Posts
1083
Joined
6/29/2014
Location
Temecula, CA
US
Edited Date/Time
11/8/2015 10:24pm
Sent a pair of brand new 2014 XR560 fork legs over to Phil and Stevie to get modified, I want to run the standard drum brake on the front of my 79 CR250, but wanted to start out with fresher forks than the typical '83 CR480 that are usually used.
After a little research, I discovered that the new XR650 forks are almost identical to the highly regarded '87 CR250 forks..People often run the '87 internals in the '83 forks to improve function. I figured just start out with brand new forks and have them modded to work with a drum brake. With Race Tech Gold Valves they should work pretty good.
The Dentons have this mod down perfect. They trim the caliper mounts off, weld on a new lug to interface with the drum backing plate, then run a cutter down the bore to clean up any warpage that might have occurred in the welding process. Stevie then makes a threaded insert for the left axle, and bores out the backing plate to be able to run the modern larger diameter axle in the front.
Some folks are worried that the welded on lug won't be strong, but they did this same setup on the Vet MX of Nations bikes that were ridden by Chuck Sun, Ryan Hughes, Doug Dubach, and Jeff stanton. I will never be half as hard on a bike as those guys, and it held up just fine for them, so I'm not too worried!!!
Here's a pic showing before and after the mods:
A little more close-uo of the welded on lug (I spent a little time filing and sanding to smooth it out a little more):
Next step is to send the fork legs out to have them hard anodized on the inside only, then a little machine work to trim off un-needed bumps and tabs, as well as give them a billet, factory machined look.
After a little research, I discovered that the new XR650 forks are almost identical to the highly regarded '87 CR250 forks..People often run the '87 internals in the '83 forks to improve function. I figured just start out with brand new forks and have them modded to work with a drum brake. With Race Tech Gold Valves they should work pretty good.
The Dentons have this mod down perfect. They trim the caliper mounts off, weld on a new lug to interface with the drum backing plate, then run a cutter down the bore to clean up any warpage that might have occurred in the welding process. Stevie then makes a threaded insert for the left axle, and bores out the backing plate to be able to run the modern larger diameter axle in the front.
Some folks are worried that the welded on lug won't be strong, but they did this same setup on the Vet MX of Nations bikes that were ridden by Chuck Sun, Ryan Hughes, Doug Dubach, and Jeff stanton. I will never be half as hard on a bike as those guys, and it held up just fine for them, so I'm not too worried!!!
Here's a pic showing before and after the mods:
A little more close-uo of the welded on lug (I spent a little time filing and sanding to smooth it out a little more):
Next step is to send the fork legs out to have them hard anodized on the inside only, then a little machine work to trim off un-needed bumps and tabs, as well as give them a billet, factory machined look.
How close are the damping and spring rates?
The forks look factory but we kind of expect that from. Denton Engineering
Keep posting pics please!
Later tonite I'll post some picks up of the fork internals side-by-side with 87 CR250 internals. Almost identical. Race Tech set me up with gold valves specific to this application - these forks on a 79 CR250. Rebound valves are not modify-able (is that a word?) so you just change rebound by the weight of the fork oil.
The Shop
I had bought the XR firks because my friend had a 650L and he would tell me that he knows im going to think he is crazy, but he would tell me the forks on this piece of shit work so good I can't believe it. Since I couldn't find a set of 87 CR forks I bought them
Sent the fork legs to Noleen for some work. Had the insides hard anodized - should make them a little smoother but the main reason is to reduce wear. I also had them turn the forks on a lathe to give them a slight "works" look. The top part will be covered with fork boots. This week I'll get the forks back together with Race Tech gold valves, then ship 'em off to Scott at the Vintage Factory so he can finish up my bike
Almost as wierd as SwatDoc taking a picture of his new forks with a banana
I believe they cost about $200 for Phil/Stevie to do the mods. Very high quality work - they do it right..
Got the Race Tech gold valves installed.
One set is now with Scott at The Vintage Factory where he is building my fully restored '79 CR250 race bike
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