touches on it.
3. I may have ADD, wanna ride bikes?
4. I am not the first person to do this, this was not my idea.
5. The F3 fork is 2" longer then the SV fork, meaning it will stick out above the tripples, if you have a "N" then you will need to change your bars. I will be putting clip-ons above the tipple.
You are going to need to suspend the front end before you take it apart:
Here are some of the tools I used:
Fork seal driver, new fork oil, grease, fork oil level adjuster, some allen wrenches, yada yada yada. If you are going to replace your seals or bushings now would be the time.
The whole idea is that the F3 forks are the same make (SHOWA) and same diameter as the SV forks (41mm). One crucial difference is that the F3 forks are cartridge forks, and you can adjust the rebound externally. 94 F2 forks and 95-98 F3 forks are what you will need. Going into this my biggest concern was the size of the bolts at the bottom of the fork legs, the ones that hold the cartridge/damping rod in place. Wasnt I pumped when they turned out to be the same size
For those of you are thinking "what bolt is he talking about?":
Its a pretty easy mod, you need to get a set of F3 forks, take your forks off of your bike and pull them apart. If you dont have a vice this might be more
difficult.
Here is a side by side shot:
You will need some of this:
Once you get your forks apart it should look like this SV on left, F3 on right:
Now all you need to do is put whichever bushings you are going to use on the F3 fork tube and slide it into the SV leg. You will need the fork seal driver to put the upper bushing in place, as well as the fork seal.
Once this is done You will need to put the F3 internals into the your hybrid fork (the oil in my F3 forks was gross, so I took some extra time to clean up the parts the best I could we primed the F3 internals with new clean oil to help get the old out). Put in your new oil, check the level, bolt up the cap and remount to your bike.
Keep in mind, the front end needs to be lowered so YOU WILL HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR BARS, because she is sitting high right now.
and your done
PS Since I have gotten some PM's recently pertaining to my Avatar, its my Girl Friend I have a sausage...Just like everybody else on this forum
