When the Mikes X Valves were ordered for the HAWK I picked up a set for the X-Pect and the team put them in a couple of weeks ago. Whereas the HAWK’s forks came apart easily, the bottom bolts on the X-pect forks is cemented good with Loctite and would not loosen while on the bike. You could hear the Damper turning against the springs.
I tried the damping rod tool made for the HAWK with the threaded rod but it was too weak. The team had to come up with something beefier so we welded the bolt to a piece of rebar and made a handle and that did the trick. I bought a cheap welder a year ago and the Team has found some good use for it. The Damper Rod inner hex size is 14mm. A guy could get a 14mm Allen head and some extensions to get something to work for the job.
There are no preload spacers in these forks and the springs are stiffer. The team added the minimum adapter length possible at about 5.5 mm and when added to the length of the valve spacing at 14mm gives a total preload of about 19.5 mm. The springs stick out of the fork tubes about 3 inches and were a real pain to compress to get the fork caps on! With an average rider weight of 185 lbs the rider sag came to 1.25 inch which is not quite optimal. A new set of custom springs could be made at a cost of about $200 and they need a spring for comparison to do it. All considered we will see how well they work. The forks were filled with 180 ml of 10 wt fork.
Stock damper top showing fork oil passage with modified damper below
Fork tool and finished Damper rod with valve and adapter
Damper rod end
Credit for the fork valve knowledge goes to........
http://www.chinariders.net/showthrea...554#post284554