is this gonna work ??

[cnclee]

What i did was take the forks off a yama rt 180, & put them on my project. I did this for the 21" front rim. The caliper will have to be shimmed to keep the wheel centered. Other than that it seems to fit & looks ok too.
I also have a question about shortining shocks, can it be done ? & if so how ?
Can i just chop off the springs & shorten the piston stem, or are there internal parts that are going to cause me troubles. i can get my hands on a spring compressor so that is not a worry. before & present pics

[kgdb]

Originally Posted by cnclee

What i did was take the forks off a yama rt 180, & put them on my project. I did this for the 21" front rim. The caliper will have to be shimmed to keep the wheel centered. Other than that it seems to fit & looks ok too.
I also have a question about shortining shocks, can it be done ? & if so how ?
Can i just chop off the springs & shorten the piston stem, or are there internal parts that are going to cause me troubles. i can get my hands on a spring compressor so that is not a worry. before & present pics

Shortening forks is very tricky at best. Can you not run the tubes higher through the upper tree to get it a little lower?

[jerseymutt]

Kev buddy I think he wants to shorten the rear shocks not the forks. and yes I think you can shorten them the way he said but the end of the spring has to be flatened somehow. Never got that far.

The front end looks good but seems a little spindly. I don't know what the bike weighs but it's your call.

Mutt

[kgdb]

Originally Posted by jerseymutt

Kev buddy I think he wants to shorten the rear shocks not the forks. and yes I think you can shorten them the way he said but the end of the spring has to be flatened somehow. Never got that far.

The front end looks good but seems a little spindly. I don't know what the bike weighs but it's your call.

Mutt

Oops!

[cnclee]

Kev thanks but wrong end of bike

[cnclee]

Originally Posted by jerseymutt

Kev buddy I think he wants to shorten the rear shocks not the forks. and yes I think you can shorten them the way he said but the end of the spring has to be flatened somehow. Never got that far.

The front end looks good but seems a little spindly. I don't know what the bike weighs but it's your call.

Mutt

Mutt, so the way im looking at the shocks is right ? as far as getting the spring flat so that it will seat in the shock cap, my plan was to grind them flat, or i could mill them flat but being a spring id have to figure out a way to hold it . The stock shocks are 13" long uncompressed & i want to make them about 8".
By spindly do you mean weak ? or just looks to long ?
also do you think these forks will work ?

[kgdb]

Originally Posted by cnclee

Mutt, so the way im looking at the shocks is right ? as far as getting the spring flat so that it will seat in the shock cap, my plan was to grind them flat, or i could mill them flat but being a spring id have to figure out a way to hold it . The stock shocks are 13" long uncompressed & i want to make them about 8".
By spindly do you mean weak ? or just looks to long ?
also do you think these forks will work ?

Those forks will definitly work. I have used dirt bike forks several times. I think the abuse they take in the trails/jumps/dirt etc is a good testimony to the strength.

[cnclee]

Originally Posted by kgdb

Those forks will definitly work. I have used dirt bike forks several times. I think the abuse they take in the trails/jumps/dirt etc is a good testimony to the strength.

Thanks Kev, i thought i had seen that it was done before but wanted to double check. Your right about the abuse they take, way more abused on the trails than on the road i think.

[Bonehead9]

I like the forks and Kev is right, dirt bike forks are strong enuf. The rear shock thing is tricky, you can't cut too much off or you'll blow out the shock on compression. If you are lookin to go from the 13 to 8" I'm thinkin you may have probs IMO. Try lookin for some Rebel shocks, they only bout 10" and I'm thinkin you'll be a lot happier. JMO

[jerseymutt]

The fork tubes looked a little thin to me but after looking at it again I guess they are about the same as the stock tubes.

I don't think you will be able to shorten the shocks five inches and still have travel, that seems like alot. I cannot see through the spring coils to see the size of the shock housing but if you only have an inch or so of shock shaft it will probably ride worse then a ridgid. A little shock absorber is worse then none, it lets the bike/seat build up momentum before it whacks you in the end of your spine.

Also a major problem is trying to keep the shaft and body of the shock cool while you are welding the end of the shock shaft back on. You are welding shaft that goes into a hydraulic cylinder and if not done right at best the shock will leak and at worst it will become a hand grenade.

In the second shot you have struts on the back. Why not complete it with the struts and see what you think of ride and handling. Lowering the back changes the neck angle (rake and trail) plus a different front end you may find the bike doesn't handle well or gives you death wobbles at high speeds or on hard turns.

Mutt