AT fork replacement

[BogdanT]

Hi,

Because of an accident my AT;s fork got bent and now i am forced to change it with another one (stok or another USD model). the thing is i have planned to do a moto expedition next year of 26000 km mostly off road. What you sugest me to do?

The options i have so far are: 1 - buy a SH stok fork, eventually with another set of better springs or the Boano sachs USD kit but i don't know how reliable it is .
2 - conversion with WP fork from a ktm 950 adventure.

Thanks

[Stormforce8]

Hi,

Because of an accident my AT’s fork got bent and now i am forced to change it with another one (stock or another USD model). The thing is I have planned to do a moto expedition next year of 26000 km mostly off road. What you suggest me to do?

The options i have so far are:

1. Buy a SH stock fork, eventually with another set of better springs
2. Boano Sachs USD kit but i don't know how reliable it is
3. Conversion with WP fork from a KTM 950 Adventure.

Thanks

1 – The original forks with a new set of springs will perform OK, but you’ll quickly find their limitations once you start going into rough terrain, as they are pretty soft as standard - but they have been ridden around the world by plenty of owners in all terrains

2 – Boano Sachs USD kit – proven in the Pharaons, Sardegna, and Dakar Rallies, and Erzberg Rodeo – we’ve also supplied to customers who have ridden on lengthy expeditions across Russia, Africa, and South America. Probably the best suspension you can fit to your Africa Twin I run this kit on my own RD04.



















3 – WP48 USD Conversion – again these are proven forks that have been used in every major Rally – just ensure you do your research and upgrade the springs and valving to suit you personally. I run a set of WP forks on my own RD07A. The most common issue with the WPs is to look after the fork seals.













Also, if you are planning on upgrading the front suspension, don’t forget you’ll need to match the rear shock as well. (All of the bikes pictured above have upgraded rear suspension as well)

Do a search on this forum for all 3 options as everything has been covered in lots of threads.

And importantly - keep asking questions, as you'll get lots of opinions from owners

[Paul-S]

More porn Jonathan - as Site Admin you should know better !!

Nice though

[Paul-S]

Bodgan - notice it's your first post - welcome to the Forum

Make sure you post a report and pics for us when you do your trip

Ride safe

[john_aero]

cheaper option, got KTM WP forks and convert bike to a single 320mm front disk.

i am doing it now and simplifies everything.

i kept stock front wheel as i had put a new rim on it. but ideally just buy frull ktm front end and bolt it straight up with rugged roads steering stem adaptor.

then re valve asn spring.

to me its best and rather cheap option.

twin disk is nice but after long talk with jonathan i realised who needs twin disc when single does perfectly fine and plenty bikg trail bikes includign original africa twin are single sidc.

welcome along

[xrv750]

Hi,

Because of an accident my AT;s fork got bent and now i am forced to change it with another one (stok or another USD model). the thing is i have planned to do a moto expedition next year of 26000 km mostly off road. What you sugest me to do?

The options i have so far are: 1 - buy a SH stok fork, eventually with another set of better springs or the Boano sachs USD kit but i don't know how reliable it is .
2 - conversion with WP fork from a ktm 950 adventure.

Thanks

Hi Bogdan

I had three AT's (RD07a) so far. All of them were equipped with Öhlins rear shock absorbers. Definitely not cheap but worth every buck. You will feel a big difference even if you're riding skills are only average (as it's the case with mine). I also equipped the standard fork with stiffer springs which is cheap and also makes some difference.
I used this setup for years and even in Australia (the roughest terrain I have been riding on so far) it worked quite well.

Problem is that the above mentioned measures do not increase the ground clearance of the AT and that's exactly what I have been missing more and more. Eventually I decided to do a full suspension upgrade.

In the front I went for the Boano Sachs USD fork kit. In the rear the Öhlins shock got extended to offer more spring travel and to raise the rear end of the bike to adapt to the now longer front fork.

So far I could only test the bike on-road. But here already it feels clearly superior to the suspension setup I had used before.

Be aware that the described conversion changes the character of the bike quite a bit.
Some points are facts some just my personal (and therefore subjective) opinion:
- Ground clearance increases a good measure (I am now tiptoeing when manoeuvring the bike)
- Wheelbase increases, centre of gravity sits higher, distance from stearing head to front wheel increases which all lead the bike to be less "sporty" (when going on-road in the Swiss Alps I choose my standard AT over the one with the USD fork)
- Above 120km/h (with TKC 80's) front end begins to feel light/less stable
- Riding that bike puts that foolish grin on your face (well, I can live with that )
- Also keep in mind that the Boano Sachs USD frork kit may require some customizing works on your side.
See thread: Front fork upgrade (Boano Sachs 48mm USD Fork Kit) - need advice on current works

Since you plan to be riding off-road a lot I can recommend such a conversion. If one likes to have a bike with an somewhat more Rallye like look but mostly rides on road I would stay with the standard suspension geometry (but with Öhlins rear shock and stiffer fork springs).

Whatever way your project goes make sure to buy from guys that support you properly after the buy (some say they have an after-buy-customer-service and others really have one).

Cheers
Markus

[BogdanT]

Thank you all for the tips and for the great pictures.

The expedition it's going to be next year, from bucharest to magadan through ukraina, rusia, mongolia, siberia and back that's why I am thinking very serios about the boano sachs front upgrade and sachs rear shok ( I saw they deliver this and it's cheaper than ohlins). I don't think it's going to be a problem with the ground clearance, I am 1.92m , so the higher the better By the way, how do you raise the rear end, from the damper or there have to be made other modifications?

I hope I'll send you some good pictures and with my bike in one piece

P.S. I will definitely ask for advices if needed

Cheers,
Bogdan

[Paul-S]

Thank you all for the tips and for the great pictures.

The expedition it's going to be next year, from bucharest to magadan through ukraina, rusia, mongolia, siberia and back that's why I am thinking very serios about the boano sachs front upgrade and sachs rear shok ( I saw they deliver this and it's cheaper than ohlins). I don't think it's going to be a problem with the ground clearance, I am 1.92m , so the higher the better By the way, how do you raise the rear end, from the damper or there have to be made other modifications?

I hope I'll send you some good pictures and with my bike in one piece

P.S. I will definitely ask for advices if needed

Cheers,
Bogdan

Inverting the shock linkage is one way to raise the back

There has been another thread recently where someone actually raised the length of the bootom of the shock itself

[atgreg]

or you could use Honda CR forks, easy as !!!

[Jacquedup]

I have just recieved my 2001 CR250 front end and will be staring my conversion.