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

[Jethro]

Well, I did a stupid thing tonight, but there is a possible upside.

I am replacing all my brake lines and rebuilding the calipers. Currently, the brake lines and caliper seals are in transit, and I have the brakes on the bench. So I decide to find out what all the hype with this anti-dive unit is all about and pull it off. Not 3 seconds after I said to myself, "am I gonna be sorry I did this?" and a mess of shock oil spills all over the basement floor. (Note to self, make sure to never be without cat litter in the basement). I knew I should have spent 5 minutes reading my manual!

The upside is that the freakin' oil resembled something like a mix off coffee grounds and motor oil that's not been changed since we had a decent President. And I wasn't going to do anything with the forks this winter. Do I really have to remove both fork legs to change the oil? Should I do the seals too?- they don't leak a bit of oil, but the sludge that was in there could make them fail soon- right? What's the best way to disable the anti-dives while still keeping the original look. I just ordered braided brake lines for them even though I want to disable them, just becasue I want to maintain the look. I know this has been discussed at length, sorry about that. How about springs, do you guys who have progressives notice a huge difference? Would I have to disassemble the shocks a lot more to put the springs in?

Thanks all.

[Rico]

Jethro,
Your fine.
You don't need to change seals that don't leak. AND you don't need to take anything apart.
Just pull the plugs out of the bottem of each leg and flush with ATF or some top head oil (Marvel) or any other thin, non costic oil.
Let that drip dry over night and fill to spec. (1ml=1cc) Lord knows how many units your model needs.
And VOILA your done. This would also be the time to install pre-load shims
ifn' ya need'm.

OH YA, what kind of fork oil? Thats a whole other topic!
Rico

[Rico]

Part Due,
Springs. Pull the top caps off your fork legs and just pull the spring out.

Yes Pergresive springs and 5/8" preload shims gave me a whole new bike!
I recamend them to everyone.

Rico

[Detman101]

Thanks Rico, taking notes and doing this upgrade this winter.


Dm of mD

[TheNose]

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

Well, I did a stupid thing tonight, but there is a possible upside.


The upside is that the freakin' oil resembled something like a mix off coffee grounds and motor oil that's not been changed since we had a decent President.
Thanks all.

So, you're saying the oil was last changed about three years ago?

Terry

[HiSPL]

Carb cleaner in a spray can is a quick and easy way to clean the internals without too much trouble. Just hose each side down liberally with about two cans in each leg. Let it dry thoroughly before refilling. A whole bunch of crap will come out the bottom when you do this, and it smells nasty. So do it over a bucket and hold your breath, OK.

[Jethro]

Yes Pergresive springs and 5/8" preload shims gave me a whole new bike!
I recamend them to everyone.

I was on DennisKirk.com this morning and saw Progressive springs for around $75. Is this a good price?

Also, tell me more about these preload shims. I'm a rather large fellow -ahem- but I've never really had a problem with how the shocks perform. I couldn't find any on DennisKirk. Where do they go- on top of the springs?

[Anonymous]

Also, tell me more about these preload shims. I'm a rather large fellow -ahem- but I've never really had a problem with how the shocks perform. I couldn't find any on DennisKirk. Where do they go- on top of the springs?

Yes, they go on top of the spring, between the spring and the fork cap. They are used to set the static sag to the desired value, since it would be a miracle if the springs were the correct length to have everything work out correctly without a spacer. You want to set about 20-25mm of unladen sag (with no rider on board) and 35-40mm of laden sag (with the rider on board). If you cannot get both of these to work at the same time, the laden sag is the more important of the two.

You can also use kerosene to flush your forks. Just raise the front of the bike up, remove the front wheel and drain the oil out the little drain screws on the bottom of the slider. Then fill the forks part way with kerosene and stroke them up and down a few times to really stir things up and drain the kerosene. Add oil and new fork springs and you are almost finished. You will likely have to cut and try the spacer a couple of times to get the preload right, but it should only take maybe twice to get it there. I would use 20wt fork oil and fill to the recommended quantity in the manual. Presto, one massively improved front end.

Mark

[Joe Nardy]

Yes Progressive springs and 5/8" preload shims gave me a whole new bike!
I recommend them to everyone.

I was on Dennis Kirk.com this morning and saw Progressive springs for around $75. Is this a good price?

Also, tell me more about these preload shims. I'm a rather large fellow -ahem- but I've never really had a problem with how the shocks perform. I couldn't find any on Dennis Kirk. Where do they go- on top of the springs?

