progressive springs

[Rigaman]

I recently put a set of progresssive springs in my 86 tri-z forks. I put 1.75" spacers in them. Pretty good preload. When I pick my forks up, I hear the spring shaking and hitting the walls of the fork tubes. It has a lot of play in there. I don't know if this is normal, or if it is bad?

I have the heavier, tighter wound side down at the bottom. My stock springs didn't shake like that.. I don't think...

[TimSr]

Are the new springs the same dfiamter as the old ones? Is it possible you got 85s instead of 86s?

[Xowner]

As Tim said. When you put the spacer in the forks did you have to compress the springs to get the caps on? Or did you get the little spring under the value.

[userj8670]

Not to step on this persons topic but i got progressive springs for my 200x front end on my 1985 sx. The forks are 1984. I have never had forks apart or really looked anything over yet but what all is entailed in installing these? I see that i would need a spacer?

[Rigaman]

TimSr:

Thats what I thought at first, but the springs are the same diameter as the stock ones.

Xowner:

Ya. I put a 1.75" spacer in each one. They have a good preload. I had to compress the springs pretty hard to get the cap on. They feel great moving them up and down. But if I shake it I can hear the spring rattling.

UserJ8670:
All you have to do is put the front end up in the air on a lift, and unscrew the top valve cap. Take out the old springs and replace the bigger lower spring with the progressive spring. Yours should have 2 springs with a washer between them. You can either measure out pvc or metal spacers to replace the smaller top spring, or just keep the smaller top springs.

Im not sure about the 200x, but the upper spring seems pretty big, so maybe the progressive springs replace both? I dont know.

[yaegerb]

Not to step on this persons topic but i got progressive springs for my 200x front end on my 1985 sx. The forks are 1984. I have never had forks apart or really looked anything over yet but what all is entailed in installing these? I see that i would need a spacer?

Since I just finished doing this swap on my build, I will tell you that the single progressive spring replaces both of the springs in the 200x forks (I was also using a 1984 set) and there are no shims/spacers required. You will want to put the large 16MM washer on top of the spring (the washer that is between the top and bottom spring on the OEM setup) and screw the cap back on. That's all there is to it and trust me, those springs make a world of difference from stock.

[userj8670]

Since I just finished doing this swap on my build, I will tell you that the single progressive spring replaces both of the springs in the 200x forks (I was also using a 1984 set) and there are no shims/spacers required. You will want to put the large 16MM washer on top of the spring (the washer that is between the top and bottom spring on the OEM setup) and screw the cap back on. That's all there is to it and trust me, those springs make a world of difference from stock.

Hey guys thanks for the responses. So your telling me this is like a 5 minute job? My ol' lady got them as a christmas present for me. So just to recap, I unscrew the top part of the fork where the air bleed is. Reach in - pull the old spring out. Pull the washer from the bottom out, put the spring in, put the washer on and thats it? Which way do the springs go in? I noticed they have 'smaller' springs and then they fatten into larger ones.

[yaegerb]

Hey guys thanks for the responses. So your telling me this is like a 5 minute job? My ol' lady got them as a christmas present for me. So just to recap, I unscrew the top part of the fork where the air bleed is. Reach in - pull the old spring out. Pull the washer from the bottom out, put the spring in, put the washer on and thats it? Which way do the springs go in? I noticed they have 'smaller' springs and then they fatten into larger ones.

Yep, that's it. I am pretty sure there is a set of instructions in the box which tell you the way they go in. If I remember correctly, the tightly wound part of the spring is on top. I would double check that though.

Also, don't forget to put air back into the shocks. You only need less than ONE POUND of air, so be careful. I would either use a bike pump or if you have a regulator on your compressor, take your pressure all the way down before you air them.

[Mosh]

The springs should not rattle, but you may here them scrape some when you compress the forks. Take out the spacers and see if the problem is still there. You may not even need them if you won't be jumping real hard.

If you rebuilt the forks, are you sure all the dampening rod stuff is in correctly? There is a small spring at the bottom that needs to go between the rod and fork tube bottom. If you forgot those, or placed them on the wrong side of the rod, that could be the problem.

[TimSr]

The spacers are included because these are not model specific. Your "200X springs" are for most anything with that same fork diameter, and the spacer makes up the additional length. A progressive spring takes the place of a dual rate (two springs) system. You should not need to preload progressive springs unless you are over 250 or so pounds.


To install, raise front end of machine so forks fully extend and no weight is on them. Take off caps, drain oil from lower plugs, slide out springs, drop in new springs, put washer on top, and cut spacers so they just touch the caps when you install them. Put in oil plugs, add proper amount of fork oil, put on caps, and let bike back down.

Forks should compress slightly without rider weight.

[Rigaman]

Mosh: The actual big spring rattles. I can hear it smacking against the wall of the fork tube. Well.. If I shake the fork. All pieces are in right. I tried it with my spacers, with spacers and the washer between the spacer. The stock small springs and washer. They just rattle inside the fork tube. They are the same diameter as the stock springs. I dont know whats going on.

The forks are not in the bike yet. But when I pick up the forks, and walk around with them, I can hear the big spring hitting the side of the fork tube. Maybe I need more oil..

What is the correct amount of fork oil for 86 front forks? 418cc?

[Rigaman]

Ok. So I put my stock springs back in, and they make no noise at all. I noticed on the top of my stock springs, a small area was Shiney metal, so that top part must rub or shake a little.

The progressive springs are heavier. No matter if I had the tightly wound side up or down, the springs would slap against the tube. So unless I got washers with the center recessed to keep the spring from shifting, nothing else would work... I don't know if a ride or 2 would seat them, it if they would always do it. But its a loud annoying also rattle noise.

It's very odd, cause the stock springs are the exact same od.

[oldtime3wheeler]

I have progressive springs in my 350x. No rattle at all. They came with instructions and pvc to cut to take up the void. The instructions told the length you needed to cut per vehicle. Also when you put new oil in the forks you wont need as much with the progressive springs.