WELCOME ME BACK! i'm an airhead once again!!!

[BubbaZanetti]

howdy guys :wave

got this nice little ST this weekend, so far so good.

i'll start with a question for you guys, the front forks have WAYYY too much travel. the previous owner put wilbers springs and 10wt oil, but i've bottomed out the engine on the front fender twice now, as riding in NYC tends to illicit numerous quick stops. what should i do??? spacers in the forks?? im not sure changing the oil or adding more would help this amount of travel.

anyway, nice to be back!!!

(photo courtesy of jon tessler)

[DarrylRi]

i'll start with a question for you guys, the front forks have WAYYY too much travel. the previous owner put wilbers springs and 10wt oil, but i've bottomed out the engine on the front fender twice now, as riding in NYC tends to illicit numerous quick stops.

Uh... leave more following room?

Seriously, congrats! I briefly owned an ST and thought it was a great bike!

[tessler]

I saw it in person this afternoon. Congrats again, Derek! A real nice find and it sounds terrific! Gonna be a real treat when Derek restores this great little bike!

http://tessler.smugmug.com/photos/511881029_uN3rv-M.jpg
http://tessler.smugmug.com/photos/511880827_b7nep-M.jpg

[fabiox]

howdy guys :wave

got this nice little ST this weekend, so far so good.

i'll start with a question for you guys, the front forks have WAYYY too much travel. the previous owner put wilbers springs and 10wt oil, but i've bottomed out the engine on the front fender twice now, as riding in NYC tends to illicit numerous quick stops. what should i do??? spacers in the forks?? im not sure changing the oil or adding more would help this amount of travel.

anyway, nice to be back!!!

(photo courtesy of jon tessler)

probably oil

[20774]

Never heard of Wilbers springs... Maybe the springs are sacked. 10wt oil is pretty stout already.

There, I think we have that covered... Someone say's it oil...I say it's springs!!

[Oldhway]

Derek, way cool. Have to see it in person one of these days. My RT grows on me every time I ride it. It was a tough transition but i am beginning to understand the airhead appeal.

So what's the restoration project looking like at this point? You going to Cafe it?

[manicmechanic]

I would suggest first adding some one-inch-long spacers and flat washers on top of the springs and see how that works. How does your size compare with the previous owner? How does it ride when you can go for a distance? Does it "pogo", as in bounce a lot? Does the front compress a lot when you get on? Are there any preload spacers in the forks now?

[81twins]

Two thoughts... first.. when I bought a wilburs rear shock for my R80 I also ordered new front springs which it turned out were progressive springs... secondly.. I have put these springs in a couple of bikes and they come with spacers that can be used as is or cut down depending on model. I have come across some instances where individuals have found the top caps difficult to thread and have dispensed with the "extra" bits... as manicmechanic states.. perhaps spacers would firm things up.

[snoone]

Sweet ride Derek, Good luck with it... I want an airhead too!!

[SIBUD]

Bubba,

I had to look to see if you had dyed your hair. :laugh :laugh :laugh

Congrats on the new ride.

Looking good.

[sumran]

Welcome back. I have always heard good things about that model. Good luck on the forks. I need to get mine dialed in as well, though I have the opposite problem. Never enough time.

Hope this means we will get to enjoy your posts more often.

[108625]

I would think the appeal of the Airhead in that kind of urban traffic is those two big leg-protectors sticking out of the sides:thumb

The bike looks appropriate for the environment, Derek.
In fact, you kind have a despatch rider look going on there!

[barryg]

Good for U, got one just like it out in the shed, same color and everything.

[BubbaZanetti]

PVC pipe spacers and washers, exactly what I was considering. anyone got any idea on the diameter of pipe i should shoot for? (i'm just being lazy and dont want to research/measure):laugh


and thanks for the warm welcome :thumb

[jamesdunn]

Didn't you sell a R1100S? Nice bike but gotta love those older airheads! I sure do. But ,I am keeping my '94 R1100RSL as a backup to my '78 R100RS!

[BeemerMike]

Regarding the springs, maybe you have already done this, but if not, before you do anything else you need to the perform a three point sag check on the front and rear suspension so you will know the starting point. 1. Suspension completely unloaded, then 2. suspension supporting only the weight of the motorcycle, and finally 3. suspension supporting you and the motorcycle. That will go a long way in telling you whether you have a spring rate and/or spring preload issue BEFORE you starting dinking with oil and PVC spacers.

[20715]

Nice bike. Welcome home.

[BubbaZanetti]

Regarding the springs, maybe you have already done this, but if not, before you do anything else you need to the perform a three point sag check on the front and rear suspension so you will know the starting point. 1. Suspension completely unloaded, then 2. suspension supporting only the weight of the motorcycle, and finally 3. suspension supporting you and the motorcycle. That will go a long way in telling you whether you have a spring rate and/or spring preload issue BEFORE you starting dinking with oil and PVC spacers.

thanks Mike, i know that routine pretty well. i know im way out of spec and need less travel. will let you know how it goes....

[BeemerMike]

Great. This way, if you find out you need something different, you'll have a much better idea of what that something different should be.

[BubbaZanetti]

Great. This way, if you find out you need something different, you'll have a much better idea of what that something different should be.

yup :thumb

hopefully it won't be anything too big dealish.

[81twins]

The spring diameter is 1"... the outer diameter of abs pipe from progressive spring kit is 1-1/16 in... which leads me to believe it will be sold as 1" at the hardware store. PS.. great choice... enjoy!

[BubbaZanetti]

The spring diameter is 1"... the outer diameter of abs pipe from progressive spring kit is 1-1/16 in... which leads me to believe it will be sold as 1" at the hardware store. PS.. great choice... enjoy!

thanks! so washer+pvc pipe is a decent way to make a spacer? i'm slowly becoming a suspension expert over the next week or so.:laugh

[PGlaves]

Make sure the oil level is to spec or a bit above. I personally would run about 15cc more oil in each leg than spec. This reduces the air column above the oil and provides significant anti-dive charactristics. You may need to increase the spring preload or go back to OEM springs which were perfectly fine springs if everything else was right.

[BubbaZanetti]

Make sure the oil level is to spec or a bit above. I personally would run about 15cc more oil in each leg than spec. This reduces the air column above the oil and provides significant anti-dive charactristics. You may need to increase the spring preload or go back to OEM springs which were perfectly fine springs if everything else was right.

this was my first thought, it seems like there's a lack of damping for certain. gonna pull the tops off the tubes and add some oil tomorrow before i move on to making spacers.

[fabiox]

this was my first thought, it seems like there's a lack of damping for certain. gonna pull the tops off the tubes and add some oil tomorrow before i move on to making spacers.

I told you to check the oil...