how to do dis fork shitz
So, i've had My SV for almost a year now... i got it completely BONE stock for except the frame sliders it has on and it was MADDLY lowered... I'm 6'1" and it was kinda uncomftable to ride such a LOW bike. so i went ahead and bought a set of "ebay branded" raising links that claimed to raise the bike 1" from stock. Upon doing some reading (last year) i went ahead and purchased a 06 GSXR 1K rear shock to go along... Since the shock body is slightly smaller than the stock one i suppose that the bike is at about stock height if not a tad higher (in the rear)
i really never bothered to raise the front for some reason, but now im looking into upgrading my fork springs and changing the oil to something thicker.. and BAM!!! time to raise it..
but HOW???
here's a pic of what seems to be my lowered forks... can you tell me how to raise?
am i goignt to need a fork stand or anything similar?

i really never bothered to raise the front for some reason, but now im looking into upgrading my fork springs and changing the oil to something thicker.. and BAM!!! time to raise it..
but HOW???
here's a pic of what seems to be my lowered forks... can you tell me how to raise?
am i goignt to need a fork stand or anything similar?

i dig!!! may just have it raised and stuff when i have the springs upgraded and oil changed..... but i kinda wanna do it myself... ya dig?... may just get a fork stand if really need to.
that front end isn't lowered. if it were, there'd be a large chunk of fork tube sticking out of the top of the upper triple.
besides, if the front were lowered and the rear raised and you were riding it, you'd have probably headshaked your ass right off the bike by now on anywhere near a decent speed corner exit. your rake/trail would have been so steep it'd have been scary as hell to ride.
as far as fork spring swaps, just pull the fork caps off (with the front wheel off the ground and no weight on the forks) and remove the springs/spacers, and drop in the new ones. there may be (probably is) a fork drain screw on the fork lower, near the axle. you can drain the fork oil that way, and refill to spec with better oil. (probably a good idea, OEM oil is like freakin water) UNLESS your SV has cartridge forks (not sure, but probably not), then you have to do much more disassembly to swap springs. special tools required on a cartridge fork, so if you're not comfortable with that, take it to a shop.
what year is your sv? the carbed ones i know for a fact are damper rod forks (non-cartridge) not sure about the later FI bikes, but i don't believe so. i did a spring swap on chino's SV a while back, and i don't recall having to take apart a cartridge to do it.
btw, that little adjuster sticking out of the top of the fork is for preload, which you have hardly any. adjusting that in a few turns might help you out. stock sv forks suck. i have a gsxr (inverted) front end in my living room that'd go right in
besides, if the front were lowered and the rear raised and you were riding it, you'd have probably headshaked your ass right off the bike by now on anywhere near a decent speed corner exit. your rake/trail would have been so steep it'd have been scary as hell to ride.
as far as fork spring swaps, just pull the fork caps off (with the front wheel off the ground and no weight on the forks) and remove the springs/spacers, and drop in the new ones. there may be (probably is) a fork drain screw on the fork lower, near the axle. you can drain the fork oil that way, and refill to spec with better oil. (probably a good idea, OEM oil is like freakin water) UNLESS your SV has cartridge forks (not sure, but probably not), then you have to do much more disassembly to swap springs. special tools required on a cartridge fork, so if you're not comfortable with that, take it to a shop.
what year is your sv? the carbed ones i know for a fact are damper rod forks (non-cartridge) not sure about the later FI bikes, but i don't believe so. i did a spring swap on chino's SV a while back, and i don't recall having to take apart a cartridge to do it.
btw, that little adjuster sticking out of the top of the fork is for preload, which you have hardly any. adjusting that in a few turns might help you out. stock sv forks suck. i have a gsxr (inverted) front end in my living room that'd go right in
Last edited by skr00zloose; Jun 29, 2008 at 05:38 PM.
if you buy a stand, buy a pin stand that lifts the bike from the bottom of the lower triple (in the stem). the stands that raise the bike from the bottom of the forks won't do what you need to do. either way, you have to use a rear stand to use a front stand (technically) or you run the risk of the bike falling over.
if you want to raise the front end by lowering the forks through the triple than you might want to look into fork cap extenders. i don't know if they make if for your bike tho.
that front end isn't lowered. if it were, there'd be a large chunk of fork tube sticking out of the top of the upper triple.
besides, if the front were lowered and the rear raised and you were riding it, you'd have probably headshaked your ass right off the bike by now on anywhere near a decent speed corner exit. your rake/trail would have been so steep it'd have been scary as hell to ride.
as far as fork spring swaps, just pull the fork caps off (with the front wheel off the ground and no weight on the forks) and remove the springs/spacers, and drop in the new ones. there may be (probably is) a fork drain screw on the fork lower, near the axle. you can drain the fork oil that way, and refill to spec with better oil. (probably a good idea, OEM oil is like freakin water) UNLESS your SV has cartridge forks (not sure, but probably not), then you have to do much more disassembly to swap springs. special tools required on a cartridge fork, so if you're not comfortable with that, take it to a shop.
what year is your sv? the carbed ones i know for a fact are damper rod forks (non-cartridge) not sure about the later FI bikes, but i don't believe so. i did a spring swap on chino's SV a while back, and i don't recall having to take apart a cartridge to do it.
btw, that little adjuster sticking out of the top of the fork is for preload, which you have hardly any. adjusting that in a few turns might help you out. stock sv forks suck. i have a gsxr (inverted) front end in my living room that'd go right in
besides, if the front were lowered and the rear raised and you were riding it, you'd have probably headshaked your ass right off the bike by now on anywhere near a decent speed corner exit. your rake/trail would have been so steep it'd have been scary as hell to ride.
as far as fork spring swaps, just pull the fork caps off (with the front wheel off the ground and no weight on the forks) and remove the springs/spacers, and drop in the new ones. there may be (probably is) a fork drain screw on the fork lower, near the axle. you can drain the fork oil that way, and refill to spec with better oil. (probably a good idea, OEM oil is like freakin water) UNLESS your SV has cartridge forks (not sure, but probably not), then you have to do much more disassembly to swap springs. special tools required on a cartridge fork, so if you're not comfortable with that, take it to a shop.
what year is your sv? the carbed ones i know for a fact are damper rod forks (non-cartridge) not sure about the later FI bikes, but i don't believe so. i did a spring swap on chino's SV a while back, and i don't recall having to take apart a cartridge to do it.
btw, that little adjuster sticking out of the top of the fork is for preload, which you have hardly any. adjusting that in a few turns might help you out. stock sv forks suck. i have a gsxr (inverted) front end in my living room that'd go right in

My SV is an 02... it is craburated and if it is that easy i could do it with a rear stand and a conventional jack in like... say an hour or less. ... right?
im not really looking in to raising the front... i just thought it was lowered... what i want to do is make my front stiffer.







