What make are commander front forks

[trevair]

What make are the front forks i thought they were yamaha but have i read somewhere they are kyobi or something
Trev

[tim harrison]

Hi Trevor, the forks are Yamaha late '80s XJ900 fitted as standard to the Commander. Likewise the wheels and brakes. If you have anything different they are non standard.
Tim

[trevair]

i have reviewed my forks and they are the right one being swoped over fron a rolling chassis i bought the problem with them is they have been rebuilt with new springs and stanchions but i dont know if they are the right one the reason i say this is because when the engine is on the centre stand the back wheel is on the floor. Now is it that they are to long the stanchions ie the wrong ones or is it they will bed in over time and this is always the case with new forks
regards trev

[tim harrison]

Hi Trevor. My Commander goes onto the centre stand easily and lifts the back wheel off the ground. If the bike rides well the forks are probably OK and need to settle. After a rebuild I vigorously press the forks up and down to get the hydraulics working properly.
Others may have more information but I can't see how you would have been able to fit incorrect stanchions.
Tim

[trevair]

hi tim thanks for info, i havent built them they came rebuilt on a running chassis i bought, but i believe there were different lenghts of stanchions for the xj series but same diameter

[Anthony Duffield]

When I need spares for the Yamaha bits on my Commander I go to Yambits and order for a XJ900F 1985 to 1992. Like Tim my back wheel is off the ground when the bike is on the centre stand.

If both your wheels are on the ground you either have an issue with the centre stand, very unlikely on a Commander or you have the wrong forks.

[wust588]

Trevair,

Looking at the top yoke, are the tube nuts roughly level with the top face of the yoke?

I suppose after a lot of miles there could be wear on the c/stand pivots. Or, the stand could have bent legs. They have been known to bend!

John.

[trevair]

hi wust
before i replaced the forks the back wheel was off the floor but the front forks had been standing for 19years it was when i fitted the new forks the back wheel was on the floor not by much
trev

[Clive603]

What size tyres are you running and what make of damper assembly?

Even when brand new the standard clearance at the rear tyre isn't much. Perhaps 3/4" at most if memory serves me right

I think Hagon damper units are a little longer than the standard Koni ones, maybe 1/4" at most. Not much.

As I recall things from back when mine was standard and in regular use there was under 1/2" between the ground and rear tyre when running 110/90 on the front and 120/80 on the rear. This was with both Avon AM 18 - AM 20 and Michelin Macadam pairings. I preferred the older Avons but design changes led to lethal front wobbles after 2,000 or so miles from fitment. The Michelin wasn't amazingly better as I had to accept less wet grip and 6,000 mile front, 4,000 mile rear life. When I first started using Avons I was getting 12,000 off the front and 6,000 off the rear. But I'm light on tyres (and brakes).

I'd be unsurprised to see next to no clearance with a 120 rear tyre, Hagon dampers and freshly filled forks that haven't pumped down.

Clive

[johnbirchjar]

Speaking of "Miles per tyre", on my Classic I regularly got about 5000,on the back to 8/9000, on the front.
Having just recently replaced the rear tyre on the Deauville,I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it had covered almost 10,000 miles (no doubt due in part) to the 78bhp on the Classic verses 58bhp for the Daeuville(and no track days .)J.B.

[PDC Racing]

What make are the front forks i thought they were yamaha but have i read somewhere they are kyobi or something
Trev

Most forks and suspension units fitted to Japanese machines were made by external suppliers. Yamaha almost exclusively used Kayaba (KYB) until the late '90s when they bought 5% of the Ohlins company and fitted their forks to some machines. Both Kayaba and Showa were suppliers for Honda, Suzuki and Kawasaki.