Front Fork Advice Needed

[thunderbolt]

I'm taking the front forks off my '03 model because it is p*ssing oil out everywhere. It's over everything - don't know why I didn't notice it before.

Anyway the forks are off the bike and disassembling the RH fork leg. I loosened both the top cap nut and the bottom hex bolt no probs there. When I removed the top nut the "U" shaped collar that is on top of the long spacer fell out on the floor. Is that normal or not? I would have thought that it should have been under some pressure and I would have had to have compressed things a bit to get it out. I'm wondering if someone has replaced the fork springs (an upgrade) and got the length of the long spacer wrong.

Thoughts please?

Thanks

P.S. Are the bottom fork legs (sliders) bare aluminium or are they painted in a silver colour to represent aluminium? I don't want to use too strong a solvent on them if it's paint when cleaning them up.

[gl_s_r]

http://www.vtr1000.org/phpBB3/viewtopic ... 31&t=29710

I'm sure the length of spring and spacers are noted in this topic that may be of some use to you

[budd]

as soon as you remove/release the large 24mm top retaining assembly you relieve the load on the spring this allows to horse shoe retainer to be removed, the free length of the spring and spacer should be 410mm, IIRC the spacer is 100mm

[NZSpokes]

The lower leg is painted silver.

[thunderbolt]

The lower leg is painted silver.

Thanks Spokes, I'd better stick with kero or petrol then.

[thunderbolt]

One front fork disassembled:



There are two steel washers called Joint Plates which going by the exploded diagram in the workshop manual go either side of the long spacer (Joint Collar) above the spring. My fork does not have them installed. The "U" shaped collar at the top sits directly on the long spacer and the bottom of the long spacer sits directly on the top of the spring. The spring is an after market piece as can be seen from the pictures.

The following pics show the fork internals as they were removed from the fork. Note: No joint plates as explained above:



UNKNOWN PART: I have a part that fell out of the fork tube when I removed fork damper. I don't know where it came from, does anyone have any idea?

Pictured Below:



The last pic is of the two bushes as removed from the lower slider on the stanchion, any thoughts on these?



BTW what do members use to wash all the various parts in before reassembly?

Thanks

[MacV2]

Mystery part in the 2nd pic is the needle valve (?) this goes on the bottom of the damper rod.

[thunderbolt]

Mystery part in the 2nd pic is the needle valve (?) this goes on the bottom of the damper rod.

How does it attach? Does it just slide in the tube before the damper rod is inserted point first?

Thanks

[tony.mon]

No, it screws onto the lower end of the damper rod.
Or it's a press fit, can't remember offhand. Either way, it goes on the lower end of the damper rod.

[thunderbolt]

No, it screws onto the lower end of the damper rod.
Or it's a press fit, can't remember offhand. Either way, it goes on the lower end of the damper rod.

Thanks Tony, There is no thread on it anywhere so it must be a press fit.

Thanks

[thunderbolt]

It's not a press fit either. I don't know how it attaches.

[VTRDark]

It looks like an aftermarket part to me. Raceteck maybe Here's how it would be as standard.



As for the bushes....the copper one (outer bush) looks like it has fair bit of wear and could do with changing while you have things apart. The bottom (inner bush) which is Teflon coated looks OK to me, I'd save a few quid and leave them as is.

(:-})

[thunderbolt]

It looks like an aftermarket part to me. Raceteck maybe Here's how it would be as standard.



As for the bushes....the copper one (outer bush) looks like it has fair bit of wear and could do with changing while you have things apart. The bottom (inner bush) which is Teflon coated looks OK to me, I'd save a few quid and leave them as is.

(:-})

Thanks for the reply Carl,

As you say it could be aftermarket. The fork lowers have Teknik Suspension stickers on them. The springs in the forks look different than the standard ones which have closed coils at one end. My springs are single rate looking at them.

Does your pointy bit in the picture above have a spring that fits over it as seen in my pics? Do you think the profile of your pointy thing is different from mine?

When I pulled the cartridge apart I found a spring in there that fits neatly over the metering rod (pointy thingo). As seen in the next pic.:



The following pics show the ends of the damper and the metering rod where they butt up against each other. There is no press fit and they cannot be threaded together. The spring must just hold the metering rod against the damper rod.:





The pictures below show how I think the damper rod, metering rod and spring should be assembled inside the damper tube (above damper rod in the pictures). Does the valving in the pictures below look standard or aftermarket?





Carl I am missing the two large washers that go either side of the large spring. Do you think they were left out purposely when the other fork modifications were done or were left out in error. The "U" shaped collar at the top sits directly on top of the spring collar (long spacer above the spring).

What grade oil should I use?

With modified forks does the amount of fluid and air gap remain the same as in the manual? 450cc quantity and 130mm air gap.

Sorry about all the questions and appreciative of all the answers.

Thanks

[Wicky]

What grade oil should I use?

With modified forks does the amount of fluid and air gap remain the same as in the manual? 450cc quantity and 130mm air gap.

For starting points on what weight of oil, quantity and air gap to use on graded forks please read the Knowledgebase article > Standard Fork Upgrade Service Guide > http://www.vtr1000.org/phpBB3/viewtopic ... 31&t=29710

[VTRDark]

Aftermarket valveing too. Mmmm the little spring is a mystery, no that's not standard. I'm guessing like yourself that the spring may hold the end on somehow Seems a bit strange though. The profile looks different to me as where yours tapers is a more sharp transition.

As for the oil and airgap, that may be a bit of trial and error, but I would stick with standard and go from there. 7.5w oil with an airgap of 140mm or 130mm if your heavy on the braking. The two missing washers would be nice to have, gives the spring a little more support. They may have been left out if the thickness of them was mistakenly taken into consideration when measuring the spring and spacer length. Have you measured the spring length yet? the spacer is 100mm, you want a total of 410mm not including any of the washers with the above airgap and oil weight. That is linear springs you have there. Are there no markings/clues to what it is on them, and what weight are they made for.

I have a feeling there will be a bit of trial error getting your setup right for you. Whatever you do don't go drilling the hole like in my fork thread as that is for standard valving. You already have better.

It would be a good idea to check out the reactec site and see if there is any figment/setup info on there. Or maybe someone else with more suspension knowledege can chime in.

(:-})