Front Fork Spacer, by Kev
 

A cheep way to get a stiffer feeling front end. Tired of the front end diving excessively when braking hard, fitting the spacers adjusts the preload & raises the sag which alters the caster angle & makes for a better handling front end.

Then this mod is for you, the sizes are 30mm in length, width is 38mm & inside diameter is 20mm

Thank you Kev for another excellent Mod, I am sure a lot of people will be interested in this inexpensive solution to a soggy front end. :headbang: :headbang: :headbang:

Yep that will make a difference,i added spacers to my old Suzuki sv ,made it feel a whole lot better .

I have had a set in my forks for about 6 months now. I have been trying different sizes & now have come up with a set that does the job well.

I have had to get these spacers made up by a machine shop.

G'day Kev,nice mod:icon_thumleft:.I'm interested in the measurement's:angel12:.

The Kev Front Suspension Spacer Kit
 

For those new members that are not aware of this last summer Kev donated 4 Kev Mod's to 4 members to keep for good and to report in the forum their impression of how good or how bad this mod is.....

We we received 4 excellent reports from them and you can find that report somewhere in these forums, but then.... we decided to give an extra one for free to mystery registered member no 660 as a reward for having achieved such a milestone in terms of user's number.

We are now doing it again, in fact, as Kev suggested we will donate one of the Kev front suspension spacer upgrade kit to mystery number....... errr 660+660 =1320!!! not too far from now really, as we already have 1200 users, so... lucky man or woman #1320 will be sent a free spacer kit as soon as they are registered.

Well done to all.

The Kev Front Suspension Spacer Kit designed to give a stiffer front end (oh errr MATRON!!!!) will be yours soon, you lucky people.

Nice input Kev, thats a reasonable low cost mod. I also try in other bikes to raise a bit the oil level, just a bit no more than 25-30 cc wich is aprox 20mm level. Thats provide an extra stiff force on the last travel of the forks. The suspension become stiff when is almost topped down. It has no efect on the fist 2/3 of the travel. But you have to be carefull do not overfil the legs or you'll blow out your seals soon.

Just an input...nice mod KEV

I friend of mine was kind enough to make two sets of those spacers and gave me one of those sets.

We installed it in both our XT's

He loved the stiffer suspension, and raved about it, so I was next.

This brings me to my impressions.

To be honest, I am in two minds about this mod.

Please don't get me wrong, not trying to say it is bad, I just personally need more time with this mod to grow on me.

Here are my impressions.

My stock XT felt very nimble and required very little force to make the steering go where I wanted it to go. The bike felt very light and I loved that feeling. My rear suspension was set up to the softest setting. The ride was very plush.

With the spacers, besides the harder ride, I get the impression that I need to use more force to turn the bike. The bike also feels a lot higher, and even the handlebars feel out of place, even thought I made 100% sure they go back the way they came out. With the mod, I even had to adjust the mirrors, so there was quite a bit of change to the front setup.

So, in one way the bike now feels heavier to ride and takes more effort to corner, if you understand what I am trying to say. This is what bothers me. Not sure if I like the new feel of the bike, maybe I am just being crazy here.

A day or so after fitting the spacers, I made the rear also 2 clicks harder. The good side is that the bike feels more stable at high speed now. Maybe it is a result of the "heavier" steering. I still get a slight twitch at 140 to 150 Km/h, now and then, but for the rest, I get the impression it is more stable.

It also feels better under breaking, with the nose not diving so badly, so that I also like.

So, that’s my verdict. It's a bit of a gain here and a loss there kind of thing for me personally.

I have not taken the spacers out, and will give it a few weeks to settle in. Maybe I just have to get use to the new feel of the bike.

That heavier steering just feels wrong to me at low speeds, but it could be a good thing at high speed. I just have to get my brain around it.

Hi Freez

Thanks for your valued input. Which XT do you have, R or X?

You did the right thing by adjusting the rear suspension, suspension sag should be the same front & rear.

I find my XTX is alot faster through tight hard corners & I feel I'm more confident with the front end, under hard braking & turning in, that's with a 17" front wheel.

With a 21" front wheel there might be a different feel, the turning in of the front under hard braking might behave differently. It all depends on the individual. Having your suspention set to it's softest setting, tells me may be this mod is not for your type of riding. That's no problems, all comments are welcome, that's what a forum is about.

