Fork problem?

[605Jake123]

My forks seem to not have much resistance when i press on them. actually almost no resistance. does that mean the seals are bad or springs maybe? the bike only has 9800 miles on it so i'm guessing the springs aren't shot yet but i'm no expert. Thanks for the help

[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. 605Jake123,

After searching for your other posts, it seems you have a GS850GL but we don't know what year. It's most convenient if you put that information in your sig file. It also seems that in your other threads, after the initial question was posted, you've never gone back and offered any response. What maintenance tasks have you done to your bike so far? Did you get your "mega-welcome"? If you haven't seen it yet, just CLICK HERE. If you perform all of the tasks on the maintenance lists your bike will be good to go.

Anyway, about your forks. Is there any oil in them? If so, is it the proper amount? You should have air forks. Look for valve stems under the caps on top of the forks. Add air to increase the preload. 15 or 16 psi should be plenty. Use a hand pump and not a gas station air hose.

You could also install some longer spacers to increase the preload. See the guides for installing Progressive Springs and Fork Seal Replacement to help you get familiar with your forks, how they work, and how to maintain them.

Or you could just install new Progressive or Sonic fork springs to stiffen up your front end. They really help. A fork brace may be to your liking too. I bought a fork brace at www.fastfromthepast.com.

You can download a service manual for your bike from my website. Please help yourself. There's lots of GS850G lovin' there.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[605Jake123]

Thanks for the response I'll check it out today.

[posplayr]

The bare minium should be to drain the old oil out of the forks and get your sag set properly.

Cutting down springs and adding spacers is the cheap way . Progressive springs are cheap enough and would be better.

If your forks are leaking at all get some new seals. Not sure I agree about pumping up the air (most here just get the spring rate right), if it leaks and the forks respond differently then that can cause instability. At least if oil is leaking you should be able to tell, but with air not so much.

[605Jake123]

Thanks for the instructions. i put some more air in them and it seems to be holding.