Monster 796 Fork Upgrade

Hi, im looking to upgrade my 796 forks. I know the 1100 forks are a straight swap but they are hard to find. I know adreani do whole forks and matris do cartridges. However, i found some 1100 cartridges on an auction site and I was wandering if they would fit inside a 796 fork? Any information is much appreciated.

[jonzi]

I dont think they will

The 796 forks are a bit poop.

I spoke with Maxton recently and they said you can do various things with them, but by far the best thing is to get the bottoms machined

The forks on the Monster 796 are Marzocchi upside down forks, they are basically a

cheap pair of upside down forks. Internally they are set up with the spring, rebound

damping and compression damping in one leg and only a spring (with no damping)

in the other leg.

The forks have a lot compression damping, especially when they move a small

distance - over little bumps on the road. This shows itself by giving a very hard and

twitchy ride. The springs in the forks are actually too soft so the bike dives a bit under

braking. The Monster 796 forks also spring back at you when you let go of the brake,

this is because there is not enough rebound damping. A lot of people also describe

the front as being "vague" and not getting much feedback from the front end, this is

a combination of the forks being over damped on compression and under damped

on rebound and under sprung. The forks are not adjustable for damping or preload

so there is nothing you can do to quickly try and improve the handling on the front

end.

Unfortunately the damping system fitted to this fork will never work. Because of its

design it will always either have too much compression damping or not enough

rebound damping. To cure the handling problems you need to replace the fork

internals so there is damping and springing in both legs. We recommend fitting our

GP20 cartridges to the fork sliders.

The GP20 cartridges are built to order so we valve and spring them to suit your rider

weight, what you use the bike for and to suit the weight of the bike. They have

springs, rebound damping and compression damping in both legs and are

externally adjustable for rebound damping. The GP20 cartridges cost £365.00 +

V.A.T per pair


To fit the GP20 cartridges you need to machine and modify one of the fork sliders.

Because the fork does not having damping originally, there is no hole in the bottom

of the fork to accept a cartridge. To machine a hole in the bottom slider costs

£80.00 + V.A.T. To service the forks with new seals and fit the GP20 cartridges to the

Ducati sliders cost an extra £140.00 + V.A.T.

The total cost to fit the GP20 cartridges to the Monster 796 fork sliders is £585.00 +

V.A.T per pair of forks.

Thanks for the information. Seems like this might be the way to go to if i want to take it to the track. The front end is exactly how the guy described it....

[jonzi]

Also, you could speak to pompone (pomp1 I can't recall what his username is, one of those.)

He will probably be able to sort something out for you.

[Flip]

I have the GP20 cartridges fitted to both my 1965 250cc Ducati racer and my '97 900 and all I can say is that on both bikes they have been amazing.

It sounds a bit odd but I got the race bike done first to try to give it a more recognised feel when I started classic racing and so got Maxton to make some rear shocks for it too as the Hagons it had fitted were way past their best. Now it handles like a dream- a fifty year old dream (drum brakes an' all) but completely different to how it did when I got it.

On my Monster I have run a Nitron rear shock for about ten years (have owned the bike seventeen) and over the years have played with various set ups and oil weights some with more success than others nut none perfect. So after the race bike revelation it was an easy choice to get Maxtom to work their magic once again and I can honestly say I wish I had done it years ago- forget about how they might be on the track, on the road the bike feel fantastic. No more kicking off of bumps or feeling like the front is going solid on the brakes. In addition to that they actually give a much more comfortable ride making long distances a real pleasure.

You even get a T-shirt:


Only the fork caps are a give away to anything special inside:

[BigOz]

Jonzi is correct that the 1100 cartridges won't fit

They could be made to but not without significant modification to the fork bottoms and to the cartridges. The nonadjustable 696/796 forks have a cartridge in only one leg with a damper rod in the other and do not have the machining of the fork lowers needed to fit the compression adjusters the 1100 Showa have at the bottom of the fork leg.

The best options are probably either a fork swap or the Maxton option Jonzi posted which will also supply internals that are much better quality than the standard adjustable Showa internals.

Originally Posted by simifeltham

Hi, im looking to upgrade my 796 forks. I know the 1100 forks are a straight swap but they are hard to find. I know adreani do whole forks and matris do cartridges. However, i found some 1100 cartridges on an auction site and I was wandering if they would fit inside a 796 fork? Any information is much appreciated.