Fork springs for 82 GS850GL

[fivetoedsloth]

Hi gang. My fork is quite a bit softer than I'd like, so I've been looking at possible solutions. The popular one seems to be to get the progressive springs. After poking around a bit I've found springs for the GS850G, but not the GL specifically. Can anyone tell me if there really are replacement springs available for my bike? Thanks!

 

[bigsmellyfred]

springs

springs

Check the individual air pressure in each fork tube. I keep mine at about 18psi.

 

[DanTheMan]

The 850 G series will work. I put springs from a GS750 in mine (a '78), they were longer and stiffer and work fine. Do a search (the search function does work), either use fork rebuild, Progressive springs or some combination, you'll find many, many posts concerning this.

 

[fivetoedsloth]

The 850 G series will work. I put springs from a GS750 in mine (a '78), they were longer and stiffer and work fine. Do a search (the search function does work), either use fork rebuild, Progressive springs or some combination, you'll find many, many posts concerning this.

Thanks, Dan. That helps. I did do a few searches, but apparently my google-fu is failing me today. I didn't see anything specific to my bike, but I'll look again.

 

[Steve]

The forks are a different length, so you may need different-length preload spacers,
but you will need to figure out your preload anyway, so it shouldn't be much of a problem.

.

 

[Dogma]

For Progressive brand, use the same as the matching G model. Front end geometry and the weight of the bike are very similar, so they will use the same spring. Any subtle differences can be adjusted for during the preload/ride height adjustment you'll have to do anyway.

While waiting for the new springs to arrive, put some air in there, like Fred said. I don't remember using 18 psi in mine (before Progressives). Start at 10 and see if you like the results. Getting both sides reasonably close to each other is tricky without the special tool, though.

 

[fivetoedsloth]

While waiting for the new springs to arrive, put some air in there, like Fred said. I don't remember using 18 psi in mine (before Progressives). Start at 10 and see if you like the results. Getting both sides reasonably close to each other is tricky without the special tool, though.

I picked up a Progressive micro pump today. The gauge said my forks were at 8 psi each side. I pumped them up to 15 psi each and it made a wonderful world of difference. The front doesn't feel like it's collapsing every time I touch the brake lever anymore and it has a nice, semi-firm, springy (for lack of a better description) ride.

Since the seals seem to be holding air for the time being, I went ahead and ordered some rear shocks today. New springs for the front are still on my list, but they're a bit lower priority now.

Thanks again, everyone.