My 2007 has two two yokes, top and bottom, and they clamp the fork in place. There are no markings on the fork nor are there instructions in the Haynes manual specifying how high the fork should be positioned. In theory, if the fork was sitting lower in the yokes, the bike would be sitting higher because the fork is extended further out creating more space between frame and road. And if the fork was sitting higher in the yokes, the bike would be sitting lower because there would now be less space between frame and road. Is this correct, and are you using it to adjust. I ask because after re-installation my bike feels a hair high. I should note that Im using the same amount of fork oil and same type as I did before. I suspect the only thing that changed is fork position in the yoke

I think that stock is flush with the handlebar mounting plate. Many move the forks up or down based on personal preference. I have mine lowered about 1" to be flush with the top of the top yoke. This gives me a little more ground clearance and upright riding position. I don't mind that it slows down the steering. Others raise the forks to make room for clip-on handlebars or to quicken the steering. 

I've seen many people use different fork positions in the clamps over the years on the forum.

When I installed the forks I built recently, I had to lower the forks in the clamps to allow room for the preload adjust caps under the handlebars. EDIT: They are sitting about 1/2" lower than OEM spec. The extra height helped me out because I needed clearance between the front fender I made and the gixxer headlight/nose and it also helped compliment the fact that the tail is raised about 2".

I agree with Bluesmudge about the stock height... my Clymer book says to install them with the top of the fork tube level with the top plate/handlebar bracket.

Pic to show what I mean on my bike:

yeah, the more i think of it, i wouldnt want to change the geometry of the front end too much. lots of angles in there that could cause issues

Quote from: ShowBizWolf on July 11, 2018, 12:32:41 PM
Pic to show what I mean on my bike:

Yikes Showbiz!  Sure you got the forks deep enough into that top triple plate to give the plate enough to grab onto to?  Though I think the central steering nut does give one extra point of fixation.
Just want to keep you safe out there! 

Darkstar, on my bike I took off that top triple plate as it doesn't serve any purpose if you have clip on handlebars.  My forks sit flush with the plate underneath.  So I guess the slower steering is compensated somewhat by the fact that my clip-ons sit below the plate, making for a fairly aggressive forward tucked in riding position.

Thanks Endo!! Yeah that picture makes it look pretty extreme... but it's all good. I wanna be accurate here so let me correct my estimate from earlier. The forks are 1/2" down in the top plate and stick up into it 1/4".

And of course the handlebar plate itself is secured not primarily by the fork tubes but by the two bolts under the handlebar mounts that attach it to the clamping plate underneath.

Quote from: ShowBizWolf on July 12, 2018, 10:50:13 AM
Thanks Endo!! Yeah that picture makes it look pretty extreme... but it's all good. I wanna be accurate here so let me correct my estimate from earlier. The forks are 1/2" down in the top plate and stick up into it 1/4".

And of course the handlebar plate itself is secured not primarily by the fork tubes but by the two bolts under the handlebar mounts that attach it to the clamping plate underneath.

Um, that's really not good.  The most I would ever recess a tube into the top triple is about 5mm, or less than 1/4".
1/4" of engagement of the forks up into the top triple is a really bad idea. When leaned over into a turn there's a lot of lateral forces applied to the tubes against the top triple, you're on the edge of having enough metal to resist those forces and keep the forks in position.

Damn. I thought I'd be okay since my fork tubes are completely up through both clamps.

I was under the impression that the top plate doesn't do much to secure the forks (at least not as much as the upper and lower clamps do.)

I've seen people ditch that top plate completely. I also thought those holes in the top plate didn't matter so much cuz of this (old) thread I found a while back:
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=63006.0

Idk what I will do now. I'm not warming up to the thought of making significant changes just cuz of 5mm....

Thank you though Rich... I always do appreciate your advice.

EDIT: I should be able to move my forks up farther. I got the preload set correctly last week and because the adjusters don't stick up as far now, I have the room to push them up more into the top plate's holes. I'm not happy about knowing the adjusters won't have the full range of movement now but... whaddya gonna do lol.

The top plate has nothing to do with the performance of the forks. Its suzuki's way to dampen handle bar vibration and thats all its good for. Showbiz's set up is fine, although it will change the rake angle which in turn will slow the steering some what.
The front fork travel on the GS is 110mm, so as long as you have that distance between the fork seal and the bottom triple at full extention your ok.
You are free to raise or lower the forks at will in the triples to suit your riding style as long as long as the top triple has full purchase of the fork tube.

