Fork Spring Direction

[TDC]

Does anyone know which direction the springs on an 81 GS450L are to be installed? I took the first leg apart and took mental note that the tighter coils are at the top. Started taking the second apart to find the tighter coils at the bottom. I'm starting to doubt my mental note. The parts fiche does'nt really show which direction they are supposed to be and my manual just says to take note of it and reinstall the same. They should be the same direction I would think.

Also, Are Leakproof seals any good? Anything I should be aware of?

TDC

 

[mike_of_bbg]

Tight coils down is the advice I've always seen and how I installed mine. Though I think it's more important that they're the same.

Leakproof Moly seals have a good reputation. But yes, there is something you should know - don't pound them in! Work them in with finger pressure only!

From http://members.dslextreme.com/users/storagecliff1/images/Install_Progressive_Fork_Springs.pdf

The Progressive documentation
says that, mechanically, it doesn't
matter which way the springs are
loaded. Follow your factory manual
recommendations. Some riders
have noticed increased noise in the
forks if the tight coils are toward​

the top.

 

[TDC]

Having them the same is what I was thinking. I'll put them both thight coils down. At first I thought maybe the PO had done seals but I don't see any evidence of prying the seals out such as tool marks on the end of tubes. So this may be the first change unless they were carefull. We will see how they feel after getting them back together. I may end up with Progressives in the end.

If I had known how easy it was to do seals I would have done them earlier. I think the toughest part will be getting the rattle can ghetto chrome off and giving them a proper polish. She said she wants the bike to be pretty.

Thanks for the input.

TDC

 

[mike_of_bbg]

Well, I wouldn't go doing 'em for fun now I sheared the head off of one of my lower clamp bolts so that ended up making mine take a while. My bike has air forks so there's no marks: drain oil, plug back up, pump up to about 150 psi and watch 'em blow.

Check for pits in your travel area, lightly wet sand with 600 grit if there's anything you can catch a fingernail on. Make sure the uppers are clean so you don't nick the seals sliding them on.

The springs were designed for a pretty light rider when they were new. 30 years of compression is not going to have helped their load capacity. Fresh Progressive springs are an immediate improvement. Check your sag, should be no more than about 1/3 or roughly 2". You can try adding some PVC pipe spacers above the stock springs to increase your pre-load. Some suggest cutting about 1" of the tight coils off the stock spring and adding more spacer. If you want to avoid the ~$65 spring expense. Fortunately the springs swap easily without taking the forks back apart.

 

[Tom R]

I cut 3" off the tight coils of my stock springs and added an extra 3.5" of spacer. I'm 190lbs and the front still feels a bit soft for my liking. I still have to add 12lbs of air in the forks to achieve a 1.5" sag - so, come spring, I'm add an additional 3/4" of spacer to see if I can bypass using air altogether. I should note that I have '81 or '82 GS850GL forks on my 1100, so it may have been an excessively soft starting point.
Because you can't get a factory end on the springs when you cut them, I'd suggest putting that end down rather than into a relatively soft pvc spacer (if that's what you use). The spring really doesn't know what direction the compression is coming from, so I don't see how it can make a difference performance-wise.

 

[mike_of_bbg]

Even with the factory end I'd suggest putting a washer between the spring and PVC spacer. Metal wins vs. plastic most of the time.

 

[TDC]

There is a bit of raised pitting in the tubes that I'll hit with a very fine hone to flatten and finish with some 1000 grit paper. I did one and it turned out pretty good.

I will start with the factory springs as they measure good for free length. Like you said, I can always swap them out at a latter time without to much drama.

So what is the procedure for aligning everything once it is all back together?

TopDeadCenter

 

[Tom R]

Even with the factory end I'd suggest putting a washer between the spring and PVC spacer. Metal wins vs. plastic most of the time.

You still keep the hat on top of the spring, it just wouldn't sit as flat on the side you cut.