Fork oil mishap!!! Doh! (in best Homer Simpson Voice)

[Jethro]

Oh, I don't wanna do any scrubbing...

Maybe I'll try the carb spray- heck with it. I'm obviously not one to make sure I do things right or anything...

Any suggestions on my anti-dive?

[KGB]

Geoff,
We're both big people, I use 15 weight in both bikes.
Comfy ride with Progressive in the front, no shimming, either bike.
The E, no air in the forks. The S about 5 lbs.

Yes pain in the neck with the anti-dive, but I left it on the E, none on the S.
The S didn't come with anti-dive.

Try the 15 weight......my suggestion since svelte is not a word
to describe either of us

[pano]

jethro

They are 60 dollars here but I did not check shipping cost

http://www.motodepot.com/street/suspension/psforksprings.html

[Jethro]

Try the 15 weight......my suggestion since svelte is not a word
to describe either of us

How politically correct of you. I like to say I'm "festively plump".

You use no air in the forks of the E? Those springs must make a huge difference then because right now with my stock springs in the 83E and no air I can bottom the shocks with two fingers on the bars.

[Rico]

My set up is;
20 weight hydrolic jack oil (no foaming).
5/8" pre load
3lbs of air @ 65* ambienant air temp. Air makes for a crappy spring.
I just used the air to fine tune the sag.

230 lb rider on a 78 1000e

Front end holds firm in the twists and doesn't dive real bad under hard breaking.

R

[Jeff Tate]

I just went through the same thing last summer with my 1100E. New Progressive shocks (heavy duty springs... I'm 250lbs) and new Prgressive fork springs. After a lot of thought and discussion here on the forum , I used plain old Kerosene from Ace Hardware to flush out the forks. A gallon costs about two bucks. I flushed mine out about three times and then used 15wt bel-ray fork oil... for a while. It was just too stiff. So I flushed them again and used 10wt. Ahhhh much better. And no spring preload or air pressure either. A motorcycle jack that I borrowed sure came in handy and now I own one. After 20 plus years my bike rides like a dream.

[Joe Nardy]

Interesting. The 15wt is listed as stock in my manual and I am amazed that the stock weight would be too much. But, if it feels bad, it feels bad. Keep us informed on how the 10wt works.

Yes, that surprises me too. Maybe it's a combination of the stiffer springs and the 15wt fork oil. I'm going to try the 10wt and if it seems too thin I'll experiment with mixing 10wt and 15wt. I want to get to the point where I use the second or third damping setting so I have some adjustability in either direction.

Joe

[pano]

Well...this was on my to do list and with everbody saying how well the bike rides with the new springs I sprung for a set myself.

I weigh a paltry 180 compared to you big boys, do you think I should definately go with the 10wt?

[Joe Nardy]

I just went through the same thing last summer with my 1100E. New Progressive shocks (heavy duty springs... I'm 250lbs) and new Prgressive fork springs. After a lot of thought and discussion here on the forum , I used plain old Kerosene from Ace Hardware to flush out the forks. A gallon costs about two bucks. I flushed mine out about three times and then used 15wt bel-ray fork oil... for a while. It was just too stiff. So I flushed them again and used 10wt. Ahhhh much better. And no spring preload or air pressure either. A motorcycle jack that I borrowed sure came in handy and now I own one. After 20 plus years my bike rides like a dream.

Jeff,

Thanks for posting this. It's nice to know someone else had the same results. I feel a lot better about the 10wt fork oil now.

Joe

[Joe Nardy]

You use no air in the forks of the E? Those springs must make a huge difference then because right now with my stock springs in the 83E and no air I can bottom the shocks with two fingers on the bars.

That is correct. The springs make that much difference. I have not put air in my forks since I got the Progressive springs. Like I said in a previous post, lots of these bikes use up half or more of the available travel just supporting the bike and rider (especially us 'Festively Plump' dudes) and can bottom the forks under moderate braking. I can brake as hard as I want without bottoming the forks, and that is with the anti-dive disconnected. According to magazine articles of the day the forks on these bikes work so much better with the Progressive springs that the anti-dive is unnecessary and actually detrimental to fork performance.

Joe

[Jethro]

drain the oil out the little drain screws on the bottom of the slider.

Hey Mark, which one is the little drain hole screw? My manual doesn't explain this at all...

[DMPLATT]

The 1100E must be much heavier than the 750E? As far as I know I have the stock springs and an air leak. So the forks don't have air. I HAVE the anti dive, and to me everything is great. I've got no handling problems at all? No bottoming out either. :? :?

[Anonymous]

Hey Mark, which one is the little drain hole screw? My manual doesn't explain this at all...

It is a little Phillips head screw on the side of the slider, just in front of and above the rebound adjustment knob.

Also, any ideas how I should deal with the anti-dive unit?

Take the banjo bolt out of the anti-dive unit and use it to connect just the brake line to your caliper. Toss the short line to the anti-dive unit and find a hex head or socket head bolt to plug off the top of the anti-dive unit. That isolates the anti-dive and keeps it in the open position no matter what you do with the brake lever.

Alternatively, you can install a set of Race Tech Cartridge Emulators and when you drill out the compression holes at the bottom of the damping rod, this also eliminates the anti-dive unit. A bonus is an amazing improvement in fork performance.

Mark

[Joe Nardy]

Alternatively, you can install a set of Race Tech Cartridge Emulators and when you drill out the compression holes at the bottom of the damping rod, this also eliminates the anti-dive unit. A bonus is an amazing improvement in fork performance.

Mark

Mark,

So you have installed the Race Tech Cartridge Emulators? What did they cost and how difficult were they to install? They are on my wish list for this winter but I have to prioritize my wishes to maintain something resembling fiscal responsibility.

Thanks,
Joe

[Jethro]

Take the banjo bolt out of the anti-dive unit and use it to connect just the brake line to your caliper. Toss the short line to the anti-dive unit and find a hex head or socket head bolt to plug off the top of the anti-dive unit. That isolates the anti-dive and keeps it in the open position no matter what you do with the brake lever.

Thanks, but I'm looking to keep the $50 in braided brake lines for the anti-dive. It's really important for me to have the stock look.

Any ideas where I can keep the lines to the anti-dive?

Do they make double banjo bolts with only one hole?