Changing front forks 81' 750L

[Guest]

Alright guys I am looking of getting rid of my leading front forks and I have heard a bunch of info saying to get rid of them and some to keep them. I thought I would ask y'all since I don't know enough about them to make an informed decision.

Should I try and get rid of my leading axle forks and swap them for a set of 35mm non leading axle forks?

If I do swap them which models would be a good swap, from what I can tell on some earlier 750's they did not have leading axle forks.

Any help is appreciated.

Mike

[Steve]

What's wrong with leading-axle forks?

Back when these bikes were designed, the "look" they were trying to emulate was the stretched-out "chopper". The leading axle helped acheive the look. However, to keep the handling the same as the other bikes, they left the axle in exactly the same place and moved the fork tubes back, giving the illusion of a stretched-out front end. The triple trees are different on the "L" models, the fork tubes are closer to a straight line across the steering stem.

Functionall, the steering geometry is identical. Same rake, same trail, same wheelbase, so the bike handles the same.

What is different (causing most of the griping amongst some members) are the "buckhorn" handlebars and the lower, stepped seat, which change ergonomics, not handling.

Take a look at the '80 and '81 750E and 1100E. They both had leading-axle forks, too.

If you do decide to change your forks, make sure you also change the triple trees so they match.


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[mlymanz71]

Mainly I was just seeing what the general consensus would be. Personally I have not encountered any issues with them although I like to improve the bike with stock used zook parts if i can to make it handle better. Thanks for the info Steve I appreciate it!

[mlymanz71]

Ok so I decided to keep the original forks on the bike, figured it is good to retain as many OEM parts on the bike as I can while it does it's transformation. I ran into a bit of a snag though and need some help. I pulled the forks apart because they needed the seals replaced and I am putting in some progressive front springs and while pulling it out the dampener rod has some scoring on it from a burr on the dampener spring.




Should I replace the rod or could I clean it up with some emery cloth to fix it? They do not look really bad but I don't want it to go out on me either.

[eil]

I would just file down the burr on the spring and call it good. I don't see any reason to replace the rod. As long as your seals are well seated and the inner fork tube is perfectly shiny along the travel area, you're good to go.