soft front forks

[gsgeezer]

Take it to a shop and all bets are off.
Good luck. Hope you can find a shop that will let it in the door and/or might do a decent job. There is no doubt, however, that it will NOT be cheap.

I am lucky that there is a GREAT shop, out here, that specializes in suspension rebuilding and tuning.
Lots of guys from Philly come out here and bring their bikes, to him. (Al Carr, Reactive Suspension, Oley, PA.)

What I, and others, have done, if you want it done TODAY, and fast, by a pro, is take off the forks and drop them off.
He is very reasonable on labor, given his expertise. (He loves GS's and used to prep them, at the dealer, when they came out, new.)

It isn't that hard to do the forks yourself, though.

Here's a quote about Reactive that I found at a thumper site, recently:

Yea I would skip over VPE, if you want your stuff done right, and by the best guy around, go to Al Carr at Reactive Suspension. He's a Race Tech distributor and does the most amazing work out there. Guys constantlyyyyy are asking to ride my bike because they say it has the smoothest and best suspension out there. Mines soft for woods, but I cannot get it to bottom on an mx track either. Its heaven!!

[Steve]

I am lucky that there is a GREAT shop, out here, that specializes in suspension rebuilding and tuning.
Lots of guys from Philly come out here and bring their bikes, to him. (Al Carr, Reactive Suspension, Oley, PA.)

I have heard of Reactive, and what I heard was, indeed, good stuff.

However, it sounded like detorn was simply going to take his bike to the local dealer.

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[detorn]

He is very reasonable on labor, given his expertise.

reasonable is a point of view...lol what do you think I would be looking at if I brought the forks there off the bike?

[Rob S.]

I recently re-redid the front fork seals. All seemed to be good, there are no visible leaks of fluid and it is holding air.

now they provide no resistance except for the springs. they bottom out just rocking it and holding the brake.

air pressure is where its supposed to be, and showed no sign of leaking with soapy water test.

ideas?

I have springs that I strongly suspect could use replacing. Until then, I just keep the air up near the maximum, and it works okay (no bottoming out).

Just a temporary rig that allows the bike to be ridden, until the problem (and options) can be analyzed.

NOTE: DO NOT put air in your forks with anything but a hand pump designed for the purpose.

[Steve]

reasonable is a point of view...lol what do you think I would be looking at if I brought the forks there off the bike?

When you get that number, compare it with the $75 or so for Progressive springs and $80 or so for Sonic springs, then add about $15 for some fork oil and be done with it.

In other words, less than $100 plus your time.

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[detorn]

When you get that number, compare it with the $75 or so for Progressive springs and $80 or so for Sonic springs, then add about $15 for some fork oil and be done with it.

In other words, less than $100 plus your time.

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plus $50 in oem washers, seals and whatnot, plus the opportunity to have it not be right a forth time.

if dude ends up being too high, I'll leave it the way it is for the next owner. just need to explore the possibilities because I would like to keep it, at least for the rest of the summer.

[gsgeezer]

Don't waste your money on a local dealer, if you want pro suspension work.
Al has worked on my show winning ZL900, as well as many other customs, like my friend's zx14. I don't recommend anybody, unless they're a pro.

If you want to slap some parts on, and not balance the suspension to your weight and the bikes rear shock capabilities, just replace your parts yourself, very easy to do. If you have a problem, I can come down and help.

If you want to take stuff to reactive, I can give you a hand too.

[one_civic]

I just changed my weak front springs for sonic ones, what a difference

Like everyone has said it is very easy to do, grab some OEM fork seals too and you will not have to worry about the front end for a long time

[Wingsconsin]

reasonable is a point of view...lol what do you think I would be looking at if I brought the forks there off the bike?

My local Suzuki dealer will charge $159 to change seals on your forks IF they are OFF the bike...

Bring them the seals, dust caps , new springs and slider bushings and they will change them all for you.

Now I have been told that usually the bushings are fine and reusable - but they require new ones - and the labor I can do myself (I think) so I am going to tackle this one myself and learn a new skill.

So far I have $92 in Sonic Springs - $56 in new seals and dust covers and a seal puller - and I need to spend $8 on the "tool" (threaded rod with nuts on it) and buy some Fork Oil ...

So - for under $200 I will have all new and improved front suspension -

[detorn]

okay, which ones? sonic springs has 4 different springs for the 550, but not delineation as to which ones are for which models. (link)

[rudeman]

Did you remember to install the spacers when you reassembled the forks? Oh guess we're way past that huh?

Seems to me that something failed after a successful front end job. I'd be inclined to find out what happened; not just throw parts (and money) at it.

[Steve]

okay, which ones? sonic springs has 4 different springs for the 550, but not delineation as to which ones are for which models. (link)

I don't know what differences there are in the forks for all the years and all the models of the 550, but it's possible that there is one spring that can replace them all, and just use different spacers to make up the difference in length.

You see four springs on that list because they are different rate springs. Which one you need would depend on your weight, the weight of any accessories, the weight of any passenger and/or luggage and riding style.

Why not just give Rich a call at Sonic to verify my guesses, or maybe even just send him a PM. His username is RichDesmond.

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[Rob S.]

I have springs that I strongly suspect could use replacing. Until then, I just keep the air up near the maximum, and it works okay (no bottoming out).

Just a temporary rig that allows the bike to be ridden, until the problem (and options) can be analyzed.

NOTE: DO NOT put air in your forks with anything but a hand pump designed for the purpose.

Update: I installed RaceTech .90 springs and am currently running with no air.

[RichDesmond]

okay, which ones? sonic springs has 4 different springs for the 550, but not delineation as to which ones are for which models. (link)

They fit all models of the GS550. To find out which rate to buy either use the online calculator or shoot me a PM with your weight and a description of the riding you do.