The original Vard instruction sheets reveals that you could get special order booster springs for your frontend if you were planning on running a front fender and the usual extra garbage like spot lights, windshield, mirrors and stuff like that... Only problem is – the Vard special order booster springs aren’t exactly something you can just get at the local McDonalds, and since I’m running all the extra cheese on the ’47 I was getting a bit anxious since I really hate to shop at other places than McDonalds, and also because I really hate spongy frontends.
That was until I found out that Knucklehead valve springs has got the exact same inner and outer diameter as the Vard booster springs must’ve had!! They also have the perfect squeeze fit inside the bottom retainer washer.
And the Knuckle valve springs even has the perfect 'height' inside the bottom aluminium tube part of the fork, all this almost makes you wonder if someone at Vard had a set of Knuckle valve springs laying around...
I'm also pretty sure the Knucklehead valve springs has pretty much the exact same spring rate and wire diameter as the Vard booster springs since they bottom out at just the right height!
It really looks like the spring belong in there.
SvaraRaderaImpressive!
mental mental chicken oriental! that's really cool. what are you going to do for fork stops?
SvaraRaderaExtremely cunning Mr Hips, your assumption could well be right.
SvaraRaderaMr WhitelineHero;
SvaraRaderaYour guess is as good as any, or probably better - but it sure looks suspicious, right?
Milo;
I'm doing oriental pork chops fork stops.
No seriously, I'll probably do something that'll look anonymous, like the ones I've seen on other forks like this one.
Fork stops anonymous.
Nicke, it's really cool that you respond to you blog comments but I'm afraid your faith is about to be tested..
SvaraRaderaSo do these booster springs push up against the other springs, sort of extending your total spring length? But wouldn't this decrease your stiffness (notwithstanding the increased travel / preload)? What if you just used a solid spacer? Cheers!
The booster springs does not push against the other springs, I'm not sure if you understand how the internals work here Milo? And I actually made spacers in aluminium before I found out the valve springs worked, like 1" collars to go on the bottom of the original large spring but it didn't really help all that much, running the booster springs however makes a HUGE difference in how the fork feels.
SvaraRaderaI'm not sure how you mean when you say extending the total spring lenght and increasing the preload? The preload is the exact same as without the booster springs, only because the booster springs has got the exact same height as the lower aluminium tube part.
Hard to explain maybe but I got the sliders mounted today and I couldn't be happier with the result.
Milo, Hey I think you're mistaking the bottom aluminium tubes for being mounted upside down, that would explain what you're talking about, look at the last pic, they are mounted with the o-ring at the top, not the bottom.
SvaraRaderaOh yeah I totally got that the wrong way round! Looked back through your old posts and now I'm beginning to see the light.. thanks!
SvaraRaderahttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tDQRpZUOqi4/T3cuSoSM91I/AAAAAAAADQ8/69cY1Tajsv0/s1600/c.jpg
It looks really heavy duty. Very satisfying to the eye.
Do you what is the exact size of the Vard fork tube?
Radera