Forks spring which way around?

[Guest]

I have stripped my front forks and cleaned up everything.
The manual says the fork springs should be installed with the close wound end to the top.
My fork springs have a slightly narrower end on one side compared to the other side. The narrower end is the widest wound.
I am sure that the springs came out with the narrower end at the top, which means the wider wound part at the top.
Can anyone shed some more light on this please?

PS The windings seem to be close wound for about half way and the other half wider wound and the spring lengths are well within spec.

[hampshirehog]

Doesn't make any difference - I'm sure they just say this in the manual to make themselves look as if they know about things that us mere mortals don't.

[psyguy]

i would have thought your 1000g would be exactly like my 850, same year, same everything except the engine
my springs are the same diameter throughout, both ends are the same
they were mounted (as the service manual suggests) with close wounds up top

[chiphead]

Sounds like you may have progressives in there. Doesn't matter as long as they both are installed in the same direction.

[Matchless]

Sounds like you may have progressives in there. Doesn't matter as long as they both are installed in the same direction.

Here is a picture of them. Could they be progressive?

psuyguy,
This also worried me. I expected the springs to be standard OEM, but as you can see they are a bit different and the one end has the last two windings about 1.5mm narrower than the other end.

[bonanzadave]

Could they be progressive?

My stock springs were wound tighter about 1/4 of the springs length .

[chiphead]

See here:

http://www.progressivesuspension.com/forksprings/index.html

I'm not an expert on progressives but I think that's what you have.

[Matchless]

Bonanzadave, mine are wound tighter exactly 1/2 of the way.

Chiphead those on your link also seem to be wound tighter for a 1/4 of the way.

This must then be some aftermarket change that the PO did. I hope someone will be able to identify them.

Thanks for the responses so far.

[Mark M]

Doesn't make any difference - I'm sure they just say this in the manual to make themselves look as if they know about things that us mere mortals don't.

In practice it doesn't matter as long as you keep them both the same, but there is a reason. The close wound end is heavier and putting it at the top reduces the amount of unsprung weight. Given that the wheels and brakes are so heavy on these bikes the amount saved is miniscule and imperceptible while riding. But it's good practice to stay with the close wound to the top, anyway...

Mark

[Matchless]

In practice it doesn't matter as long as you keep them both the same, but there is a reason. The close wound end is heavier and putting it at the top reduces the amount of unsprung weight. Given that the wheels and brakes are so heavy on these bikes the amount saved is miniscule and imperceptible while riding. But it's good practice to stay with the close wound to the top, anyway...

Mark

Mark, thanks. I was wondering why it would be specified in the Suzuki manual. It also had me wondering why I did not notice something amiss when riding. With these springs it seems as if the wider end should be at the bottom as it seats better on the damper socket. The narrower part will slide around there.

[hampshirehog]

In practice it doesn't matter as long as you keep them both the same, but there is a reason. The close wound end is heavier and putting it at the top reduces the amount of unsprung weight. Given that the wheels and brakes are so heavy on these bikes the amount saved is miniscule and imperceptible while riding. But it's good practice to stay with the close wound to the top, anyway...

Mark

Good thought Mark. However, got me thinking and I can't get my head round it, but isn't the whole spring unsprung weight? Or as it's the spring itself, does it sit in between in some sort of no-mans land?

[Mark M]

Good thought Mark. However, got me thinking and I can't get my head round it, but isn't the whole spring unsprung weight? Or as it's the spring itself, does it sit in between in some sort of no-mans land?

It is sort of in between. The top end is completely sprung weight and the lower end is completely unsprung. If you look in vehicle dynamics books there are formulas for calculating the springs contribution to both and it's effect on wheel frequency (which is where the unsprung mass becomes important).

Mark