How to put long "Raked" forks on a yamaha virago xv250?

Z

zap1234

New member
I have just bought a 250 virago and want the long chopper style forks?
anyone know what forks to use or where to start looking?
 
I don't know if this is a good idea, the engineers designed the rake angles and and tube length to suit the frame and centre of gravity. Raking the front end does not have anything to do with extended forks. Raking is changing the angle of the steering head in order to put the front wheel out a little farther, but now you have brought the front of the frame to close to the ground. So this is when longer tubes come in, to keep the front of the frame at the same height as before. If done correctly and you accomplish all the angles and geometry, now you have to deal with a motorcycle that will refuse to turn in a tight radius. If all you want to do is stand out and look cool try a new hat and leave the engineering up to the engineers,rememberr its no fun going for a ride on your bike and coming home in an ambulance.
 
Very stupid idea!!!
Fisrt off, if YOU don't know how to do it, DON'T. This is not easy.
In order to do this, the forks must be completely rebuilt using new extended length tubes. If all you do is install extended tubes, it will raise the front end of the bike up, changing the frame geometry and cause major handling problems and practically nrideable. The proper way to do it is to rake the frame neck. Basically, the frame neck is cut from the bottom side and reangled, pulling the bottom forward and the top rearward, then welded into place. This is very hard to do because not only does the rake angle get changed, the TRAIL changes also. Trail is the distance from the contact patch of the front tire to where the centerline of the axle hits the ground. Too much or too little trail will severly affect handling and stablility. Trail is corrected due to rake changes by the angle of the triple clamps.
Your bike is simply not worth investing a couple thousand dollars into doing this, let alone risking your life by cutting and modifying your frame.
 
Back
Top