Installing emulators in a 550 tonight….

[tkent02]

These came in another set of forks I don't have any more, no instructions. Can't remember how many holes in the damper rods. Was it four or five 5/16 holes? It's been a while since I've done any.

[Charlie G]

http://www.mikesxs.net/products-19.html

This is the brand I used. Instruction link on this page.

cg

[jwhelan65]

Typically four holes at 5/16" or a diameter close to the stock.

[derwood]

at least four plus the ones that are already there, and you are supposed to de-burr them.
If it has the anti-dive, I would drill six. you drill them in pairs, right through the rod, so i am pretty sure it is not five.
You don't want the damper rod restricting flow for high speed damping.
I don't think there can be too many unless the strength of the damper rod is being compromised.

[tkent02]

OK Thanks guys!

[salty_monk]

Yes more is better than less! You only want to kill the compression - leave the rebound hole (the small one further up) alone.

Use the oil weight to tune the rebound & then the emulator to tune the compression damping.

2 turns on the MikeXS one (with adapter) works well in my skunk with 10w oil. (Note I have 83 GS1100E fork legs & am able to adjust the rebound which I believe is currently set at "2".

[tkent02]

Well, Dammit. Took them all apart, met up with a top fork cap that was super tight, just one side! Needed a big ass breaker bar and had to mount the tubes back too tight in the steering head to hold it) drilled some holes, got to seeing how it all fit together, and the emulators don't fit inside the fork tubes. I guess these emulators didn't come out of a 550. Don't know but I bet they fit a 1000, I probably bought them used when I had one and never got around to it.

The good news, I was operating on a spare set of forks, I can still ride while I wait for the correct emulators.

[salty_monk]

The inside dia of the GS1000 fork tube is about 28mm from memory.

[tkent02]

That's probably it then, these emulators measure 26.3mm.

[tkent02]

Since I'm waiting for parts now, thinking about powdercoating the sliders black. Don't want to buy new seals, these are still good. Think if I filled the forks with oil and whacked them with a hammer to pop the seals out it would damage them?

Or, do you think fork seals would withstand 325 degrees f for half an hour? I'm thinking not so much on that one.

[salty_monk]

I've managed to pop them out on the 1000 with air through the schraeder valve & I have also done what you're talking about with one fork... Replaced those after though but principal is the same.

You might make a big mess!

[tkent02]

OK, there's no schrader valve on the 550, tried one off the 650 but the threads start further down the pipe, could barely catch a thread.

The hammer didn't do squat:



But this did!



They are out, no damage that I can see.

[salty_monk]

Nice to have a press in the shop... Looks like one of those harbor freight ones with the bottle jack on it?

[tkent02]

Yes, it's great to have, useful a lot more often than I would have thought, but should have gotten the bigger one. It's too small for a lot of things. Within a half inch or so of being too short for the fork leg.

Once I got it in there it sure made short work of it.

[tkent02]

A little PC action. Time well spent, i think.



Not professional results, but good enough for me.