Yamaha 1300 Tourer - Yamaha 1300 Tourer Fansite

I’ll admit I haven’t paid much attention to “Das Klunk”. My original reason for changing out springs was because I wasn’t a big fan of how soft the front suspension was. Every time I came to a stop, or even just rolling to the end of my driveway, the front always dove down a little more than I liked. Yah, yah, maybe I’m a bit over zealous on the brakes. But now that I have the Progressive springs in, I can’t believe how prevalent and annoying “The Clunk” was. I had dismissed most what I heard as other things, but now that it’s gone, I can’t believe I lived with it for so long.

How do I like the Progressive springs? Awesome! No Clunk! Plus the front now has the firmness that I was looking for. The bike handles much better now – no diving when I come to a stop, it corners better and overall handling is improved. The front sets up just a little higher now, though. The downside of a stiff suspension is of course you get more “feedback” from the road and it “floats” more over irregularities in the road. The crappy Dunlops don’t help any.

If you don’t want to wade through a bunch of photos, Drag79Stang has a pretty concise write-up of the same thing:
http://1300tourer.com/node/1056
Scroll about halfway down to see his directions.

So, let’s get started!

What you need:
4 mm hex tool
5mm hex tool
6mm hex tool
22mm socket (hex pattern preferably), or wrench
Cycle jack
Wire to fish the old springs out of the forks
Saw or cutting tool to cut PVC pipe

Recommended:
Torque wrench
Masking tape and pen, or dry-erase marker, etc – something to mark the handlebar location.

I ordered my springs from SS Custom, part #77-1126A:
http://www.sscustomcycle.com/products/accessories/suspension.shtml

This is what you get - the springs, washers and some PVC to cut your pre-load spacers from:

Prep your workspace! Cover the tank and headlight, as the bars will inevitably fall:

I want to maximize my work space by removing the windshield and lowers. I don’t think you have to, but don’t come crying to me if you damage it! Starting on the right (throttle) side, remove the two 5mm hex bolts:

And then the other two 5mm hex bolts on the left side:

Remove the four 4mm hex bolts holding on the meter assembly cover:

Then just lift it off:

Mark you handlebar location. I put a piece of masking tape on the inside right of the handlebar against the handlebar clamp and marked it with a pen to align with a line on the clamp:

Jack up your bike, leaving the front resting a bit on the floor:

Remove the right handlebar clamp. It is held on by two 6mm hex bolts:

Right clamps off:

Same thing for the left clamp. Again, remove the two 6mm hex bolts. Hold on to the handlebar, as it will be headed straight for your tank:

Place the handlebars on the tank or the headlight. I laid mine over on the headlight, to get a clear shot at the cap bolts:

Loosen (just a little) the right 6mm Pinch bolt:

Remove the right 22mm cap bolt:

This thing is surprisingly light aluminum. You’ll want to be careful with this thing, as you could easily strip it or cross-thread it when it comes time to put it back on:

Pull out the metal pre-load spacer. Is this thing a monster or what? It clocks in at 7 1/4 inches:

Take your wire and fish out the washer and spring. Corkscrew the spring in your fingers to drip the oil back into the fork:

Here’s the OEM spring and the Progressive in comparison. I was going to take my calipers and compare the windings, but the difference is so obvious it was pointless:

I can see why there was a clunk. With as long as the pre-load spacer was, it was still too short by about an inch for that stubby spring. Hmm, perhaps a cheap fix? Take some 1 inch PCV and cut a length to 8 1/4 inches (the OEM spacer is 7 1/4 inches) and try that as a pre-load spacer?

Insert the Progressive spring into the fork. It is recommended to place the close windings at the bottom, as it has been reported that it will reduce spring noise. Mechanically, it makes no difference which way it goes in:

Here’s the spring in place. I’ll have a shot of the OEM spring later and how much lower it sat on the left side:

Place the supplied washer on top of the spring:

Cut your new pre-load spacer from the supplied PVC. SS Custom recommends a 3 inch length:
NOTE: The 3 inch spacer makes for a pretty stiff ride. If you want a little softer ride, you may consider shortening this a bit. If I had it to do over, I would probably use a 2 1/2 inch spacer, but I'm not about to take it apart again now!

Place your new spacer into the fork:

The Viagra worked! Normally, the spacer should come to the top of the fork when the fork is fully extended. My front wheel is resting on the ground somewhat, compressing the forks a little, which is causing it to extend past:

Jack the bike on up to lift the front off the floor. The pre-load spacer will now be flush with the fork. Re-lube the O-ring on the cap bolt and place the cap bolt back on. I strongly recommend that you torque the bolt to the specified 17 ft-lbs, being careful not to cross-thread it:
NOTE: You may have to lower the bike a bit to get some tension on the front to hold it steady.

Tighten the right Pinch bolt. Torque to 14 ft-lbs:

If you haven’t done so already, lower the bike again a bit to rest the tire on the floor. It will make removing the left cap bolt easier if you do:
< not pictured >

Now do the same thing for the left side.

Loosen (just a little) the left 6mm Pinch bolt:

Remove the left 22mm cap bolt:

Pull out the pre-load spacer:

Here’s the OEM spring still in place. Pretty far down there, huh?

Fish out the washer and spring, again corkscrewing the spring in your fingers to drip the oil back in:

Put in the Progressive spring. Again, recommend the close windings towards the bottom:

Place the supplied washer on the spring:

Cut another 3 inch pre-load spacer:

Insert the spacer into the fork:

Jack up the bike again. Re-lube the O-ring on the cap bolt and torque to 17 ft-lbs:
NOTE: As with the right side, you’ll probably need to lower the bike a bit to tighten the cap bolt down.

Tighten the left Pinch bolt. Torque to 14 ft-lbs:

Re-install the handlebars.

Put the handlebar and clamps back into place, but only lightly tighten them for now:

Re-align the handlebar with the marks you made, then clean off your markings:

Torque the four 6mm hex bolts to 20 ft-lbs:

Replace the meter assembly cover:

Re-install the four 4mm bolts:
NOTE: Just as a reminder, the long ones go in front, the shorts in the rear.

Set your baby back down on the ground:

Re-install the windshield and lowers with the four 5mm hex bolts:

DONE!

Go enjoy your clunk-free ride!

Final Thoughts:

Due to the lightweight nature of the cap bolts, this is one of the few times I would strongly urge you to torque to spec.

I believe I mentioned it earlier - using a 3 inch pre-load spacer makes for a stiff ride, though this is the correct length for a "standard" install. If you want a little softer ride, or want to lower the front back down a little, then a shorter one is in order. Progressive recommends cutting it down in 1/4 increments until you get the setup you like.

At no time during the install did I ever have the front end fully resting on the ground. At the most, the tire was lightly touching the floor - just enough to get friction to hold the front end in place so it wouldn't move while I was wrenching on it. To get the OEM springs out, you could probably lower the front down until you can reach them, instead of fishing them out with a wire.

The internal parts of the front suspension are fairly susceptible to damage from contaminants, so make certain your parts are clean before installing. I know some of my stuff looks dirty in the photos, but I did clean them prior to installation. Honest!

Boomer Sooner
Potestatem obscuri lateris nescis