fork change

[ART-ADS]

hi

my front forks on my Honda shadow 125 seem to be way too sloppy, not stiff enough at all and downhill in the rain/ over loose gravel on the road gets very dangerous

i was thinking about a rebuild kit, but if I'm going to be taking them off anyway would it be worth buying some second hand upside down forks off ebay would this be difficult to do? i was hoping for a straightish swap with probable custom bearings made.

thanks
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98' RZ50, 92' H100S2, 03' VT125, 59' Jubilee 250, 05' varadero chop,

[Tdibs]

Just change the fork oil in them
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Previous : 09 Vanvan 125| 02' Sv650s || Current: 1999 Xj600n | 1992 DR650 RSE | 2005 Fazer 1000

[Teflon-Mike]

[redeem ouzzer]

[Ste]

Fitting USD forks to a Shadow 125?

https://i.imgur.com/uj5IhtF.png

But. I'm not sure if stiffer forks are going to provide the answer you're looking for in regards to lack of grip when going over loose gravel.

[Riejufixing]

[MarJay]

Fix what is there, or buy a better bike. These are both cheaper and easier options than building some sort of special. The main advantage however, is that they are both proven to work, whereas sometimes with a fork swap you could end up worse off.
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[ART-ADS]

cool. thanks some of you for the constructive responses. i'll change the oil and see if that sorts it out.

some of you really are asses.
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98' RZ50, 92' H100S2, 03' VT125, 59' Jubilee 250, 05' varadero chop,

[MarJay]

[Ste]

[GPZ-Bob]

You need people to offer proper advice but if we're being honest, the nice guy offering all the answers rarely makes you piss yourself laughing. It's the banter that'll keep me here lol

[Nobby the Bastard]

[GPZ-Bob]

[Ste]

Baby shark.

[Nobby the Bastard]

[talkToTheHat]

be aware that cruiser-geometry bikes will feel very vague and bouncy at the front. Use recommended fork oil and don't confuse preload with spring rate/stiffness.

Over on viragotechforum they like to recommend very thick fork oil and an inch or 1.5" spacer in the forks preloading the springs. This takes up most if not all the static sag and makes the front end feel wooden as hell. It doesn't dive under braking any more, but the front wheel just skitters over the tarmac. My (long gone) XV535 had what looked and smelled like 80w90 GL4 gear oil in there and a pair of huge torx socket shimming the springs. Set to factory it dove under braking but the thing stopped. Unexpectedly quickly as goes the claim of the guy who rear ended me. No, an abs astra still stops quicker than a cruiser unless there is a fault between the chair and pedal.

Expect fork dive. It happens. Get used to it. It tells you how hard you're breaking. Is normal. It helps control the weight transfer to the front wheel and gives you shorter geometry which helps your turn-in.

Everything's shit on gravel. Particularly skinny tyres. Harder front end won't help. If you're getting fork dive in deep and moving gravel it's a sign you're about to spill.
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Bandit. does. everything.

[ThatDippyTwat]

[GPZ-Bob]