Home - Dirtbike - Projects - Front End Fix - Solving the Weak Link Step-by-Step - Project Honda CRF230F - Part 8.2

Front End Fix - Solving the Weak Link Step-by-Step - Project Honda CRF230F - Part 8.2

Jan. 01, 2006 By Rick Sieman
Front End Fix - Solving the Weak Link
Step-by-Step
 
 

Put the bike up in the air on something solid.
Four bolts hold the front fender in place. Remove them.

The front number plate bolt is next.
Take the four bolts off that hold the bar caps in place.

Remove the four nuts from the axle holder.
A 17 mm wrench loosens the axle.

Remove the front wheel.
Keep the bars attached to the cables, but hang them out of the way.

You'll have to remove the tank to get to the starter hookup.
Using a flat blade screwdriver, loosen the clamp holding the wires.

Slide the protective cover back.
Disconnect the four wires. Don't worry ... they're color coded.

Using a small flat bladed screwdriver, push the holding tangs inward to loosen the starter key assembly.
Remove the two clamps folding the front brake lever assembly in place.

Loosen the pinch bolts with a 12 mm tool and slide the fork tubes free.
Remove the large nut holding the top triple clamp in place.

Loosen and remove the nut underneath the top triple clamp.
The entire triple clamp assembly can now be slipped out.

This leaves the steering head bare.
The stock CRF 230 clamps next to the 1987 CR 250 clamps.

43 mm CR forks dwarf the skinny 37 mm CRF forks.
Keith Lynas holds the CR clamps next to the CRF clamps. As you can see, the CR stem is longer.

We couldn't press the CRF stem out of the triple clamp, as it's welded in.
The stock CR stem was pressed out to free the bearing.

Drain plug was removed and the old fork oil drained out.
We left the PVC one inch pre-loaded spacer out of the forks so they'd ride a bit lower.

If you have trouble getting the fork caps loose, use the lower triple clamp as a vice.
Here's the pre-load spacer.

Keep the top short springs in place.
Springs can now be removed.

Slip the fork springs back in.
We put everything back in except the pre-load spacer. This let the forks settle down a bit.

Button everything up with the fork caps.
I used a one eighth inch thick washer for the bottom spacer.

A three eighths inch spacer went of top of the washer. I used a three quarter inch ID piece of one eighth thick steel tubing. The steering head bearing was pressed in place after the spacers.
The bearing received a liberal greasing.

The top triple clamps and the bottom triple clamps, ready for install.
Slide the bottom triple clamps into the steering head.

Put the dust seal in place on top of the steering head.
You have to install one more thin spacer before locking down the top nut. There should be no play at all in the up and down motion, but the triple clamp should move freely from side to side.

Snug down the nut until there's no slop.
Put the top triple clamp in place.

Install the washer.
Put the lock nut on the top triple clamp home.

A 32 mm wrench or socket does the job.
Cut a seal from foam pipe protector to fit the exposed area under the botton triple clamp.

The seal in place.
Triple clamp assembly in place.

Put the cables back into their original place before installing the fork tubes.
Bars back in place, cables routed.

Install the fork tubes.
If you have troubles sliding the fork tubes up, use a screwdriver to spread the clamps slightly.

Put the CRF brakes on the CR 250 tubes. It's identical in fit.
Remove the brake hose clamps from the CRF.

Fabricate a holder from a rubber covered hose clamp.
Slide to key starter assembly into the holder.

Snug everything into place with a few hose clamps.
Here you go ... a simple key mount.

Completed setup. Note that fork tubes are pushed up about an inch and a half.
Put the stock 230 axle in place, then put an old set of bars to measure the spacer.

After measuring, put a parellel cut in the tube.
Then cut off the tubing.

Here's what the spacer should look like.
Press the spacer over the axle end.

Keith turned the spacer down to 22 mm.
If you choose to use the larger CR 250 axle, you need these wheel bearings and a one mm spacer. The part number is an NSK 6003VVC3.

Install the axle cap and the four nuts.
Put the hose guide in the pinch bolts. As you can see, only one bolt was used.

Re-install the number plate. The top hole fits just fine. The bottom holes don't line up,but you don't need them.
The completed job. We ended up with a plush set of forks.
 

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