fork spring seat replacement

[walterpunk]

I popped off the caps on my forks of my 79 and noticed there arent any of the small discs between the cap and spring. What have you guys been using for replacements?? i thought i saw someone said they used dollar coins. Dont know if they worked at all though. Even if they did are american dollar coins the same as canadian loonies??

 

[jd750ace]

Just get a fender washer that will fit. Should be able to find something at the hardware store, although I'm not sure if Olds is closer to Edmonton or the Arctic Circle!

Hope this helps. Also, a Loonie and a bullwinkle dollar (current US Round dollar) are pretty much the same size.

 

[5twins]

Your '79 should have the preload adjustable caps. You need a solid round piece, not a washer with a hole in the middle. I don't know if they're big enough but maybe the knock-outs from an electrical box might work. If too small, weld one over the hole on a larger diameter washer. Or cut and shape them from some metal plate.

 

[jd750ace]

A '79 has preload adjustable caps? Did not know that.

 

[5twins]

Yes, they have 3 settings, the solid metal pin preloads the springs 10mm more for each step. You need something solid for that pin to act against. That's why a washer with a hole in the middle won't do .....

 

[walterpunk]

thanks for the advice guys! Oh and jd actually olds is south of edmonton lol

 

[jd750ace]

OK! now I know 2 things I did not know. I look at the pics of my Special II and I see black caps on top. Are there adjusters under there? Or is it just the base model, and if so, cna they be installed in the Special tubes? I'm assuming so.
Also, 10MM are some big steps! My whole range on my SV650 is only half that! (15MM)

 

[5twins]

Yes, that's a rubber plug/cap over the adjusting screw to keep out dirt and water. The adjuster pin is a slip fit into the cap. It has an o-ring on it to seal it. If water gets in there, it will just sit above the o-ring and can rust the pin. Then the adjuster seizes up. It's not a bad idea to put a couple drops of oil on top of the pin to help displace any water and keep it from rusting. If you have the cap off for fork work, you can give it a proper cleaning and oiling. As far as I know, all 650 forks from '78 on have the adjustable caps.