Fork Party II wrap up...

[buymenow00]

(The first rule of Fork Club is: You don't talk about Fork Club.)

Whew! What a day! I don't ever ever EVER want to see a set of forks again!! I'm all forked up...:o

Nat...er NateDawg, was the first one on the hoist...and there his yella nekkid stayed for the next FIVE FREAKING HOURS! Part of it was my fault since the first set of spacers we cut for him were too short, so we had to redo that...also we had to make two trips to Del Amo Motorsports next door to have Yoda (no shit, that is what people call him) break out the damping rods...it was agonizing. But, finally it was done and Nate sez it was worth it! Forkin' ay bubba!

Next up was the FNG - Jesse. We got his forks out pronto...and again went straight to Yoda for some assistance. That was the hot tip of the day! No way would we have gotten those damping rods out w/o some help from The Force! Well, after learning from a few screwups on Nathaniel's bike, we got Jesse back on the ground within 2 1/2 hours. Jesse came back smiling after his test ride...so I guess that means something...or maybe he just farted. ;)

Then Leigh...she just needed oil and spacers done. She had her preload fully cranked down! Fortunately, Jesse's stock spacers were longer since he didn't have preload adjusters, and we decided to just drop those in to add some more compression on her springs. By this time, I'm actually getting quite sick of wrenching on bikes...but we did manage to get it all done and buttoned up in about 1 1/2 hours. She was another happy customer!

In all we had Denys, David (thanks for getting that scratch outta my tank!), Brad (sorry we didn't get your forks done dude!), Dan (in his new dominatrix leather gear), Leigh, Aaron (funny F4i guy), Nathaniel, another guy on a carbureted Honda F4 (sorry dude, I spaced on your name), and myself. Pretty good group!

Gregg couldn't make it at the last minute due to his sick dog...hope that worked out ok! And Jimm...well, what happened to Jimm?

It always seems that when you are the host, you're constantly trying to help everyone, so while I did have a good time, I'm BEAT! Thanks to all who came...Leigh should have a link to pics up sometime soon!

Fork the world!

[ersigh]

Today was kewl.

It was a bit long in the beginning, too hot and I was getting stressed but once I relaxed and just decided to not worry about my schedule (i didn't have anything set in stone anyway) ... it didn't help I didn't get enough sleep, was woken up from an extremely dead sleep and was irritable as all shit until we got the donuts @ krispe kreme on the way to mikes ... (i was that kind of irritable where my clothing feels wrong adn it makes me really angry) ...

It was fun just hanging around and bsing (even if i didn't get most of the movie quotes) ...

My front forks are uber kewl!! Can't wait to go out into the canyons and see how they feel. :) They feel so much better now.

Thanks for all the help ... (i was lazy and let them do the work cuz' they knew what they were doing) ...

[buymenow00]

Oh yeah, thanks for the donuts Leigh...and I thought your clothes looked totally cool!

I'm so tired now...

[buymenow00]

Don't forget to retorque your bolts in a couple days...

1) Axle bolt - 47
2) Axle pinch bolt(s) - 16.5
3) Brake caliper bolts - 28
4) Fork mounting bolts - 16.5
5) Fork caps - 16.5

All specs are in ft/lbs.

[Burst]

Sorry for waking you up..... I just didn't want everyone waiting around for me. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again, :D

[ersigh]

Bah ...

It was necessary ... it was worth it. No worries on that ...

I would have been tired anyway, since the alarm was set to go off 20 minutes after you called and 20 minutes doesn't make THAT much of a difference.

I wonder what I was dreaming about ... (making smoothies probably) ...

[ersigh]

You thought my cloths looked kewl??

sweet.

YAY!!

hehe.

I was being all lazy and stuff ... :) I love those pants tho ... :) :)

I'm uploading pix right now ... it's taken me 2 hours, cuz' the site was being weird and stuff ... just uploading people and bike pix, decided to seperate the mechanical ones, and will do those seperately ...

Also, if anyone wants to take the mechanical ones and create some sort of detailed explanation using the pix, let me know and I'll create a zip file for dload ... otherwise I'm just gonna put them up and put what I can remember ...

(shit now the album isn't working, but it says that the space is being used ARGH!!)

(sigh)

that means i'll have to redo ALL THE COMMENTARY AGAIN!!!


(sulk)

sucks.

