Problems removing front forks on 77 xs650??

[XS650D]

It does sound like i have the springs out off a 500!
Unless u want to part with those rebound springs i will give
the cut springs i made a go.I always feel unsure about modifying anything not stock,its a crap shoot.

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[XS650D]

Ok All done,just waiting for Snow to melt,prob another couple weeks before i can get out and test. 5Twins i was wondering what your thoughts are regarding the Model year 77 Damper rods having the extra hole at the side of the head off the damper rod were the 78 and on do not.Should i also have drilled that or enlarged that hole.From your pics it appears that the opening from the top on the 78 damper rod is much larger at least initially.Just pondering these questions and wondering how all off this will effect the Minton Mod from a 77 vs 78.Im going to assume that Yamaha changed the head of the 78 damper rod to cut cost and time while creating the same or better results.The larger opening will flow more oil quicker so the side hole was no longer needed,also less material and weight maybe and easier to remove !

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[5twins]

I'm not familiar with an extra hole in the side of the '77 rods. If you mean the one on the head, I don't think that's a hole to the interior but rather just the open end of the roll pin that you're seeing. It's like a small tube passing through the rod top but it only opens at each end, not to the interior .....

I don't really notice any difference between how the '77 and the '78-on forks with Minton Mods dampen. The damper rods do look different but seem to operate pretty much the same. I think, as you said, the later rods were made simpler and easier to produce so they could be made cheaper. The polishing and hole beveling was probably eliminated as a cost cutting measure too.

 

[XS650D]

Yes ,the bevelled hole u see in your pic on the side off the head (77 model damper) why would they bevel that if it had no bearing on how the Dampers work? The 78 Damper does not appear in your pic to have that,but i do not have that Damper to compare.

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[weekendrider]

A rolled pin is easier to start in a beveled/chamfered hole?

 

[XS650D]

ok,got ya! thx

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[5twins]

I'll bet they peened it to hold it in, and it's probably countersunk so it doesn't rub on anything.

I wanted to ask you, have you ridden with those (possibly) 500 springs and are they stiff enough? I was thinking of trying them.

 

[XS650D]

Yes i have logged around 2000 miles on those springs set-up with 1" preload spacers (have tried diff spacer lengths) and 10 weight oil (tried 15 and 20 weight) and found them to work well,no bottoming on hard edged big holes (yes i purposely drove thru some )yet still had a nice initial softness but small bumps were rough and hopefully the Minton mods will make it much better in that area.I have had progressive springs in my previous 1980 xs650 G and they were ok but sacked out quickly and had to install longer preload spacers.They still were never perfect and i should have tried the Mint Mods in that bike before selling.I would definately give the 500xs springs a try i fell there better than the stock units,i think they wont weaken as quick and being 1/4" longer need less preload and are more Linear in compression.

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