Clymer's manual problem

[Guest]

Trying to figure out how much oil my shocks will take on my 1981 GS450EX. Clymer's does not give the EX model in its table of "Front Fork Specifications". There's an EZ and a ED model, but no EX. The problem is the ED model takes 165 CC's right leg and 187 CC's left leg and the EZ model takes 178 CC's both legs. This is something I don't think I should guess at. Thoughts anyone?

[phydeauxmutt]

Do you understand the difference between the EX, EZ and ED? That would help a bit.

They are ALL a 450E. The last letter is only Suzuki's way to identify the model year. X was 1981, Z was 1982, D was 1983.

I don't know what might have changed from '82 to '83, but I would use the '82 specs for your '81.

Besides, you should check the actual LEVEL of the oil after filling it, not just relying on the amount you put in.
Most bikes need 6-7" (150-175mm) of space above the oil, with the spring out, fork compressed and held vertical.

[VABushPig]

I do understand the difference between the model years designations. I just can't understand why they omitted 1981.

[posplayr]

I do understand the difference between the model years designations. I just can't understand why they omitted 1981.

Only use the factory manual; problem solved.

[Nessism]

The exact amount of oil is relatively unimportant. Either of the amounts of oil mentioned is more than enough to cover the damper rods. More or less oil simply affects the amount of trapped air in the forks; more oil means less air so during compression, the pressure rise will be higher, and visa versa.

It's best to measure the oil level with the forks compressed and the springs removed. Somewhere between 100mm to 150mm from the top is common and should be fine.

[Rijko]

Clymer mentions "1977-1981 model" forks and "1982-on" models.

Partzilla shows the GS450EX used either a "Model T" or "Model Z" fork.
So they switched fork models in 1981, that must be why they don't mention the GS450EX as such and you should be able to determine your model and find the appropriate amount/level of oil.

[VABushPig]

The Clymer's manual I have mentions the GS450 model years "1980 - 1983" and "1985 - 1987". My manual seems to leave out 1984, odd. I did determine my bike to be the version "T" from the parts of the forks. Thanks for the feedback. I will reference a service manual to get the required capacity.

[Rijko]

try this Clymer, on BikeCliff's site :

https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=2370B62DDF9F0C6B!1334&authkey=!APM7hx6Q2ynLu-A

Tables on page 3, references to fork differences on page 25/26 of the pdf (or p22/23 if you look at the page numbers on the scanned pages)