c series forks for the a series
Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2000 3:52 pm
Hi guys,
Planning a little ambitious project - namely grafting some
C series forks on my A series bike. Why? They are 41mm rather than
38mm, and have the dual pot caliper with a heavier duty disc. Here's
where I'm at -
Kawasaki Canada 'doesn't recommend it' because the C series forks are
shorter than the A series - hence reducing rake, and changing the
steering geometry of the bike. Now, I'm thinking that I could have fork
caps made up similar to Eldon Carls, to extend the effective length of
the fork and increase rake. A simpler method would be to increase the
length of the fork springs preload spacer, but this would reduce the
sack available in the system, and I assume change the characteristics of
the progressive springs I want to put in, making them stiffer in their
resting state. I can also drop the height of my Works rear shock, to
compensate if need be
Can someone with a C series please tell me (off list is fine, unless
other listers want to know) the length of the whole fork fully extended
ie unweighted, and the length of it at rest on the sidestand, bike
unweighted.
Also - what is the caster, or rake angle, listed as in the manual for
the C series? The A is listed as 28 degrees, with a trail of 112mm
Those of you with Tengai front ends, did you have any problems grafting
the front end on? Or have you just fitted lowers? I'm looking at
replacing everything, including the triple clamp.
Anyone else that has ideas on this graft or steering geometry, I'd love
to hear. I'm a little out of my depth here but determined to swim
anyway...
PS I know about Tim's fork brace and the MAP rotor for the A series, but
in British Columbia with killer duty and a Canadian peso, they get
pretty expensive...
Rich