So i've now fitted my aftermarket Fork Preload adjuster's to my FZR250 3LN3 These replace the standard fork top bolt's/cap's and give's you 17mm of spring preload adjustment, plus they earn you a few point's in the bling area The FZR250 fork's use a soft fork spring in them as standard, this is most likely due to the average weight of the 17 year old Japanese rider, Height 170.80 cm (5' 7"), Weight 62.60 kg (138.0 lb) ? By the time you compress the spring and fit the forks' top cap on you have added preload to the spring, then when you get on the bike you are adding more preload. I have read that most sport's bike's have around 50mm to 55mm preload with the rider Adding preload adjuster's to your fork's can raise the front of the bike a bit so that with the rider on it you can adjust it to suit the weight of the rider. The suspension will still be sitting in the area of 50mm or so preload, but with the preload adjuster's it can be easily adjusted to suit the rider's weight and or the road condition's. Usually for the suspension to be comfortable you need to give the fork's about 30%-35% sag with the rider sitting on the bike so the suspension is not fully extended nor is it fully compressed. I don't think i'll need to adjust them much for my weight (66kg's) but i'll let you know how i go when i try them out. These are the Preload Adjuster's i bought for my 3LN3 off of Ebay, they have a 34mm tread with a 1.5mm pitch. The preload adjuster in the rear of the picture was one of the wrong one's that were sent first. (seller sorted the issue for me quickly though) Make sure you confirm with the seller before buying them to check you are getting the correct one's for your bike (thread size and pitch) This is the seller i used- https://www.ebay.com.au/usr/aaamotorhk?_trksid=p2047675.l2559 Tool's required to do the job A 1/2" drive ratchet, a deep 22mm 6 point socket, a decent 6mm allen key, a 2.5mm allen key, and an old 5 litre oil container and a clean rag Start off by putting the clean rag on your front fender, now slide the oil container on top of the rag/fender and push it up under your windscreen fairing This help's to keep the fork's extended and makes it easier to put back together Now you can undo the 6mm Allen head bolt's that hold's your fork in the top tripple clamp, and the other 6mm Allen head bolt that clamp's you bar's to the fork leg Next undo the top fork cap (22mm) with your 22mm deep 6 point socket and ratchet, and remove it from the fork tube I found that doing them one at a time is easier Now with the fork cap off you need to remove the winged adjuster from the new preload adjuster so you can fit the socket on to the head of it, use the 2.5mm Allen Key And use some silicon oil/grease on the o'ring so it goes back together easier and doesn't get damaged Fit the new preload adjuster onto the fork spring spacer and use the deep socket to push it down then start the thread and do it up by hand (this require's a little bit of downward pressure to get the thread to start inside the fork tube) Tighten the new fork adjuster nut up so it's firm in the fork tube, then do up the 2x 6mm allen key's to hold the fork's in the tripple clamp and bar's to the fork's Now you can move onto the other side My FZR250 is the 3LN3 so it has a remote brake reservoir, this need's to be undone and swung to one side to allow you to get in and undo the Allen head bolt's and top fork cap on the right hand side. Remove the old fork cap and replace it with the new preload adjuster (use silicon oil/grease on the o'ring to help it go in easier) and do it up firm, then do up the 2x 6mm Allen Head bolt's Now all you need to do is remove the oil container and rag, then fit the adjuster knob's to the new fork cap's and do them up with the 2.5mm allen key And refit the brake reservoir (for 3LN3 and newer) to the post and do up the bolt. So that's it, time to pack up your tool's and get your bike out and adjust the Preload Adjuster's to suit, then off for a ride Total time taken was around 20 minute's, minus taking the pic's etc
So today i took the FZR out for a ride to see how it feel's After bouncing the front a bit after each full turn, and trying to feel where it was nice i stopped at 4 full turn's. Took the bike out and within about 1 km i had to turn the adjuster's back 1 turn as it was a bit firm. Went another 2km's and it still felt a bit firm so i backed it off another full turn. Left it at 2 full turn's down for the rest of the 80km ride and i'm pretty happy with it there for the moment. The pitch of the adjuster bolt's is 1.25mm (M8 bolt), so at 2 turn's down it has added 2.5mm of preload to the spring I'll take it out again through some windy hill's road's next and see if it need's any more adjustment. It's a lot easier adjusting it than trying/swapping spacer shim's each time
Nice write up and how-to. Do you think using a lighter weight oil might allow better adjustment to get what you want?
The front end is pretty soft on the FZR's, so when i changed out my fork oil a couple of month's ago i used heavier weight oil, 15w over 10w.
Have you done a sag test? my butt is so old it has no idea on what feels right, so I tend to go with sag testing..to me it always feels way to hard but have to admit the bike feels more planted on crap roads.... just reread you OP, you said 30 to 35 % sag, its supposed to be 30mm to 35mm sag front and about 20 to 25mm rear typo? https://www.motorcyclenews.com/new-.../november/feb23-05-how-to-set-suspension-sag/
Yeah, they have 30mm sag with me on the bike i checked this morning The page i looked at yesterday is http://www.promecha.com.au/sag_preload.htm It say's 30% - 35% sag, which work's out roughly to be 35.1mm - 40.9mm as the FZR250R have 117mm of front travel So i'm not too far off atm, i might back the adjuster's off another half a turn and try it out again.
I've dropped back the preload adjuster's to 1.5 turn's out and been out riding a few time's now, front sag is 35mm. They are a touch softer and the fork's bottomed out tonight when i hit a big pothole coming back through the hill's but the rest of the time it feel's pretty smooth. Front brake's are feeling good still too.
@my67xr This is a cap off my spare 3LN1 forks ... looks to be the same thread as yours ... ? Im going to get a set of adjusters from old mate for my street bike and Project X ... but Ill message him beforehand
Yeah definately the coarse thread, 34mm X 1.5mm Here is the listing, just check the thread pitch with him first The picture in the listing show's the 34mm x 1mm pitch adjuster's which dont fit the 3LN's https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/FRONT-F...676197?hash=item3cff349e25:g:x8QAAOSwyQtVsyzs
Are the standard 3LN1 fork cap threads 34 x 1.5 mm ? This looks like a mod I might want to do to my 3LN1
@Andych Those forks I just got from u ... what bike were they off? Why I ask is the preloaders have the fine thread ..... and a "different" size top cap bolt head I was mixing and matching beforehand as I was thinking of putting the blue ones on the drag bike as they have the adjuster already on them Maybe they are Zeal? (going on Craigs last post above)
I got the fork inners from Omar and they came with the Zeal thread... but the inners are correct for the 3LN... go figure. Craig sold me the pre-load adjusters as they didnt fit his bike...that drama would be way back in my SRX thread somewhere.... lol.
Well that explains it! Yea he discovered the difference as detailed at the start of this thread All good ... I was just curious .... learn something new every day or go mad