My forks are really spongy

[Anonymous]

The front forks on my 550T are really spongy. By really spongy I mean I can bottom them out just by pushing down on them. I talked to my local dumbas... uh dealer about this problem and they said they could fix it for $175 or so. Is there anything I can do/try to get these to function properly? There is no rust on them, but there is alot of grease and grime so I figure the fluid has leaked out. Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated. Hope to get this sucker running by the weekend. Ill keep you guys updated. Thanks

Gavin

[gspaul]

Flush out the fork's with kero,less mesy if you do this first. Your seal's will need replaceing, then the correct amount of fork oil put in.
This will take you a few hour's to do, but well within the scope of some one who know's mechanical basics.
Get yourself a workshop manual for that bike, and save some money!
Anything your not shure about ,just ask.

[alan]

I just got a set of fork seals ($12)for my 550T and have to do the same thing. The seal blew and the fluid is squishing out all over.

[mark m]

While you are in there changing the seals, add a 1" or 1.5" spacer to get more preload on the springs as well. If you really want to do it right, get a set of Progressive Suspension springs to replace the tired stock ones. Mine were $90CDN from the local dealer. Then use a slightly heavier oil and reassemble. I would try 10wt or 15wt as a first guess for your bike. And don't bother being cheap and using ATF or other non-fork oil instead of the real stuff - fork oil has an additive package that is meant for the job and you only need to buy one liter, so it is not really that much in the end. Seals should be about $10-$12CDN each, so for $90 (springs) + $24 (seals) + $15 (oil) = $129 you could have a much better front end than the dealer's $175 bill and you get the satisfaction of having done it yourself...


Mark