I agree that Progressive springs make a world of difference. Well worth the money. The stock springs are way too soft. If you hadn't poured your fork oil all over the floor 8O you could have measured the amount of sag and compared it to the Progressive springs if you get them. To do this, measure the length from the bottom triple tree to the top of the fork tube with the fork FULLY extended. Then measure the same distance with you sitting on the bike. There are a couple of different theories as to sag setting but two good starting points are 1 to 1 1/2 inches of sag or 1/4 of the total fork travel. Lots of old GS's with original springs use 1/2 or more of the available fork travel just supporting the bike and rider's weight.

If this pertains to your '83 1100 your forks have built in preload adjusters which eliminate the need for spacers. Pop off the rubber caps on the top of the fork tubes. You'll see a large hex cap with a slotted screw head inside it. The slotted screw head is the preload adjuster. It is a ramp type adjuster like the spring preload adjuster on the rear shocks. My preload is set to one step above the minimum. I weigh 225 lbs. and ride pretty hard.

Someone mentioned fork oil. I have 15 weight fork oil in my forks and in my opinion that is too heavy. I never move my damping setting from the lowest setting because the ride is too harsh. I plan on switching to 10 weight to see how that works.

Good Luck,
Joe

[crag antler]

Yes Progressive springs and 5/8" preload shims gave me a whole new bike!
I recommend them to everyone.

I was on Dennis Kirk.com this morning and saw Progressive springs for around $75. Is this a good price?

Also, tell me more about these preload shims. I'm a rather large fellow -ahem- but I've never really had a problem with how the shocks perform. I couldn't find any on Dennis Kirk. Where do they go- on top of the springs?

I agree that Progressive springs make a world of difference. Well worth the money. The stock springs are way too soft.
If this pertains to your '83 1100 your forks have built in preload adjusters which eliminate the need for spacers.
Good Luck,
Joe

Reading what Joe posted, 8O , reminded me that I didn't have to use spacers when I replaced the springs on my 83 1100. Progressives really do make a difference. One of the most effective aftermarket parts you can have on the bike. 8) 8)

[Anonymous]

Someone mentioned fork oil. I have 15 weight fork oil in my forks and in my opinion that is too heavy. I never move my damping setting from the lowest setting because the ride is too harsh. I plan on switching to 10 weight to see how that works.

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.

If this pertains to your '83 1100 your forks have built in preload adjusters which eliminate the need for spacers

You simply have to measure the sag and see. A rough baseline is that the fork springs should be preloaded about 10-15mm from their free length when the fork is assembled and fully extended. Whatever it takes to make it work from there is what you need.

Mark

[dwarf8]

Carb cleaner in a spray can is a quick and easy way to clean the internals without too much trouble. Just hose each side down liberally with about two cans in each leg. Let it dry thoroughly before refilling. A whole bunch of crap will come out the bottom when you do this, and it smells nasty. So do it over a bucket and hold your breath, OK.

Okay, call me a big chicken.... but....
I have had bad luck with carb cleaner and rubber and plastic parts.

[Jethro]

Ok, thanks for all the advice. I'm gonna order the progressives, 10 wt. fork oil on Joe's advice and forget about any spacer.

Now, next question. How do you guys load up air pressure? Do I really need to buy a plunger-type air pump with a guage? I use my bike pump on the mountain bike rear shock which takes 250 lbs. and I can always find a way to make it work, but I didn't have any success last night when I tried to load it back up as a test run.

Also, any ideas how I should deal with the anti-dive unit? I want to have it on there with brake lines going to it for asthetics, but I want to disable it. What's the best way? Should I not disable it? I'm not unhappy with how it functions, just how hard it is to bleed the brakes. Do they make a Double banjo bolt with only a single hole or is there any good way I can block off one of the holes? I'm thinking of doing that for the banjos at the caliper, then mounting a flat plate behind the anti-dive unit cut out to fit exactly the shape of the anti-dive units' mounting surface. Kinda like a gasket with no opening. Would this work? Would I have to adjust the fork oil amount somewhat?

[Jethro]

Okay, call me a big chicken.... but....
I have had bad luck with carb cleaner and rubber and plastic parts.

Yeah, I've already decided what I am going to use to clean out the old fork oil... clean fork oil.

[HiSPL]

It takes alot of clean fork oil and scrubbing way down in there to get all the crap out. But go ahead, I'm not doing the scrubbing.


I usually use gunk carb spray for things like this. It doesn't seem to be as strong as berryman's and the like. I do try to avoid plastic and rubber, and I haven't had any problems with deteriation yet...