so i was on our gs site today getting ready to do the fork space mod... i noticed that in the write up that u need to cut a length of pvc or nylon rod
at 200mm in length (7 and 7/8") well upon removal of my stock spacers and a quick measurement to see how much longer the new spacers would be..... well im glad i didnt make the cut on piece of nylon rod i have since my stock spacer is  8 and 1/8"... im not looking to go out and mess with different race springs or different oil weights.. just want a cheap quick mod that works a little better than stock.... so what should i cut these at now since my stock spacers are longer than what the mod call for in length.. also i know this bike hasnt been messed with cuz its new and all ive done to it so far is an oil change.. if someone could get back to me asap that would be great.. bike is apart in the driveway as i type

anybody?

Are you trying to make the front end stiffer or softer? Longer spacer means the springs are more compressed and stiffer, but with less travel. Shorter means the springs are less compressed and softer, but with more travel.

i would like to stiffen up the front forks.... my stock metal spacers are 8 and 1/8" long   how much longer should i make the new spacer?

Not much, a little goes a long way. Maybe a quarter inch? Luckily PVC is cheap, so you can experiment a bit. There's only so much you can do with stock springs though, they're just not very good, the GS was built on a budget.

thanks for the info... i'm gonna go with 3/8" of an inch more that way if its too stiff i can take some off
if its too stiff. thanks again.. will post results within the hour

rwillower, the wording in the fork spacers article is confusing, and you've fallen victim to it.

He STARTS WITH a 200mm piece of nylon rod and then CUTS IT DOWN to the length he needs. Look at the pictures, you'll see that he ends up cutting off 2 pieces that look to be maybe a bit more of an inch in length - he then puts these new, slightly longer than an inch pieces back in the fork tube WITH the stock spacer.

It doesn't matter what size of rod you start with, 200mm just happens to be the size he had around.

Replacing the stock spacer outright with a longer one is also an option - in which case just cut a piece of pipe that's an inch or so longer than the stock one and leave the stock one out.

That is NOT what is shown in the fork spacers article though - that article leaves both the stock spacer AND a new spacer in the tube.

just got back from a test ride that turned into a longer than normal test ride....
the spacers i made were 3/8" thick and were almost impossible to get the fork
top back on so i just ground em down to 1/4" thickness and popped em in.. tightend
everything back up and WHAT A DIFFERENCE     it didnt feel like i was driving a sponge when i
would use my breaks or hit a bump.. took the bike out on some twisties and its got
a much more clean feel and crisp feedback.. i cant even imagine if i went with a set of springs
and different oil weight... im just scratching the surface on this i know... but for the record..
1 and 1/4" nylon rod or pvc doesnt fit into the fork tubes... at least not on my 09 gs500f...