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changing fork oil in GS1100G

  • Thread starter Thread starter lurch12_2000
  • Start date Start date
L

lurch12_2000

Guest
Been reading over prior postings for fork oil maintenance and type. Couple things I'm not following. I am planning on changing oil with 15w fork oil while forks are still on the bike and it's on the center stand. I am 170 lbs and have a windshield and live in the northeast.
On my 1983 GS1100G there is a small philips head screw at the bottom of each fork tube which I assume are the drain plugs. There is one air pressure valve on top of the left (shifter) side of bike's forks with a crossover hose in which I will let all air out first. If I take the 2 fork caps off (3/4" wrench needed) are the springs going to pop out? Wouldn't they be held in place by what the manual(which I don't have) says is an adjusting flat head screw that has 4 settings? Also, my bike has no external dampening adjustment valve on the bottom of the forks like some other models. If so then should I compress the forks to squeeze all the oil out? After putting drain plugs back on would I just put in 8.6 oz of oil slowly in each tube with a funnel or small necked bottle? or will I have to remove something else to get new oil in?
Am I getting this right before I attempt?
 
I don't know the particulars about your bike but you are on the right track. Take out the screw to drain the old oil. Take off the caps on top, and maybe the spring preload adjusters as well (not sure about this detail). The springs will be loose then but you don't need to take them out. Might be easier to do one fork at a time since otherwise the front of the bike will want to compress. Pump the forks a few times to make sure all the oil comes out. Fill with funnel as you supposed. Hardest part of the process is getting the fork cap back on; sometimes the fork spring preload makes it difficult.

Go for it.

Ed
 
lurch12_2000,


Thanks for your post. It helped me learn how to replace the oil in my forks. Which is the topic I was searching for.
Sometimes something this simple can make a guy think its got to be harder.
 
follow up

follow up

zuzu,

few additional notes:

Do one fork tube (drain, fill, put cap on) at a time before doing the other as the front end of the bike may collapse off the center stand.

I only used 8.1 ozs in each as my 1100G uses a little less.

Let the old oil drain completely for 10-15 minutes and compress the front a few times by carefully leaning on the handlebars. My model did not have an adjuster screw on the top so when compressing I put a rag between handlebar and fork tube top so inside spacer didn't jam into the handlebars. Watch out as the oil will squirt out the drain hole beyond a drain pan if not careful.

I used 20w fork oil because I couldn't find 15w anywhere. $5.50 a quart.
 
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