Saggy forks | Scotts Owners Club

Participant

After a 3 1/2 year lay off the TT Rep is close to life again.

The last job is the forks – It is fitted with the Scott ‘kite’ type and the spring is very tired – allowing the front end to sag about 3/4″ without my weight on – makes the bike virtualy suspension free on the road

I want to put some preload on the spring so that she rides high again.

1) I cannot fathom how to remove the spring – the top nut and ‘yoke’ are off but the spring is fitted into a holder that appears to be fixed to the teslescopic centre tube When the spring is compressed with cable ties it will rotate a degree or 2 but will not unscrew – any ideas?- Any pointers appreciated

2) I am sure I am not unique with this problem – is it possible to add preload spacers or does it mean a new spring is required – If it is a new spring then any ideas on who carries them?

Roy Fisher

Participant

Hi Shaun,
If it helps, this is how I remove the spring from my ‘Kite forks’. After removing the steering damper remove the large top nut. Then loosen the six bolts that tie the two girder sections together and loosen the wheel spindle nuts. This will allow you pull the two girder sections apart about a quarter of an inch to allow the bronze top bracket to be removed. It may need tapping gently upwards to get it off. This will expose the spring with its bronze top locator still in place. The spring is simply ‘threaded ’ into this and a similar bronze locator at the bottom. It may be tight or jammed but that is how it is held in place. If you can’t ‘unscrew’ the spring it from its bottom locator you can remove the bottom locator complete with spring by undoing the large flat nut underneath the fork ‘shoulder’. You can then lift out the spring, complete with both top & bottom bronze locators and work on them on the bench.

I also have a question if anyone can help, when replacing the spring, is it necessary to put any pre-load or twist into it so that it remains tight in the two locators or should it just float. I would be reluctant to put too much pre load as the forks have a tendency to twist anyway but does the spring tighten or loosen when it is compressed or extended on rebound? Also, what should the free length of the spring be?

Roy.F