Vintage Dirt Bike Q & A

Hi everyone new member here from the UK, i've just got a 79 cr250 and plan to restore and race it , it has got Ohlins piggy back shocks on the rear the springs are a bit tired so i'm going to replce them , my question is about the front foks , what are the best forks to put on these bikes ? Thanks Paul

If you are lucky to find a pair and money is not a constraint, then a set of 44mm Fox Forx would be probably 1st choice. A more cost-effective approach is to find a complete front-end from a 1983 CR250R or CR480R and transplant it onto your bike. You get better forks, and the double leading-shoe brakes. Race Tech does Emulators for the 43mm Showa forks and new Eibach springs cut to the right length. I used a set of older 43mm triple clamps and was able to re-use my 1979 steerer. If you cannot or do not want to do this, you'll need some form of spacer under the top triple clamp as the 1983 steerer is a little longer than the 1979 one - no big deal. The same approach will work with 1981 41mm Showa forks and 1982 43mm Kayabas. If you have to stay with the stock forks, go with a lighter-weight fork oil than stock or do the Al Baker mod described in the Reference section.

_________________
Michael Stiles
1979 Honda CR250R Elsinore | 2006 Husqvarna SM510R | 2007 Service Honda CR500R-AF