I had made a small error in my post, its right now.

"...the top triple has full purchase of the fork tube." crackin I like how you worded that, it describes it very well!

When I was doing my fork project, I made absolutely sure that they would be able to pass all the way through the top clamps. Riding with less than that is something I would have never thought was acceptable or safe to do.

 I don't have the top plate on my bike as i run clip on's. I have the fork tubes 50mm out the top of the top triple which leaves 120mm clearance between the bottom of the lower triple and the the fork seal.
So in the event that the forks bottom out (which mine never do) there is 10mm clearance between the fork seal and the bottom triple. Remember the GS fork travel is 110mm. You dont want the forks to bottom and have the seals/legs crash into the bottom triple.
My bike is very "twitchy" with this set up but thats how i like it.
If you have the forks lower in the triples like Showbiz does, it will cause the forks to flex/twist a little more in high speed corners making the steering feel slightly "mushy". Having the forks higher in the triples you will have slightly less flex/twist and the bike will respond quickly to any steering input giving a twitchy feel.
Johno

The whole forks / front end is aligned and held together by:
1. wheelspindle
2. lower yoke
3. upper yoke
These MUST be accurately aligned with one-another, and tight, otherwise the front end will be twisted and it'll never track straight.

The 'speed' of the steering, that is, how easily the bike tips in to a corner is controlled largely by the fork angle, -the steeper (closer to vertical), the quicker the steering feels.
If you drop the stanchions down lower through the triples, it will slow down the steering slightly. If you raise the stanchions so they protrude up above the top triple it will speed up the steering, it'll feel a bit more sensitive - like a racing machine. The ground clearance difference will be almost negligible.

I personally would be really worried about ShowBizWolf's setup because the top triple has much less grip on the stanchions than the engineers designed, meaning that the forks could get twisted and misaligned easily.
(Of course this is very much a simplification, but it's a good basic guide).

Quote from: Joolstacho on July 14, 2018, 09:40:21 PM
I personally would be really worried about ShowBizWolf's setup because the top triple has much less grip on the stanchions than the engineers designed, meaning that the forks could get twisted and misaligned easily.
(Of course this is very much a simplification, but it's a good basic guide).

How does it have "much less grip"? The fork leg/stanchion is still all the way through the top triple. It's not an issue.

Quote from: ShowBizWolf on July 14, 2018, 10:27:02 AM
"...the top triple has full purchase of the fork tube." crackin I like how you worded that, it describes it very well!

When I was doing my fork project, I made absolutely sure that they would be able to pass all the way through the top clamps. Riding with less than that is something I would have never thought was acceptable or safe to do.

My apologies for the false alarm!  I thought your photo showed the forks recessed down into the top triple.

I'll be quiet now...

I agree that ShowBizWolf's setup is fine. The handlebar top plate doesn't even make contact with the fork tube. You can wrap a piece of paper around the tube when it is in the handlebar plate hole.

My forks are even lower than ShowBizWolf's, sitting flush with the top of the actual top triple. I've ridden this way for ~10,000 miles. Mostly two-up touring and with a lot of high speed corning and dirt roads. No problems so far. I do have .90 sonic springs, 15W oil, and the thicker aluminum fork brace. The setup has been pointed out as "unsafe" by a few people at bike meets. I guess its just uncommon for bikes to have separate handlebar top plates because I have never been able to convince them that the silver plate does nothing for the forks.

crackin does make a good point that lowering the forks will add to the problems caused by our narrow fork tubes under extreme cornering and braking forces as there is more leverage. That might cause a performance issue, but I don't think there is any worry of catastrophic fork failure as long as you are under the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (which I frequently push to the limit with passenger + camping gear).

Quote from: RichDesmond on July 15, 2018, 09:37:55 AM

Quote from: ShowBizWolf on July 14, 2018, 10:27:02 AM
"...the top triple has full purchase of the fork tube." crackin I like how you worded that, it describes it very well!

When I was doing my fork project, I made absolutely sure that they would be able to pass all the way through the top clamps. Riding with less than that is something I would have never thought was acceptable or safe to do.

My apologies for the false alarm!  I thought your photo showed the forks recessed down into the top triple.

I'll be quiet now...

Me too! Apologies.