Kebab19's GOLD VALVE modification for FZS600 forks

[kebab19]

For those about to attempt fork modification using DEBRIX emulators, it's a case of following the original Goldvalve instructions BUT WITH THE FOLLOWING CHANGES.

Follow steps 1 to 7 as before. Use the first half of this useful thread to get all fork parts out http://foc-u.co.uk/index.php/topic,42.0.html  & stop before taking off dust caps etc.

Step 8 - You can ignore this part, with the DEBRIX emulators you no longer need to grind out / widen the damping rods - they are a perfect fit for sitting on top of the damping rods.

Step 9 - You still need to enlargen the original compression hole, but you should drill LESS holes than the six I originally did. You push drill bit through the original hole & bore another hole out the other side of the rod. Then keep widening both of these holes with broader drill bits. If I were to do the mod again, I would bore the original compression holes out to 10mm & then drill two further 10mm holes higher up the rod (hole edges should be about 10mm apart). These holes should be staggered 90degrees round the rod to retain structural strength. To reiterate, DO NOT drill six holes, it's excessive as four larger holes will do the same job & going further up the rod reduces it's damping effect & weakens the rods. Also, it's been brought to my attention (thanks WEZDAVO) that the later bikes from year 2000 onwards have shorter damping rods, approximately 180mm instead of 200mm rods in the 1998/99 bikes, all the more reason to keep to only four holes!
Keep all holes AT LEAST 12cm /120mm below the upper wider 'lip' of the damping rod - the ruler in the picture below should hopefully indicate the 0-120mm area that you should NOT enter into while drilling holes. By the way, in the picture the small hole at the 2cm/20mm area is the rebound hole which you should leave alone.


















Step 10 & 11 as before.

NEW STEP - 11A - You'll need to set your DEBRIX emu's preload before inserting them into the forks. The allen bolt through the emulator is threaded at the bottom. To set preload on the emulator, take the bottom nut completely off, then loosen the allen bolt until it barely touches the washer / spring.
Then rotate the allen bolt to give preload between 2 to 4 full turns. The allen bolt head appears to be a weird size (possibly imperial?). You can use a Torx 20 bit in a screwdriver, or just clamp on vicegrips if you don't have anthing else useful to hand. The bottom nut can be unscrewed using a 9mm spanner.
Emulator preload:
SV650 owners suggest 2.5 turns so I went with that, 2.75 turns or 3 might be better if you are....big boned. 4 turns would be much more suited for the racetrack environment & probably way too harsh for our roads.  Once you have set allen bolt preload, hold the allen bolt steady in postion, put the bottom nut back on & tighten her up. Don't allow the top allen bolt to start moving once the bottom nut nips up - it's one of those nyloc jobbies that should stay in place. Sadly you'll need to fish the emus out of the fork oil if you need to make further adjustments, so give your preload setting a lot of consideration and you might set it up perfectly for your requirements first time around.

Step 12 & 13 as before.

Step 14 -  Regarding fork oil, go with height instead of amount. With emu in place, but fork springs, spacer removed & forks compressed, measure oil height from top of stanchion as you normally would if you were changing fork oil. The more oil you have in place, the firmer the final third of the suspension stroke will be. I would suggest removing some oil, start with oil height 10mm lower than standard & if still too firm progress to removing another 10mm and so on. Oil weight is optional, but most emu instructions I've read go with heavier than standard oil, either 15w or 20w or even a mix of the two to give 17.5w. I went with 15w Yamalube fork oil but it's not critical, just a preference thing.

Step 15 to 17 as before.