82 Forks

[twinegar]

Will 82 fork tubes fit into the 80 trees?

[EMS]

No. 82 tubes are 39mm, 80 trees have 35mm clamp diameters. People have bored out trees. Don't know if that is the thing to do. I never have. 82 (81) trees are not that rare and they fit the 80 frame.

[Don]

Yup - As long as you're getting the '82 forks, go ahead and get the '82 tripletree and top clamp. It all bolts together on a '79 or an '80 and your instruments and all will fit right on. I'd go ahead and get new bearings while you're at it . . . . Perfect upgrade

Don

[twinegar]

Thanks for that, getting 80 forks is a little hard to do. I posted about the near mint 80 forks I did just receive and then went to the shop and proceeded to ruin one of them yesterday. I now call this "the dumbing down of Tom"......you know, a sort of pun of the term, "dumbing down of America". Sometimes I do the stupidest things and have no answer for it. I searched for those tubes since I got the bike in July of last year so one would think I would be three steps ahead in my thinking while doing the job. Not this time, I forgot that the Allen bolt had to be removed and, (you have probably already figured out what I did), proceeded to remove the snap ring and washer and then started slamming the tube against the seal to pop the two halves apart. Rather than thinking it through I laid a 1x2 piece of oak along the tube and against the fork lower and started tapping it with a hammer which obviously won't work. I sat the whole fork upright on the bench while I figured out what to do next and immediately saw the damage to the once perfect tube, about a dozen small dents made by the hammer glancing off the wood. If you are picturing me standing, about to throw myself onto my sword you are close.
Anyway, putting that behind me I am tempted to go with the 81/82 fork assembly but my obsessive need for originality is hounding me to start looking for a good fork tube to replace the destroyed one. The original tubes still on the bike have no dents but are pitted so can someone please tell me if a plating shop would be able to re-chrome the tubes eliminating the pits? Here is a picture of the pitted tube:

[Don]

I'd go with the ProLink forks - The extra stability they provide is really noticeable if you like to ride it 'spiritedly' - Grind off the Bosses which the reflectors screw into and use your '80 reflectors if you're going for the stock look. Upgrade to a set of 900F dual piston calipers while you're at it . . . . the less flimsy forks can handle the more powerful brakes lots better than the 35 mm early model fork tubes

If you just *have to* keep it as original as possible, buy new fork tubes

http://www.frankmain.qpg.com/

My Canadian 1100F front end has Franks fork tubes on it . . . . you can't tell them from stock, except that they don't have any pits ;)

Don

[twinegar]

Thanks.

[daves79x]

Per our PM conversation - I can fix you up with either set-up. PM me if still interested.

Dave

[zxbob]

I did the 82 front end swap on my 80 if you havent seen the post.

Get a set of 81 / 82 forks
81 / 82 triple trees (you'll need to drill out the upper tree for the gauges)
Get a set of VFR handle bars (39 mm)

Spend a few hours in the garage, you'll roll out happy as a clam





Bob

[EMS]

81 / 82 triple trees (you'll need to drill out the upper tree for the gauges)

Bob

[twinegar]

Thanks!

[Passx]

Tom,

As a suggestion, while doing the late model forks I add the Racetech "Gold valves" and springs with their fork oil, you're looking at about $300 but I gotta tell you that it really makes them feel much better controlled. I did this to my 81 last year and find it to be one of the best things I've done to it so far and will add them to my 80 which I'm going to do the late model forks or the CB1100f front, I have both & haven't decided yet but am leaning to the late model front because with a little work it looks like the oe front, highly recommended. My query on this last year sparked quite a heated discussion on it but I did what I thought was right and talked to the Racetech folks and haven't looked back, highly recommended ! Great folks here with good intentions .

[Norton1]

Regarding the racetech valving and oil, is this something that makes the bike more stable at higher speeds? Cornering more positive?

I have heard that the earlier CBX's were a tad iffy at speeds above 85 or so. Is this also true for the 82 model?

[NobleHops]

Regarding the racetech valving and oil, is this something that makes the bike more stable at higher speeds? Cornering more positive?

I have heard that the earlier CBX's were a tad iffy at speeds above 85 or so. Is this also true for the 82 model?

Better damping fore and aft will make a bike steer quicker and more precisely, conversely poor damping will make it wallow. It's pretty easy to visualize, if the ride is bouncy because the oscillation of the suspension over bumps is not damped, then the steering geometry and the weight distribution is constantly changing as the bike rises and falls, making the bike track a series of smaller arcs, as opposed to the nice big one you have in your mind. aka 'wallow'. Mismatched sag front and rear will contribute, by changing the intended geometry.

Short answer: emphatically yes to what you said, but of course you can't neglect the other moving parts in the steering and suspension, wheel bearings, steering head and swingarm. And tires. Any play, notchiness or unusual wear in any of those will do the same thing, as you try to push over or through a notch in the steering or on the tire, or the swingarm moves laterally, etc etc. A bigger windscreen can change a bike's handling.

Again, check the easy stuff first, wheel bearings, fork seals, steering head (including bearing torque), swingarm, contour of and pressure in the tires. Check wheel alignment. Once all are known to be good, then change the fork oil and change springs or spacers to get the fork sag correct, ditto on the rear - set sag CORRECTLY, by measuring it, not by 'feel'.

Still not happy? Move on to cartridge emulators and upgraded rear shocks, add a fork brace. Replace swingarm busings/bearings and re-grease, do the same with the steering head, switching to tapered roller bearings.

Still not happy? Buy a VFR

N.

[Passx]

Norton,

What Nils said !!!!! I would add though that if you have the forks apart, you are rebuilding them before putting them on your early bike right ? Seals & bushings and while they are apart I personally would add the Racetech stuff just because it really settles the front due to the improved dampening control from the Racetech stuff. I really didn't think the front on my 81 was all that bad until I blew a seal out and decided to add the racetech stuff, quite a difference ! BUT as Nils said you really have to go over the suspension front to back to make sure everything else is right or it's wasted $$$. On my 80 I had lots of good advice because it handled badly (which is a major understatement) I was told to add Progressive fork springs and shocks for a miracle cure, then add a fork brace as another absolute fix and ultimately Tim Ware asked the simple question " You gone over and checked all the suspension and adjustments, right? " Talk about feeling stupid, so I replaced the steering head bearings with tapered rollers and adjusted them because they were notchy but didn't fix the wobbles and a pull to the right, ended up looking at the swingarm pivot which was very loose because my bike had been only drag raced for it's entire life, beat the pivot loose. Tightened it up and the bike would track steady & straight to over 140mph w/o issue so long as there weren't any turns to flex the hinge in the middle, simply the worst handling bike I've ever owned. During the rebuild it'll get something done with the front end and a new 1100f swingarm & shocks plus some frame gussets which I hope will make it handle better than me.

[daves79x]

Actually an even close to stock suspended '80 handles quite well if all you mentioned is up to snuff. I suspect something still is not right if you feel it has a hinge in the middle. '80s really do handle well under most riding conditions.

You must have done some serious engine work to come even close to 140mph.

Dave