1983 GS850G fork oil level

[magman]

Hi Guys,

So I went to change the fork oil in my '83 GS850G today and I ran into a roadblock. The service manual indicates that the oil level from the top of the collapsed fork (spring out) should be 140mm. The weird part is that my forks have a hole close to the centre because of the air balancer between the two forks. When I fill up the fork to the 140mm level, oil leaks out of the hole. So I guess my question is: is 140 mm the correct height? Is there something I'm missing?

Thank you!

[Steve]

Correct level.

Temporarily cover the hole so you can set the oil level.

How far down is the hole?

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[magman]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the reply.

I tried to cover the hole and assemble everything, but as soon as I put the fork back on, oil started leaking from underneath the air balancer. Is there a problem with the balancer seals then?

I can't remember how far down the hole was but it was well below 140mm. I'm guessing around 200mm. I'll have to double check tomorrow.

Also, I noticed that in some cases the correct level is 260mm. In this case, it would sorta make sense because that would put the level below the hole. Thoughts?

[bwringer]

IIRC, mine are at 140mm.

There are o-rings in the collared air fittings surrounding each fork. It sounds like one or more of these is torn or out of place. In any case, they're ancient and cheap and should be replaced.

Also, I measure with the forks installed. Even if you cover up the holes, you're going to lose some unknown amount of oil while trying to install the forks. Just do your best to measure the level consistently.

On bikes with the air fittings, it's just a lot easier to avoid removing the forks as much as possible.

[Steve]

On bikes with the air fittings, it's just a lot easier to avoid removing the forks as much as possible.

That is only a problem with the 'new' bikes.

The forks with the equalizer hole are only on the '82/'83 bikes. Earlier bikes had individual fillers, so there was no problem with oil dribbling out any holes.

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