Front Fork Set Up

[somerset steve]

Can any one tell me how much the top of my forks should protrude through the top yoke? I have an 07 scorpa, i was sat in a que yesterday waiting to ride a section and the guy next to me advised me to raise them to a scribed mark, about 5 mm down from the top of the fork leg, then to move the bars froward more. What efect will this have?

[fozza321]

it will lower the whole bike, shorten the wheel base and put your weight over the front ALOT more!

[somerset steve]

Ok i will rephrase my question. How much of the top of the forks should,(for the average rider) pertrude past the top of the yoke?

[fozza321]

depends on your riding style, do you get on with the setup you have now? do you lean to far forward normally?? etc..

[andat]

My 07 is still on the settings from the dealer: the fork tops protrude throught the top yoke by about 5mm and handlebars are slightly forward, but handlebars are a personal thing. I have found that with the bars forward of what feels like 'normal' I can control it better in the tight stuff. Its a personal thing really, but once you start pratting about with suspension settings you will be at it forever. The key (apparently) is to make sure that your 'static sag' (i.e the distance the suspension settles under the bikes own weight) is correct but I have no idea what amount of static sag should be for the SY250.

[ridgrunr]

Both of the adjustments you describe will affect almost all aspects of handling.

Raising the forks in the fork clamp steepens the fork angle. That can make it easier to turn, but the more you raise it, the more it can want to fall into the turns. That can have adverse effects such as when having to turn with the rear wheel above the front. With the forks getting steeper (even more so as they compress), it's a lot easier to end up going over the bars when dropping off a down. So you need to find a happy medium. Plus the lower they are, the more ground clearance you lose. I always ran mine about 3mm on my Gassers. Haven't got my new Scorpa yet, but the Scorpa forks are steeper than some to start with and turns pretty sharp already, so raising the forks in the clamps very much makes them VERY quick turning, and it can become twitchy, especially on the downs.

As for moving the bars forward, that does two things, puts more of your weight forward, which helps the front end not wash out so much in the turns, and will give you better control, both in the turns, and in the ups and downs such as when the bike is at weird attitudes. Having them angled back puts a lot more weight back, which unloads the front end and makes it much slower and harder to steer.

Guys moving from motocross and cross country where the bars are angled back always find moving them forward very unnerving. They liked them back for high speed stability, but it's just the oppposite in Trials. More forward increases your leverage, and will much improve your slow speed stability. I have seen world champ riders who have their bars way forward of vertical, which for most of us mere mortals is too much. I always found an angle that put the bars just a couple of degrees forward of vertical worked best for me, an intermediate rider. It used to be easy to find vertical with the old bars that had the cross brace, but with the new bars it's harder. You just have to get off to the side and try to eyeball across both left and right sides.

If you've had them back, moving with them forward will feel weird at first, but once you get used to it, I think you'll like it alot. You'll find you have much better and more precise control. Good luck.