Author Topic: Upper Clamp woes  (Read 1769 times)

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Offline Hillclimb#42

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  • '97 kx 500, '96 kx 250, '99 KTM 380
Upper Clamp woes
« on: February 15, 2008, 01:19:04 AM »
Hey guys, got a question. I have a '97 k5 that has the wrong upper clamp. On the micro fische its called "Holder-fork Upper" Its the upper portion of the triple clamp that holds the forks, stem and bars mounts. The one that I have is an aftermarket clamp (called a super stock, I think)that the stem hole is too big (in diam.)by like 2mm. It is rigged with thin bushing around stem to take up the space. The clamp itself fits the tubes that are stock size, but I think the stem size is for a 250 or k5's with the bigger stem.
 Anyone of you parts guys know years of the big stem and small stems. What years of  k5 has the small stem? I looked for the same heavy-duty after-market clamp with correct stem size, but is not available. Imagine that. Finding the correct stock clamp has been a challenge also.

Offline augerman

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Re: Upper Clamp woes
« Reply #1 on: February 15, 2008, 03:04:17 AM »
Hi. I did this mod to my 94 k5 after I had broken the triple clamps in a crash. To my knowledge all the 250 clamps have the larger hole on the top clamp. I just machined an alum. bushing for a set of aftermarket clamps and it works great. :-)

Offline The Flyin Hawaiian

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Re: Upper Clamp woes
« Reply #2 on: February 15, 2008, 08:07:41 AM »
I machined a spacer also when I put USD forks from a RM on my DR350. It hasnt failed yet. Anybody using Applied upper clamps? My friend has a set on his 03 KX250 and we cant adjust the rebound.
A couple of 03 and 04 KXs, a few YZs, 3 PE 400s, a DR and a TS.

Offline don46

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Re: Upper Clamp woes
« Reply #3 on: February 17, 2008, 02:09:19 PM »
it sounds like you have a clamp for a 250, they did have the larger stem. When I put the 250f forks on one of K5's I had to make a bushing as well, I used the top and bottom clamps from the 250f and the stem from the 500. the bottom is no problem, and really the top isn't either if you can make the busing. I used a piece of Bronze, machined to the diameter of the clamp, pressed in for a tight fit, then finished off the bore on the inside with a reamer until it fit tight. You couldn't tell the setup wasn't made for the bike.

I think I have a stock top clamp that has the bushing in it that you could have for the postage. give me the diameter of the fork tube and the diameter of the stem and I'll measure it.
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Offline Hillclimb#42

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Re: Upper Clamp woes
« Reply #4 on: February 18, 2008, 02:05:37 AM »
 Wow, it looks like I'm not as big of a hack as I thought. Its nice to know that I'm not the only one with a bushing in my bars. I was thinking about a swap for my nice big (wrong)upper clamp for the correct one to get rid of the bushing. I agree that it is safe, but seems funny to have the wrong stuff on it. I just got comfortable with it, now that I see I'm in the same boat as some of the kx experts. Thanks for the offer Don.