Superclamp Installation Instructions

You will need:

  1. Front stand
  2. Rear stand
  3. Bottle jack
  4. Tools
  5. Select your insert set.  Numbers must match, and when installed, both inserts must be facing forward (in the direction of travel).  PLUS means increased agility, performance, feel in turns; MINUS means slower steering, tendency to want to go straight.  Larger numbers have a bigger impact.

INSTALLATION:

  1. Put bike up on rear stand and front stand
  2. Put the bike on a rear stand and carefully take the bike apart:
    1. Remove:
      1. Wheel
      2. Fender
      3. Brakes 
      4. Headlight
      5. Handlebars (put a towel on your tank and rest the bars there)
    2. Remove forks
      1. Set off to the side; keep them upright, don’t turn upside down
      2. Note left and right (they’re different)
    3. Undo pinch bolt on upper triple clamp
      1. Loosen bolt on steering stem slightly but do not remove
      2. Unbolt steering damper (from lower triple clamp - let hang)
  3. Position bottle jack under motor
    1. Add a pad on top of jack (rubber block, wood block)
    2. If you can suspend the bike from above, great to be safe
    3. Extend the bottle jack until the weight on the front stand pin is slightly loose.
    4. Leave the front stand there, with the pin in the lower clamp, but with no weight on it.
  4. Remove existing triple clamps like so:
    1. Remove the steering stem top bolt fully
      1. The steering stem and lower triple clamp might fall slightly now, but the front stand will catch them
    2. Lift off the top triple clamp
      1. Carefully remove the front stand, holding the lower triple clamp assembly securely as it comes out of the steering head with the front stand
    3. Lift the bearings out
      1. Save the black plastic dust cap from the top (this will be reused)
    4. Slide your original bearings and grease seals back onto the OEM steering stem
      1. Bolt your OEM top triple clamp on and stow the OEM set away.
    5. Remove races from frame
  5. Install the new races, taking care of angle/direction
  6. Assemble your Superclamp
    1. Lower clamp + steering stem + insert:
      1. Take care to use bottom insert
      2. Important: align the bottom of the clamp, stem, and insert
        1. Makes it easy to change in the future
        2. Only have to do 1x
      3. Arrow facing forward (direction the bike will travel)
    2. Upper clamp + insert
      1. Take care to use top insert, matching the installed bottom insert
      2. Arrows facing forward!
  7. Install the Superclamp
    1. Slide the assembled bottom clamp up into the bottom race
    2. Put the front stand back in, taking care that the bike stays stable and the stem doesn’t crash into steering head inners or races.  
    3. Slide on the upper bearing - taking care of angle/direction
      1. Install upper seal
      2. Install dust cap
    4. Put on the upper triple clamp
      1. Finger-tighten the top bolt (temporary)
  8. Reconnect things (leaving room for the forks)
    1. Do this now while nothing is in the way
    2. Brake lines
      1. Loop around and bolt in
    3. Steering damper
    4. Handlebar risers (handlebars in a moment)
  9. Reinstall the forks
    1. Keep left on left and right on right
    2. Snug up the bottom clamps only, to about the right place, just enough to hold the forks in place (this will be redone in a moment)
  10. Put the bar risers and handlebars back on
    1. You’ll need them to seat the bearings
  11. Torque Steering Stem bearings
    1. Take the front stand out
    2. Torque the steering stem bolt
    3. Set the bearings
      1. Move the handlebars back and forth, etc etc
    4. Put the front stand back on
    5. Remove the bottle jack
  12. Set fork height and torque 
    1. Loosen bolts for fork A (top & bottom)
      1. Position fork A to desired height above top triple clamp.
      2. Torque all triple clamp bolts upper and lower for fork A
    2. Loosen bolts for fork B so it is moveable, but will not fall out.
      1. Slide for B until it is even with the lines showing on fork A
      2. Slide the front axel in through fork B, into fork A
      3. Rotate the axle with your fingers (spin it).  If there is tension, very carefully slide fork B up or down until the axle spins freely with no resistance
      4. Torque all bolts for fork B
  13. Replace the wheel, fender, brakes, headlight and everything else
  14. YOU’RE DONE!