Let us know how you get on. Spacers, in or out.

Hi Kev.

I ride a XTR, with the 21" wheel.

The only reason I set the rear softer was to see how it felt like. Hardly notice any difference compared to the stock setting, so I left it there. It felt nice and comfy when you ride dirt roads, but with the rear harder now, it�s not bothering me doing the same riding.

I ride basically all 3 types of riding each day I travel from home to work and back.

I do some traffic, then a small bit of off-road to cut across and join up with a freeway where I get up to 130 or 140, depends how I feel like and end off to riding in traffic again. Going home is the reverse.

I must say that this morning, it felt like I was settling into the new feel of the bike a bit better and it was not bothering me much anymore.

I also like the slight little bit of ground clearance when doing the off road bit.

Like I said, I need time with the bike.

Also, according to the manual, the X's front shock springs are already longer and harder than the R's. So running those spacers in the X is even going to make it more stiffer than what I am running now.

If you are riding on the dirt, you don't really want hard suspension, depending on your body weight. I would may be try a set of 20mm spacers instead of 30mm.

The softer front end on the XTR would have a more acute caster angle under braking then the XTX. Meaning it will turn in better on the dirt with a softer front end. A softer front end on the dirt will soak up the bumps better & would have more traction or better grip.

If you are worried about the increased height with spacers, you can always drop the forks down 5mm to 10mm in the fork bridges. That will set the caster angle back to the XTR settings.

On the road it is another story, with the increased spring tension the XTR will have better high speed stability. I think the XTX is for the road & the XTR is the true trail bike.

I tried something similar to Kev, I took the caps off the forks and got some washers the same as the one under the cap. You can then pack the fork springs to your desired level, I ended up happy at 22mm. It's very cheap and no machining.
.
James

I used to do that on my old SV , as you said a cheap alternative .:wave:

Hi, I received Kev's spacers 3 days ago and was supposed to wait till saturday to fit them as I am too busy during the week. However I couldn't wait, plus... it took me less than 10 mins to do the whole thing. It was so easy after taking a look at the instructions. so...
First impression was the different feeling I got riding the bike. Strange in the first couple of miles.. brought a smile on my face very soon. Went on a normal ride out of town yesterday, and a fast ride to work and back today. So ,here are my comments so far:

1. Bike feels lighter and easier to handle.
2. Great responce while braking hard.
3. Great stability in high speed --did 100mph and my X was stable as a rock-- then I run out of road...
4. More confidence while turning. You feel that your front end won't let you down.
5. Rode over every damadged part of the road I run into :104:... although the whole suspension is stiffer, it responded unexpectingly well!

Excellent improvement from a low cost mod!!! Worths every penny!

Thanks again Kev. Thumps up on this.:023:

Thanks for the feed back.:smilies0346:

I have ordered 6 more sets of front spacer mods this week & will have them early next week.

So if anyone wants a set before I put them on Ebay send me a PM. Ebay price is AUD40.00 + postage, other wise AUD$35.00 + postage if ordered by PM before I put them on Ebay.

I would go as far as saying this is an essential mod for the XTX.

A massive thumbs up from me. :thumbsup[1]: You'd be mad to miss out on these.

Ditto :toothy9:

so I guess we're gonna be expecting feedback in like.... 4 mins??? :pjrlaugh_61OD3G:
you won't need more time to install them anyway !!!!:smilies0349:

but if he sets off to try them he won't be back for a day or two after seeing how good they make the front end.:downtown:

totally correct :nod:

Spacers
 

There are 2 sets right now on Ebay if anyone wants a set.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....MESE:IT&ih=003

Just thought I'd add my seal of approval to this mod.

I fitted them yesterday evening and the difference in handling is amazing - no wallowing at all now round fast sweepers at 70+ and equally no extra harshness over small bumps etc. Very impressed.

I did find them a little hard to fit as there was no way I could compress the fork spring with the spacers on my own so had to get someone (strong ) to lift the front of the bike enough for me to get a start on cap thread whilst compressing the springs.

I would recommend anyone attempting this on their own to ensure they have a way of raising the front wheel off the ground, otherwise help will be needed.

Thanks for the mod Kev, nice one.

