Yamaha forks on a BMW F650GS Dakar

What year forks would I not need to put a spacer in? Im all the way in South Africa and cant find any forks here? Seems like all the YZ/broken bikes evaporate :huh here? They gonna shaft me on shipping!!

YZ125 and 250F steering stems do NOT need the spacer. The clamps are all the same 98-2003. after hat the clamps go to 48mm for the larger forks.

Where is the post mounted on the frame?

Stop it!!!

I'll post a pic later.

How far up through the trips can you slide the forks? IOW, how much height adjustment is available without getting into the fork internals?

If I understand it correctly, as you slide the forks up, lowering the front, the steering will become quicker and less stable. Sliding the forks down will slow the steering and become more stable. Do I have that right (presuming the rear ride height does not change)?

I've been through this thread (all of it) and I didn't find any mention of this information.

Thanks in advance.

You are correct about the changes in handling.

This would depend on, what kind of handle bars you chose, if you have any bar risers, the shape of the outside of the upper forks (ie: do they have a narrowing or same diameter all the way), does it look stupid to you with them all the way up.

you would makemoney selling them

I don't personally care how it looks. I was asking because I was curious if the varying diameters of the uppers somehow limited the amount you could move them up and still clamp them properly.

Thanks.

Plus if you move them up too far the tire is going to hit the fender.

Without limiting the travel, you are right. Bad things could happen. Part of the reason for wanting to know how much you can slide the forks up in the trips is to figure out how much travel can be used when the forks are slid up in the trips.

If you set the travel limit so that it doesn't hit the fender when bottomed, you''ve handled the worst-case scenario. Then when you slide the forks down in the trips you have more clearance available and can adjust the travel limit accordingly.

Just trying to learn how it fits together.

Here is the POS. But it works so I'm leaving it alone for now....

Looks like it came off a Civil War Cannon...









I have less than a pube between the tower and the batter cover...

Any questions?

Yep, where did you get the LED covers??

Off the shelf PEP boys. Just instrument light covers. I jammed the OEM lights in from the bottom.

Nice work there Herrhelmet

Matto

Thanks Matt. BTW I had an '04 TE 450... sweet bike.

Hell ya! mines an 08 and I am loving it! It will be traveling on the race trailer next year when I come out to Caly in March. Will be there for 2 weeks...

So what you're saying is that the chain smacks the centerstand every time the rear wheel leaves the ground Any possibilites of mounting a chain slide on that connecting spot ? Sounds liek it grinds even when you're just wheeling the bike around the lot

YOu guys are forgetting one other VERY IMPORTANT point. The Yammie forks have 11.7" of travel. Your bike only has 10.5 of ground clearance. Do the math.

If you slide the forks up in the trips, you're only decreasing your ground clearance and therefore creating a bigger issue (bottoming out). The only way to use all of your front travel is:

1. Lift the rear to give yourself 12" of GC
2. Remove your skid plate and lower frame assembly.

I did a combination of the two. I lifted my rear end 1" and removed the stock skidplate and lower frame assembly and replaced it with a single piece unit that is a skidplate and frame component all in one. It is 3/16" Carbon/Kevlar. Remember the engine is a stressed unit on this bike and therefore the lower frame and skiplate are just to protect the bottom of the engine. They provide no frame strength at all.

In doing it the way I have, I kept the 11.7" of front travel and now have 13.5" of ground clearance. The rear sits higher, giving my forks a more vertical stance and therefore increasing the snappy feeling of the steering. It does not seemed to have diminished the high speed control either.

If you don't want more GC, and you want to slide your forks down in the trips, then you MUST limit your fork travel. At this point, why even do the mod IMHFO? :huh