Hi everyone,

Just wondering if anyone had a photo of what the stock 04 or newer fork springs and spacers look like? Chuck had a photo of the springs in his thread:

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=37029.0



Anyone have a photo of the 2004+ stock spacers and/or washers?

If not, does anyone have ideas of what might be a good substitute for the stock spacers and/or washers?

Thanks in advance for any help! 

PVC sch 40 or sch 80 pipe, and I believe the 1 inch size. Its a ok mod, especially if you're light and not that hard on it.
Cool.
Buddha.

I would assume the spacers are similar to the older springs. Just a piece of aluminum tubing, it used to be 200mm long. Not sure how long it was after they changed the springs. The washers are flat washers that sit on top of the spring, between the spacer and spring. I'll check the w.o.f. I think there are pictures in there.

EDIT: I can't seem to find it, like most things I look for around here. 

Thanks, The Buddha and bucks1605!

I know there have been lots and lots of posts on the merits of the spring mod so I won't turn this into another one. BUT... I thought this might be a good compromise between the stock (for a '99) and the progressives since I'm about a buck thirty without gear.

I know the stock springs are notoriously soft to begin with and I'm definitely feeling that. It probably didn't help that the PO was easily 200lbs, maybe up to 250lbs.

Do you think I should just go straight to the progressives? I don't ride hard enough to warrant RaceTechs.

Any additional opinions and advice would be appreciated.

You could add the spacer and go up to a heavier weight fork oil. See how that treats you before you decide to upgrade the springs. However, this being said, if you do buy progressives you won't be disappointed. Best upgrade you can do to these bikes is the front suspension.

You have bad fork seals ? if they are then do a new seal and dust cover job and fill in 15wt and add in spacers. And yes 130, yes, I have seen them in-effective for that 150lb range fully dressed ... some combo of valving, oil weight, spring preload/new springs, and what not  can work, my lindemann worked one worked great and I never weighed less than 220 + ...
I am  still working on some way to keep them from blowing seals. I'll post here shortly or may even offer as a mail in mail out service.
I am actually learning suspension tricks as we speak, specific to a GS.
Cool.
Buddha.

It's entirely possible that i have a fork seal leak. When I first bought my bike and took it in to get an overall inspection and new tires installed, my mechanic told me to keep an eye on my seals because there might be a leak... But I'm not exactly sure what a leaking fork seal is supposed to look like.  Short of oil gushing out, that is.

As an aside, I totally trust my moto mechanic; he's a very decent guy and has gone above and beyond to deal with the carb issues after I bought my GS. Carb issues. What a surprise! 

(I've been hesitant in opening up and working on the forks because I don't have a garage. All of my work is done outside my apartment so anything I start, I have to finish that day because I can't leave it around.)

Depending on how bad your seal is leaking you may be able to see a ring around the inner fork tube where the dust seal has reached the end of it's travel. There may be a black ring and some oil on the fork tube.

Just went outside to check and I can definitely make out a line at the end of inner tube's travel. It's not a black ring, per se. Everything above the line is kinda dusty and everything below is pretty shiny. I wouldn't say anything looks particularly oily.

This would be infinitely easier to "describe" if I had my camera at work...

One has a ring and the other doesn't then I'd say you have 1 leaking and the other is not. They both are usually equally dirty ...
I'll ahve a technique to do these in the next few days - just watch this space guys. I may even revalve them and check what they do.
Cool.
Buddha.

My bad! Poor description on my part. Both of them are dusty on top (up to "the line") and then shiny below.

When I took out the spacers in my 2004 forks, I didn't notice them being any different than the 2001.  But I haven't compared them side by side.  I'll try to remember to check.

Okay, here are some photos of my forks, left and right (when standing in front of the bike; click to enlarge):

Quote from: pronator on June 04, 2008, 03:26:23 PM
Chuck - I'm actually looking to use a set of 2004 springs to replace my stock 1999 ones. Given the size difference in your photo lineup, the spacers have to be different, don't they? This is assuming that the 2001 springs are the same as the 1999 springs.

Not necessarily.  The 2001 spring and spacer is junk.  Most people add an additional spacer, but adding additional spring would be even better, even if it uses the same spacer.

Hmm, maybe I'm confusing everyone, including myself... Let me try to clarify.

I currently have a 99 GS, with stock springs.

I want to upgrade to a 2004+ stock spring.

Wouldn't the stock spacers on those be different lengths?

I'm asking because I have a line on a set of 2004 springs, but just springs. I'm assuming (perhaps wrongly) that I can't use my current 1999 spacers with the 2004 springs. My original question was what would be a viable substitute (PVC, size, etc) for the 2004 spacers if I couldn't get some stock ones?

Then The Buddha came along and I'm worried about leaky forks now!

Sorry for the confusion. Thanks for the help!