Front Forks Bottoming Out?

[SICKHEMI]

hello just bought a 1992 1100 and my front forks seem to be bottoming out what is the procedure to change the fork oil or is something else wrong? the bike drives nice but stiff if thr front

[Mojoe]

hello just bought a 1992 1100 and my front forks seem to be bottoming out what is the procedure to change the fork oil or is something else wrong? the bike drives nice but stiff if thr front

the forks are notoriously weak on the 1100's. it doesn't take much to bottom them out. even if you change the oil, it can still happen.

a spring upgrade is about the only sure way to fix the problem.

myself.....I just avoid the potholes and bumps...lol.

[Swampy]

I went with a progessive fork spring upgrade and new oil - works great! Bit harsh at times but then again this beast was never known for it's suspension

[KYOTE1]

see the post and wha tI did, it solved the problem

http://katriders.com/vb/showthread.php?t=77898

[GCOP]

good info. I have somewhat of an issue with this as well, my Kat's a '90 with 11,000 on it, it does feel a bit soft. I suppose I will do the fork oil swap first, to see if that will hold me over for a while.

[KYOTE1]

Put in Spacers of 30 mm and new 15W oil

I put in spacers (and new oil,this is a must) of 20 mm made of ABS plastic from Home Depot. Works great. It stop the bottoming on regular riding.

Big bumps and holes you it could still bottom out, if your hitting these big ones then your probabally not paying attnetion to the road.

I recommend putting in 30 mm spacers ( gotta be square ends), this would bring the ride a little higher and make it stiffer.

Lets face it our springs are fatigued and don't have the spring rate they use to. Putting in spacers is a good short term solution, however it just puts extra loading on them that could lead to breakage.

I am waiting on progressive springs for my '88 that are in the mail, I should have them in by the weekend. I'll post my findings.