Fork Oil Replacement

[JTGS850GL]

Just finished changing the fork oil in mine. Easy job and only takes a couple hours to complete. The oil in my forks was BLACK and ICKY! Each fork had oil in it, but I don't think that they were the same amount. Used mineral spirits to flush out the forks till the fluid came out fairly clear. Only took a couple of flushes to do it. Let them hang upside down over a bucket for an hour to drain them. I pumped the forks up and down a few times during the hour. Poured in oil until I was slightly above where I needed to be and then used a hand pump made from a 409 cleaner bottle to remove the excess oil. I had to add a couple inches to the dip tube in order to get the required 10.2" from the top oil level. On a non-L model I would have had to cut the tube since that requires a 5.5" oil level.

Can't test the ride right now since it raining pretty hard but I'll let you know once I do.

For anyone that's concerned on how hard this is to do... Don't worry about it. The fork caps screwed right back in without any issues. Just take your time and you'll be OK.

[snackie]

I'm not scared just lazy. Also, I just spent 4 months getting her road ready, I WANNA HAVE SOME FUN NOW!

[Turtleface]

I'm not scared just lazy. Also, I just spent 4 months getting her road ready, I WANNA HAVE SOME FUN NOW!

Spend the time and do it right! Otherwise, you may end up doing it again. Really, pulling the forks isn't all that difficult. The few extra hours you might spend doing it correctly is more than worth the piece of mind, knowing that you've done it right.

[Steve]

I'm not scared just lazy. Also, I just spent 4 months getting her road ready, I WANNA HAVE SOME FUN NOW!

If you are all that lazy, maybe you chose the wrong bike.

.

[snackie]

Forks are coming off Friday or Sunday. Thanks for your concern.

[JTGS850GL]

Just took her for ride to work today. Huge difference in feel. No more deflection when I hit a rut in the road. Much less dive and a smooth rebound. I don't have any air in the forks right now since I'm still looking for a good low pressure gauge to adjust it with. Right now I don’t really see any emergency need for the air.

Once you get this done I'm sure that you'll notice a solid difference.

On an assembly note, I really didn’t see a need to remove the handlebars either. Once the triple tree bolts were loosened the forks just slid straight down through the clamps with the top air caps still on. I removed the springs and all once the forks were removed. I did loosen the top caps while they were still clamped up though. After servicing them, I fully assembled the forks before sliding them into the triple trees. I then performed the final tightening of the top caps once the forks were clamped back up. Assembling the forks loose was a piece of cake. Just held the fork tube with one hand and pushed down on the top cap while rotating the fork tube worked for me. Kind of like screwing the fork tube into the top cap instead of the other way around. Seemed to make it easier to keep the top cap aligned and I could feel the threads catch.

[snackie]

Flushed out my forks yesterday. There was a surprising amount of fluid still in them, but was nearly black in color. So, the seals are good. Let them hang upside down for about a half hour and flushed with ATF. Refilled with Belray 15w and took her for a spin, definitely better.

Thanks for everyone's encouragement.

[cowboyup3371]

Congratulations

[JTGS850GL]

Glad it worked out the way it should have.