F800GS - RXV Shiver'ed Fork Conversion

[burrito1]

i have found the marzocchi forks on my te 250 husky to be not nearly as good a fork as on my old honda cr 250,just wondering why you chose the marzocchi for your conversion?i know the new huskys went to kayabas.

[Gangplank]

Originally Posted by burrito1

i have found the marzocchi forks on my te 250 husky to be not nearly as good a fork as on my old honda cr 250,just wondering why you chose the marzocchi for your conversion?i know the new huskys went to kayabas.

Because the internals from the Marzocchi are a direct fit to the stock BMW F800GS fork tubes. That means you use the stock fork tubes, stock tripple clamp, stock wheel, brakes, etc. all stays the same.

If you were to use a CR 250 that would either:
a) use the internals in the BMW F800GS fork tubes IF they fit (i.e. similar size internals) but then have to machine the top cap to fit the stock tubes and bottom lugs to fit the CR 250 adjuster. [note: this actually was my original plan using some WR450F forks]
or
b) change over the entire front end and use the CR 250 forks complete and the CR 250 front wheel which would have only one front brake, and a host of other fitment issues.

Using the stock fork legs was easier for me and with the revalve and right set up by a good suspension guy the Marzocchis are a very good fork. The stock set up may not be as good but the design of the Marzocchi forks is pretty similar to other fork companies so by revalving the shim stack they have have good progressive performance. At least that is my own personal experience.

[PenultimateMan]

Whomever noted that it's pretty hard to find forks online wasn't wrong, and pardon me if this information was posted somewhere earlier in the thread and I didn't catch it, but do all RXV forks fit, and are they all Shivers? I've found a couple of sets on eBay (albeit, for closer to $300 in most cases; I can't even get ACCESS to CafeHusky.org to find the $50 bargains that were mentioned earlier) that say they're from 2006 Aprilias, but elsewhere online it lists the RXV front forks as being 48mm.

Am I missing something in the measurements? Am I getting circumferential and stroke measurements confused? The thread's getting so long now, it's somewhat hard to separate the good stuff from the bad.

[FinStorm]

You will find anything on ebay, you just need some patience There are lots of diffrent bikemodels, some sellers don`t even know for sure from which bike the parts belong. The only way is to ask the seller for the critical specs that you want before you buy.

[Gangplank]

I've had good luck finding them on the AF1 Aprillia forum under the RXV/SXV board.

[PenultimateMan]

Thanks for the replies! I'll keep looking into the forums and see what I can pick up. I'd rather not go through eBay if I don't have to.

[epicxcrider]

Gotta get some oil here, then decide what to do about springs. What did you guys do? OEM Springs work out okay? I'm not planning a heavy load.

[Gangplank]

Originally Posted by epicxcrider

Gotta get some oil here, then decide what to do about springs. What did you guys do? OEM Springs work out okay? I'm not planning a heavy load.

Mine had the stiffer springs offered by Aprilia. I figured I'd try them out and go from there. If they didn't I would have probably ordered a set of springs.

[epicxcrider]

Originally Posted by Gangplank

Mine had the stiffer springs offered by Aprilia. I figured I'd try them out and go from there. If they didn't I would have probably ordered a set of springs.

Got it. Guess I'll give the OEM ones a try, and if it's no good I'll have a suspension tuner figure out which springs I should get while they do the damping :)

[Gangplank]

Originally Posted by epicxcrider

Got it. Guess I'll give the OEM ones a try, and if it's no good I'll have a suspension tuner figure out which springs I should get while they do the damping :)

When you take them apart you might see a marking on them that will tell you whether they are the lighter or stiffer version. Springs are only about $100 so take a look and see what you need.

The racetech sight might help but when you go there select the Aprilia RXV 450 and then for your weight out in your weight + the weight difference between the BMW F800GS and the Aprilia RXV 450. See what that recommends. (Do not go by what it says for the F800GS. They think its a street bike and it comes back with some very stiff springs recommended).

[epicxcrider]

Just pulled the first RXV fork leg apart. I'll do the second then I need to get up the balls to pull apart the brandy-new F800 fork and cut into it

Might wait til I get at least 600 miles on it

[epicxcrider]

First step in the fork damper swap today - pulling apart the aftermarket Marzocchi Shiver 45's.

Loosen top cap


Loosen bottom plug


Remove top cap


Pull out internals and dump oil out while cycling damper


Remove bottom plug and damper assembly comes out with a crapload more oil :puke:


Pack it all up..

[Oso Blanco]

Originally Posted by epicxcrider

What did you guys do? OEM Springs work out okay? I'm not planning a heavy load.

RaceTech 0.95kg. Based on the specs they should be way stiff but they work great.

[Parx400]

Any of you guys have an extra set for the shiver 45 fork caps laying around I could buy? I need a set for my Caponord.

[Gangplank]

[QUOTE=epicxcrider;18051425]First step in the fork damper swap today - pulling apart the aftermarket Marzocchi Shiver 45's.
[\quote]

Nice write up & pics so far.