Front Shock Length? R50/5

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barrettnjones

New member

• Mar 15, 2014

• #1

New seals in my front shocks and after installation I rode last summer. Now I'm thinking the travel is too long. What's the standard length of leg showing here? And is it possible to drop the front end a bit?


It's 9.5 inches from the top of the fork slider to the bottom of the bottom fork brace.

I'd post a picture but I keep getting an error message when I try to upload. ????

 

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SCBuckeye

New member

• Mar 15, 2014

• #2

barrettnjones said:

I'd post a picture but I keep getting an error message when I try to upload. ????

Click to expand...

Did you first use the browse feature to tell the computer where the file was before you try to upload it?

Also is the file a hi-res that may be too big for the limitations of the MOA software?

 

20774

Liaison

Staff member

• Mar 15, 2014

• #3

barrettnjones said:

I'd post a picture but I keep getting an error message when I try to upload. ????

Click to expand...

Check out this procedure posted by Lew a few weeks ago.

http://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?2021-How-do-I-post-a-picture&p=927981&viewfull=1#post927981

I don't know if a file too big will result in an error message...my experience is that it just times out or doesn't work. If you get the error message again, please write down everything it says and post it. That will help us figure out what the problem is.

 

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barrettnjones

New member

• Mar 16, 2014

• #4

What's the file size limit? Is 2.2 MB too big?

 

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barrettnjones

New member

• Mar 16, 2014

• #5

OK. I reduced Image size from 2.2 MB to 800KB.
So does this seem tall? Is there a process for lowering?

Cheers,
Barrett

 

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lmo1131

New member

• Mar 16, 2014

• #6

Barrett, is that with the bike on the stand, or on the ground?

Short of machining length off of the stanchion tubes, there is no provision for "lowering" the front of the bike. I suppose you could shorten the inner springs, but then you'd be changing the "ride" as well.

You might check at the top of the tubes (under the cap and guide supports) and see if a previous owner inserted slugs/spacers to stiffen up the ride.

 

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barrettnjones

New member

• Mar 16, 2014

• #7

Thanks for the reply lmo1131,

There are little spacers in place for a stiffer ride. I'm the one who had these shocks apart before (new seals and Progressive springs) and now I'm wondering if I installed them incorrectly.

Is 9.5 inches normal?

 

lmo1131

New member

• Mar 16, 2014

• #8

9.5" ? I'd have to drop the gaiters on my /5 to tell you. But I'd bet a buck the Progressives have bumped your ride-height up a tad. If I understand you correctly, you did not have Progressive spring before the rebuild?

If you have spacers and the Progressive springs installed, you might want to pull the spacers out.

 

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James.A

former Airmarshal-IL

• Mar 16, 2014

• #9

Lew is perfectly correct here. The height of the front forks has a mechanical limit dictated by the fork assembly construction. The only thing an owner can influence is the spring sag, which Lew alludes to.

 

ccolwell

Member

• Mar 17, 2014

• #10

So you want to check the sag. Generally, the goal is about 30mm (with rider on) but a bit more on an airhead is acceptable. Also, you should have at least 10mm of static sag (without rider). You need a helper to do this well, but you can get close with a zip tie on the fork leg.