1980 GS1000 GL fork problem - spongy

[Guest]

My old fork seals were ok but decided in needed to change them out. I have done this several times before on bikes with good success. But this time, something is just not right.

I followed the tutorial on BikeCliff's website. Had no problems at all. Got the bottom bolt out no problem. The damper rod came right out with out any problems. Drained the oil and then put it all back in like it was. Put the 10wt fork oil in, and used the hand soap plunger trick for the proper amount.

Put them back on the bike and filled with 11lbs of air, and now the forks are ridiculously spongy. Any ideas what would have changed, or what I could have forgotten or screwed up on?

Thanks for your help.

[Dj66]

Sounds like it's not holding air for some reason,are you sure you got those seals in right? If a person was in a hurry or something they could possibly go in upside down.

[norman1950]

Thank you for the info I just might buy a new bottle of thicker fork oil and retry it and double check the seals to make sure they are the right way. Anything I need to check out with the damper rod? Also I did make sure to pump the fork tubes to clear the air out.

thanks again for the replies.

[49er]

If you fit some progressive springs and 15 wt oil, you wont need to use any air. It just takes away one more chore that you need to do on a regular basis, if using air over oil.
Progressives without air work great.

[koolaid_kid]

Progressives or Sonics are the best. If funds are an issue, cut the spring an inch or so to increase the spring rate, then install a PVC spacer to set your static sag.