(grumble)

[bwarbiany]

It was good times for all, my bike seems to be doing a little better, but I'm sure it's not done yet. :( I might shim the tank up a bit to help the air come in, but since I've got a stock exhaust, the air can come in, but has nowhere to go... Might have to drill the can until I can get a real pipe :)

Thanks for the help, and the extra tools, and the shims, and the general good company... And we'll do my forks at Fork Party III (I think someone may request it to be at a different place this time :) )

Brad

[linp]

Leigh,

You could post/upload a few pics in the 'Pictures' forum if you'd like, as it would help me in testing it.

thanks

[ersigh]

I'll try that ... when I have time to downsize (i'm assuming it doesn't do it for me) ...

[ersigh]

Hmmm well ...

I have to say that I think the forks are too stiff. Well beyond the stiffness of how they were before ... on the freeway and stuf like that, it's great ... but so far in the corners, it has been a bit uncomfortable. Front end has felt like it was pushing out from under me several times ...

It may be that i"m not used to it, but I think I may take the spacers out and cut them a bit ...

Is there anything I need to do, because opening the forks up and removing the spacers, cutting them, filing them and putting them back?? (i'm not planning to remove the forks, just loosen everything, slide em' up a bit, unscrew it and etcetc) ...

[buymenow00]

Damn! Well, are you thinking of just undoing the fork caps and pulling the spacers out? You could probably do that if you get one of those magnets on the end of an antenna thingies...pop the caps off, take the spacer out, then cut like 1/2" or so, clean it up...then drop everything back in and add a smidge of fork oil back. Retorque the fork caps to 16.5 ft/lbs...

[buymenow00]

Actually Leigh, if you do try to leave the forks on, you will have to be very careful removing and reinstalling the fork caps since they will be under spring pressure. And since your spacers are longer, there is MORE spring pressure than normal...

Just how *bad* was it riding in the curves?

[NateDawgg]

How come whenever I try to respone to someones post I get a friggin error message?

I'm cranky this morning. No coffee.

Since I can't reply to you'alls individually:

Leigh. I would love to be a Crest tour guide. Yes the tour includes a stop at an excellent Mexichow joint. How about GMR some time, too? Also, I really enjoyed hanging out with you guys after the fork party, thus proving that Denny's can be more than an eating experience.

Mike. Thank's so much for hosting us on Saturday. Your generousity was greatly appreciated. My bike is much nicer on bumpy stuff. Now, if only I can get this carb thing sorted out.

Jesse. You are one funny cat to hang out with. Next time order the lasagna.

It was great meeting the rest of you nutty SV folks. I hope we all get the opportunity to ride together some time soon.

Nathaniel

[ersigh]

The front tire skipped 3 seperate times, where it felt like it was being pushed out.

It may be that my rear is now not stiff enough and there's a balance issue ...?? (thoughts on that?)

CUz' they feel great other wise ...

I'm not worried about doing the work, it'll be fun (and this time i'll get to do it myself) ...

[Burst]

Leigh what weight oil did you end up using? 20wt? I'll be putting in 15wt this week. Maybe there is too much dampening with the stock springs/20wt combo?... I would say wait and take my bike for a spin to see how you like it compared to what you have. Might give you a better idea of where to go with your changes.

[ersigh]

I feel pretty confident that it's a matter of just shortening the spacers ... I'm gonna do that, just cuz' I can ... :) hehe. But I'll be curious to give your bike a try any how ...

My bike died on me unexpectidly. It happened right next to a gas station that @ midnight was still open (specifically the shop was open), they let me get into their tools ... I couldn't find anything wrong, but the most I can figure is that a rock or something went into the area where the chain is (front sprocket area), and caused the bike to burp ... it made the weirdest sound and then died ... and next time i started it, it died again, but after that was fine. My passenger said something hit her leg ...

It scared me, cuz' I was afraid something was seriously wrong with my bike. The guy I was riding with is really mechanical and thought the hypothosis was reasonable... I've never heard of this happening tho' ... dunno.

(it's amazing the looks i get, w/a female passenger on the back and both of us are bent forward, our thongs showing ... lol ... course it still remains that when we stop, she's the one guys talk to ... (shrug) oh well, i'll take the attention where i can get it ... ;) ...)

[Bugg77]

Speaking of thongs showing....

Did anyone get mooned on their way back from Mike's place?

Mike, if I were you, I'd just ride up and down Artesia looking for 4 hotties in a white Jeep Wrangler. :D

[ersigh]

Pix are uploading right now ...

look @ second URL i listed ... (i made a post in the photos area i think)http://www.socalsvriders.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17