the s2r 800 needs new forks. UPDATE: 3/30 bike is done! what a difference! PICS!

[ducatiz]

ah, now i see them!
im a little weary about the cieling beams in the old garage i'm in... i'm think im going jack stands + tube under the horizontal cylinder... i've heard of people doing this before...

is it a load-bearing ceiling?

are the ceiling beams 4" or 6" or bigger?  if they are 6" then you shouldn't have any problem, just run a 2x6 across 4 or 5 of the beams, and run 3 wood screws into each (#8, 3" long).  put two or three eye studs on the 2x6 before you put it up with some big-ass washers between the beams.  make relief holes in the ceiling for the eye stud nuts and paint it all and you're done.  it will hold easily.

if you have 4" beams, i wouldn't bother trying unless the span is very small - 10 to 12 ft most.  there is just too much flex in them.

my garage is under the master bedroom so the ceiling beams are load-bearing 2x8's.  I have a 2 2x8s going across 5 beams and you don't even notice it upstairs when i hoist something.  i don't know what the limit would be, but i am not going to try anything more than one bike at a time.

[corey]

is it a load-bearing ceiling?

are the ceiling beams 4" or 6" or bigger?  if they are 6" then you shouldn't have any problem, just run a 2x6 across 4 or 5 of the beams, and run 3 wood screws into each (#8, 3" long).  put two or three eye studs on the 2x6 before you put it up with some big-ass washers between the beams.  make relief holes in the ceiling for the eye stud nuts and paint it all and you're done.  it will hold easily.

if you have 4" beams, i wouldn't bother trying unless the span is very small - 10 to 12 ft most.  there is just too much flex in them.

my garage is under the master bedroom so the ceiling beams are load-bearing 2x8's.  I have a 2 2x8s going across 5 beams and you don't even notice it upstairs when i hoist something.  i don't know what the limit would be, but i am not going to try anything more than one bike at a time.

it's a small 2-car garage that is really old, and more of a "really nice shed" than a garage... i mean, it has cement floors, cinder block walls, and a peaked roof... but the beams only look to be 4-inchers, and seeing as it's not exactly MY garage, I'm not willing to take any risks at pulling the damn thing down... Haha that would be EPIC though.

I'm pretty confident in the old bar under the horizontal cylinder to hold up the front of the bike. The rear is still going to be on a rearstand, so i'm really worried about stability.

[ducatiz]

I'm pretty confident in the old bar under the horizontal cylinder to hold up the front of the bike. The rear is still going to be on a rearstand, so i'm really worried about stability.

to hold up the front end, i would take off the air cleaner cover and run that pipe thru the trellis.  it is much more stable.  i did the same thing when i swapped my s2r forks before i had a garage. i got a set of carpenter sawhorses and used a piece of 2" pipe wrapped in vinyl tape.  take off the air cleaner cover and you have plenty of room to slide it thru.  you might have to lift the gas tank first.

i would not support the front elevated with just the head.  it isn't wide/square enough to be stable imho

[orangelion03]

So Ducatiz, what in your opinion is THE best upgrade mod you can do on an s2r800?

Trade it in on a S2R 1000.  

Only slightly kidding.  I recently changed the springs and fork oil on my S2R 800 and it has really improved the overall feel of the bike.  Firmer Racetech linear front springs and 5 wt oil in the forks, and a firmer spring on the shock.  Total expense was $185 and an afternoon's sweat equity.  Got lucky and nailed the sag numbers on the first try.

Here's my front end support stand. 

[He Man]

that looks nice, but you could just buy a under triple stand that combos as a fork stand. it would be easier to lug around and can be had for a great price by t-rex.

[xcaptainxbloodx]

So I called my shop guys and got taken over to gp suspension where I was informed they need an s2r 800 to test new internals in I get it back in a week with forks all done up and tested and a new spring in the rear

[orangelion03]

So I called my shop guys and got taken over to gp suspension where I was informed they need an s2r 800 to test new internals in I get it back in a with forks all done up and a new spring in the rear

  With a helping  -sauce!

[orangelion03]

that looks nice, but you could just buy a under triple stand that combos as a fork stand. it would be easier to lug around and can be had for a great price by t-rex.

My stand = $20

T-Rex stand =  $80 plus shipping

Granted, I'm not planning on lugging mine around anyplace.

[xcaptainxbloodx]

got the bike back today. it is an amazing difference from stock, money well spent.

the GP cartridge kit runs compression on the left and rebound on the right, is fully adjustable and uses fork tops that are taller than stock and poke out of the top about 1/4". the finish on them is great, gun metal grey with dark blue adjusters.

the rear spring I got is about DOUBLE stock. im not a big dude either (5"10ish and about 175lbs). also, its red

I ran it in the rain for a bit to get a feel for it but ill be doing a track day sometime soon to get it fully "broken in".

big  to GP suspension in oregon city, those guys know their shit!

[stopintime]

That sounds interesting, but where are the pictures



Did you get all that done for $450?

[rockaduc]

No pictures, ......

[xcaptainxbloodx]

sorry about the lack of pictures, it was a beautiful oregon day (drifting between rain and monsoon)  Ill snap a few in the morning.  GP is also supposed to be sending me some pictures of the install (and maybe manufacturing?) process too.

it was a bit over the $450 I was shooting for but the result is a suspension far better than what I was looking for. the fork cartridges are a MASSIVE upgrade but to have the rear resprung and both set up properly for my weight and riding style...its night and day.

next comes the new chain and sprockets (stock rear, 14t front, gold XW chain), the new headlight mount and painting the thruxton fairing. sizing up to be a great summer.

[xcaptainxbloodx]

Left fork
Right fork



heres a shot before the work was done, cant remember if ive posted it.
also, the U bracket got ditched today, adel clamps made it much more stable. the headlight does poke out about an inch more now though. looks fine to me.

[ducatiz]

got the bike back today. it is an amazing difference from stock, money well spent.

did they do this with the stock forks??

[xcaptainxbloodx]

yep. drop in cartridges that replace all the internals.