Sacked out fork springs. Progressive?

[MrBill69]

I want to replace the fork springs in my 82 750T. All of the sites I've looked at for progressives don't list springs for the "T" but only for the E, ES and L I think. Will the springs for the E work, may without the spacer or juggling spacer length? No leading axle, no air on this one, just straight forks with end caps on both sides.

[rkubik]

contact Progressive first for confirmation, but I'd guess the ones for the E model would work. The forks sound similar in design.

[Steve]

Don't worry about "juggling spacer length", you're going to have to do that anyway. Start with the recommended length spacer, check the ride height of the bike. Actually, what you are looking for is the 'sag' of the suspension. Most of our bikes have about 6 inches of front suspension travel. You want to use no more than 20-25% of that when you sit on the bike, ready to ride. This would leave you with 4.5 to 5 inches of travel to absorb road irregularities. (This principle applies to the rear, too, but there is only about 4 inches to play with there.)

Measure the distance between the fender and the bottom triple clamp when the bike is on the centerstand. Sit on the bike, bounce the front end a bit to settle it into position, have a helper measure the same place. If you dropped more than 1.5 inches, make a spacer that is just a little bit longer than the excess. (If you dropped 2 inches, make a spacer about .75 inch longer.) When you get your ride height set, add the proper amount of oil, close it up and go for an enjoyable ride.

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[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. MrBill69,

Did you see your "mega-welcome" in THIS THREAD?

For your reference, I documented my Progressive spring installation on my website. Link is in my sig. You'll be impressed with the difference the new springs will make.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[MrBill69]

Thanks for the info.

[Hammered]

I just did the fork springs in my 1980 T not too long ago. I called the 800 number and was told to order the set for the L. No spacer came with this set. Just a pair single springs to replace the seperate upper and lower springs. I also talked to their tech rep and he suggested, that since I wasnt going to need the air for damping like with the stock setup, that I could add an additional 5mL of fork oil to tighten up the front end. Since this is part of a custom build, I havent had a chance to try them out. But it was an easy swap to do. Good luck.