Hey, i am a very new xtx owner and have just seen the discussion about these spacers. I'd like to know from one of you experienced bods if the pretty violent front end shimmy i get at around 80/85 is normal and will these spacers cure it as they seem to be just a spring hardener. Cheers

That has been mostly experienced when running too high a pressure on your front tyre and / or to do with the tightness of your racehead. People have also complained about this in relation to different tyre patterns, the spacer set that Kev designed is to give a much better response in the otherwise reboundless condition of the XT forks, it help keep a much better traction while cornering and a more active response over different road terrain, but first and foremost it cures the sagginess of the springs.

Great thanks for that i will try lowering the front tyre pressure a little from the standard its at now of 30psi. You mention the headstock tightness, i'm assuming that means the main steering bearing nut? if the pressure tack doesnt change things.Also while i'm at it i would really like to know where i can source some touch-up/spray paint for the frame and engine block/covers as my local dealer tells me that yamaha wont supply these due to a transport issue. I like your site by the way, really interesting and handy for an xt head!

That is a feeble excuse from Yamaha, I work in shipping and I am well aware that you can carry paint in containers clearly lablelled under the IMCO Cargo rules, paint and solvents have the same IMCO code and are both autorized for transportation between most countries.

I dont know about yamaha but in may i tried to get silver touch up paint for old zzr250 and got told by one of the many dealers i tried to contact saying that new euro laws about transporting toxic goods have chanced therefore anything toxic (paint is know under this) cant not be shipped untill something gets sorted. Never found out if it got sorted because i got silver paint made up by a shop (nearly the same) and sold the wee bike.

Personally i was not a very happy bunny, as after trying 10 kawasaki dealers about 5 said "oh we dont stock paint any more" with no other help. The other bar one said "oh that paint oh we dont have it, and we cant order it in for a while, dont no when dont ask". The only one that had any use was the one that told me the above. I just hope yamaha can be better

I have an XTR and I have no complains in straight line but she moves a lot the front at high speeds turns. I know she�s just a trail and not a superbike but my old Tenere never did that.
I�ve tried 25mm spacers in front with SAE 12,5 oil, rear shock stiffness at 4, but she keeps moving her head�
I usually ride with tire pressure between 30 - 32 psi in Metzeler Tourance, do you think 28 psi front will help? Should I keep the rear pressure higher (let�s say 28 front, 30 rear) or 28 psi at both ends?
Thanks.

PS: BTW, I also have to try with different windshields since I think (�not so sure) that with my old Kappa shield she was more stable that with the Yamaha large screen. I�ll let you know.

Have you checked your steering head bearings?

If they are to tight or the bearings are damaged it will weave as the speed increases.

If they are adjusted correctly & the bearings are ok. Try droping the forks through the bridges by 10mm.

Ello!

So what was wrong? You never added your solution.
I olso have XTR, but i just bought X wheels, because I only ride on road. So you recomend 25mm spacers and SAE 12,5 oil on my R forks or was that not so good for you? Anyone?

Thanx!

I still didnt find any solution to my problem. As I said, I have XTR, now Im fitting XTX wheels and I would like to make my front better. Should I use this spacers? Are they the same for XTX and XTR? Im guessing not. So what lenght spacers should I use? And fork oil? Should I change it as well?

http://www.xt660.com/site/node/135

ako ti je skupo ovo iz Australije naručiti, onda daj nekom tokaru da ti ih napravi

Hvala na savjetu :icon_thumleft:
Nisam ni mislio to iz Australije nabavljati, imam susjeda koji bi mi mogao to napraviti. Samo ne znam tačno koliko duge trebam za XTR, jer ovi ovdje su napravljeni za XTX, predpostavljam. Samo jo� trebam točne dimenzije :)
Isplati se to montirati? Ima� ti?

suspension mod
 

ive only today received this mod ive just done it like kev shows in his instructions. its transformed the front end thanks for your help .steve:gbxtank:

Well done,

Keep those feedbacks coming on this great mod from Kev!

:032:

HAve not tried this yet but wnted to say thanks to Kev. :)

Mate of mine is knocking up a set this weekend for me.

No problem Steve.

All the sizes & the info are in the mod section, if anyone wants to make their own spacers. Look under Suspension

Yup i found the thread and have sent the dimensions over to my mate :)