Forks service

[James in Brum]

You may remember some Wally drove into me not long after I passed my test. There is still ever so little a disparity between the way the handle bars point and the wheel. It is tiny and rideable but I bought myself a complete front end second hand none the less. 
@fastbob and I straightened them as much as possible. 
I want to service the new second hand front end. What do I need to do that please? 
eBay sells oil and seals. Is that it?

[husoi]

Be aware that most oil seals on ebay are of low quality origin.

 

a set of NSK oil seals is around £10 for both sides on any decent shop. The oil you will find it on SBS (follow link in the forum).

Make sure you won't need any dedicated tool for it.

It's not a difficult job. What surprises me is that you are doing it soo soon.

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

An oil level syringe is handy but not essential. 

 

Read through the manual and check any tools you'll need to dismantle the forks. Usually nothing fancy needed but some forks can be tricky to get apart without locking the bottom part to stop it spinning. 

 

Check for any crush washers you'll need to replace - which may or may not apply to yours.

[husoi]

Forgot to mention.

 

Usually the fork oil level is measure from the top of the fork tube.

I found very handy to have a plastic bit (a hook in my case) with the exact depth that you hang on the tube. when you need to fill the fork you will know when to stop.

[onesea]

Watch some YouTube Videos..

When I did mine I found one of the washers really useful I think it was No 4 here if I recall the oil seat sits on it I found when building my first fork the other one was really handy for protecting the seal when putting it in..

Others may have views on this however if spares are not expensive I would buy one, protecting the fork leg is half the battle...

[James in Brum]

Thanks all will see if I get enough birthday dosh for parts

[oldgrump]

Hi @James in Brum, I've used Ariete fork seals, I recommend them to anyone changing there seals, and have used them on customers bikes for as long as I can remember! check but I think for the ZZR600 they are ARI 047.

One of my VFR800 I changed at 21000miles, at 103000miles started using as a Trackday bike, has now got 105000miles, with still the same seals!!!

 

if you can, crack the top nut on forks before taken them out of bike, then after you have them out, undo the damper bolt in bottom of leg, before undoing top nut fully. Just helps you a bit trying to undo damper rods.

 

and when you strip forks make sure you clean stanchion properly, no rust pits on legs, which will cut new seals, and see if you can pick up a cheap Fork Seal driver, makes life a lot easier.

 

 

[jedibiker]

@James in Brum I got mine from wemoto, fast delivery and are to spec. The one thing I remember being the hard part was the bolt at the bottom that goes into the damping rod.Depending how you drain the oil, I poured out of the top with the spring out. Some then put it back under tension to take the loosened damping bolt out. But the damping rod sometimes just spins unless you have the right tool to hold it.. My savior was an impact driver that spun fast and got it undone.

I tried wood in there and most other tricks and none worked, impact took 2 seconds. 4 hours trying..

 

seal driver off amazon well worth the £20 too, red rubber grease for the seals. any pits can be smoothed with very very fine sand paper (2500 grit plus)

Edited March 26, 2021 by jedibiker

[husoi]

I made my seal driver out of a bit of drain pipe.

Cut open length wise so it adjusts to the size of the forks then a second bit outside to push the seal into place.

£3 well spent  

I use lithium grease everywhere. got a 400gr cartridge from toolstation. It doesn't dry as much as red grease.

https://www.toolstation.com/lithium-grease/p89691?searchstr=lithium

You can just remove the lid and scope what you need or get a wee gun to work with it for under £13.

 

Delboy's garage have probably my favourite demonstration how to do it

 

 

[jedibiker]

11 minutes ago, husoi said:

I made my seal driver out of a bit of drain pipe.

Cut open length wise so it adjusts to the size of the forks then a second bit outside to push the seal into place.

£3 well spent  

I use lithium grease everywhere. got a 400gr cartridge from toolstation. It doesn't dry as much as red grease.

https://www.toolstation.com/lithium-grease/p89691?searchstr=lithium

You can just remove the lid and scope what you need or get a wee gun to work with it for under £13.

 

Delboy's garage have probably my favourite demonstration how to do it

 

 

I tried that, but to be fair didnt have the clamp. didnt go well.. il be buying the tool next time lol

[husoi]

Just now, jedibiker said:

I tried that, but to be fair didnt have the clamp. didnt go well.. il be buying the tool next time lol

You get the clamp from any half decent car parts shop. They are just exhaust clamps.

Even hose clamps do the job.

42mm waste pipe and a handsaw to cut it to size.

[jedibiker]

@husoi the clamp would have helped. seen a few do it with success

[husoi]

What I found the hardest bit was to keep the old oil out of the floor... 

Second hardest is removing the bolt at the bottom, the guy who fit it was probably on crack.

Everything else is dead easy. 

[jedibiker]

5 minutes ago, husoi said:

What I found the hardest bit was to keep the old oil out of the floor... 

Second hardest is removing the bolt at the bottom, the guy who fit it was probably on crack.

Everything else is dead easy. 

the bottom bolt was a nightmare, loosened then turned in to seal, did the rest then all it would do is spin the damping rod. hours late an impact did it in seconds. otherwise a simple job.. (unless fit wheel then notice mudguard on the table)

[TimR]

Does your bike have the adjusters on the top of forks or is it the penny and clip style ?

As they canbe funto remove /re instate .

 

Wooden Broom handle works well for damping rod securing .

[husoi]

Both Hondas have just the screw-in top cap.

Adjustments would be done by adding spacing washers.

On the shadow there is a air valve where you increase the pressure if you want a stiffer fork.