Front fork travel

Wheels, tires, suspension, forks, and brakes.
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pappy1118
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Sep 19, 2013 8:51 pm
I ride: Black '07 vulcan 500 LTD
Location: Canton, Michigan

Front fork travel

Postby pappy1118 » Wed Mar 26, 2014 9:06 pm

Anyone know how far the travel is on the front fork while just pushing down on it (2008) . It looks to me that it is going down too far and a little too easy. Have not been able to ride this bike yet. Got it home 2 weeks ago and have been painting Fenders and covers. Just took tank off today. btw, should I remove badges or mask them?
Tim
It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

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Triangles
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Posts: 819
Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2009 10:35 pm
I ride: '94 Black Cherry Vulcan 500, '06 Candyfire Red Vulcan 500 LTD
Location: Toledo Ohio
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Re: Front fork travel

Postby Triangles » Thu Mar 27, 2014 4:53 pm

Fork travel is in the neighborhood of 4 inches. Are the fork seals in good condition? have you checked the fork oil level? Many people have used thicker oil to stiffen up the forks. The tank badges are held on by what appears to be 3m double sided adhesive tape? I would be a lot of work to remove and put back on. If you can without ruining them. I like that they protect the tank somewhat if you happen to go down. However I left mine off when I had the tank repainted.
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User avatar
pappy1118
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Sep 19, 2013 8:51 pm
I ride: Black '07 vulcan 500 LTD
Location: Canton, Michigan

Re: Front fork travel

Postby pappy1118 » Thu Mar 27, 2014 7:41 pm

thanks for responding. How do you check fork oil level? I think I will first try to mask off the badges.
It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

User avatar
Triangles
Site Admin
Posts: 819
Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2009 10:35 pm
I ride: '94 Black Cherry Vulcan 500, '06 Candyfire Red Vulcan 500 LTD
Location: Toledo Ohio
Contact:

Re: Front fork travel

Postby Triangles » Mon Mar 31, 2014 8:42 am

I don't remember the exact procedure off the top of my head but it is as simple as measuring the oil level from the top of the fork. I used a piece of solid wire. 137mm comes to mind but that is probably wrong. I guess what I meant to say by asking if you checked the fork oil level was to ask if you had check that there is oil in the forks. Somewhere on here I think I had posted a thread about when I rebuilt the forks on my '94 which might give you some insights. Suffice it to say if you're not leaking oil and there is oil in the forks, I wouldn't worry. Unless severely abused or involved in a collision it is highly unlikely anything internal is malfunctioning (I rearended a car with my '06 and the bike bounced back about 10 feet. To my shock and awe, the forks were still straight and fully functional. Only some cosmetic scratches on one lower tube). If you have everything apart already now would be a good time to do some preventative maintenance and replace your fork oil. I don't mess with the drain bolts, I remove the forks, open the cap and dump out the oil and stroke it several times to get all the oil out. I may be wrong but IMHO you get more of the old oil out this way. Be forewarned there is spring tension on the cap when removing it. It's not to dangerous, just might make you pee your pants if you're not expecting it. :) Also pay attention to the order and orientation of the bits that come out so you can put it all back in the way it came out.
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