Fork Problem

[racer526]

I bought a set of forks from a 1981 GS750L to put on my 1981 GS1000GL. The guy I bought them from told me they would fit. When I received them I noticed the fork tubes are smaller in dia. than my forks. Do I have to change the triple tree also to make these forks work? Any help would be appreciated.

[Steve]

First, let me toss out a "welcome to the forum" before BassCliff chimes in with the "official" welcome. 8-[

And now, congratulations, you have now met a good salesman. He obviiously told you what you wanted to hear, just to make the sale.

Now that you have the fork legs, you will have to change the triple tree, but that might open another can of worms. The triple trees, along with the angle of the frame neck, determine the rake and trail of the front end, and, therefore, the handling characteristics. Unless you have a rather unlimited budget for time and money so that you can experiment, I think it would be easier and quicker to get another set of fork legs and sell these to help recoup your expense.


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[AOD]

Don't put smaller fork tubes on a bike that had larger ones to start with...

[spyug]

Do what Steve suggested. trying to make them work is going to be a whole lot more work and money.

For the future invest in a vernier caliper. It is an indispensible tool for measuring sizes and clearances on bikes, cars boats tools etc...anything you need to measure. You can buy cheap throw away plastic ones that are not super accurate but do the job for a buck or two (try the Dollars stores). Automotive supply stores and tool stores/ hardware stores usually have them. For around $10 or $15 you can usually find metal ones at stores like harbour Freight or Princess Auto (in Canada).

When looking to get a part on Flea-Bay or whereever take a sizing on your part and check it with the seller ( i.e. in your case the diameter of the leg). It will save all the hassle you are going through now.

Good luck with you project.

Cheers,
Spyug.

[Jd Powell]

Yep, you got screwed. Not much I can say other than If you cannot meet face to face for a cash deal, Try setting up the deal through ebay. At least this will give your transaction ligitimacy and you will have legal recourse. I recently learned this the hard way. I bought a pair of "GS 1100E forks" for $90 from fellow GSR member Devilox. He claimed they were stock 37mm kayabas. Bull****, they are 41mm forks I dont know what they are off of. Devilox will not return my e-mails and I am stuck with unidentified useless forks. Buyer Beware.

[racer526]

Fork Problem

Thanks guys, guess i'll put the forks up for sale. Found a set of forks for my gs1000gl in the parts for sale section of this site. I'm glad I joined I'm sure I'll have more questions in the future. Buy the way, I've been reading about these progressive springs for forks. I would like to get away from the air adjustment. Does anybody know if they make them for the forks on a 1981 GS1000GL.