Changing Fork Oil

[gatordoc]

Hey all,

Just hoping someone might be able to shed some light on a couple questions I have regarding changing fork oil on my 96 steamer.

First, I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that it's not supposed to be this color and smell burnt?



These are the springs that came out, roughly 2' long:



Along with these, which I am going to guess aren't factory bits:


Now, if those are the factory springs I am going to guess that they are pretty much shot if those 4-5" PVC spacers fit in there.  Any suggestions on the best way to address this issue?  I had been planning on 1" spacers in order to firm up the front a bit, but after finding this I am not sure what to do.

Also, being that I am blessed to have forks with drain holes and would prefer to not remove the tubes if i can help it, how precise does the oil measurement have to be?  The FSM is full of doom and gloom if the measurement is off, but how big of a deal is it really?  I do have a fork oil measuring tool, but the angle with the forks still on the bike is obviously going to throw the measurement off a bit.

Cheers

[Sin_Tiger]

They look exactly like the stock springs I took out of my '96.

If it's any comfort my oil was in exactly the same condition but the internals were perfect  :icon_scratch I can only guess it was the original factory oil, a distinct possibility in this part of the world.

My mech. put it all back after a good clean up and was happy around the block. I have since got a set of Hagon (Wilbers) progressive springs for her but not fitted yet. I'm going to try it for a while on the stock springs before I put the Hagon's in.

Just measure the gap half way around the tube rather than at the front or rear. It's so convenient having drain plugs  

[gatordoc]

It may not be the original English oil, but I'm pretty sure it's been in there quite a while.  I'm a diesel mechanic on most days and have seen cleaner oil come out of the engines I work on.

Given how much nose dive I have been getting I was not expecting to find that someone had already swapped in longer spacer tubes.  I guess I'll just change the oil and see how she feels before I start worrying about fixing something that might not need it.

Maybe changing the oil will have the desired effect?  This is my first experience working on a motorcycle so I'm winging it a bit here...  :shock:

[Mustang]

try using 15 weight fork oil it will help the dive , were those spacers pvc , cuz if they were then someone has already done the 1" added preload mod
the OEM spacers are steel and are also pretty long

the kayaba forks ( which is what you have if they have drain holes ) were mushy from new and on my 95 going to progressive springs didn't really make much difference or impress me much .
The heavier fork oil took out some of the dive . you learn to live with it  :D

[rybes]

from what i remember when i took my spacers out recently, they were 110mm long. if yours have had an extra inch they should be around the 135mm mark. ive jus put hyperpro springs n 15wt oil in mine. no idea how it rides yet as the bikes still in pieces. bloody postman better hurry up n bring me bits :D

[gatordoc]

Mustang -  The spacers I have are, in fact PVC.  I got the 15w fork oil yesterday in anticipation of this project, I guess I'll just fill 'er up and see what happens.  Hopefully the fresh, heavier weight oil will show a reduction in kamikaze-like tendencies.

If this doesn't reduce the dive to my satisfaction the next step is what, emulators?  From what I have read the progressive springs don't really make much of a difference...

Thanks guys, and good luck with the postman, Rybes.  I absolutely hate waiting on parts to be shipped.

[Mustang]

emulators will make for a stiff suspension
I have a 98 with showa forks and emulators and they are stiff , too much so for serious off road stuff . although I have been told that auto trans fluid will make them a little more plush ......but I have never tried because the bike was turned into a sidecar tug and the stiff suspenders actually are kinda nice on the hack rig ......as a solo bike though I did not like the emulators

[akendall1966]

They grey pvc is very reminiscent of the stuff supplied with the sonic springs I got for mine. The sonics were shorter than stock (Girly length I believe) so need quite a long spacer to give enough preload . Sorry don't recall how long

Although PVC tube can be found at any builders merchant so more likely the previous owner has increased the pre-load as said in other replies. Sonicsspring have the rate stamped on the spring end if I remember correctly

[JetdocX]

You can spend lots and lots of money on suspension for this pig.  How much would you like to spend?  I have emulators in my forks and .9 kg spring.  Big difference on the pavement.  In the dirt, the forks are stiff, but that just keeps me from getting going too fast and doing some serious damage. :twisted:

[gatordoc]

They grey pvc is very reminiscent of the stuff supplied with the sonic springs I got for mine...  ...Sonicsspring have the rate stamped on the spring end if I remember correctly

mine were not stamped with anything, I made sure to check when I had them out.  I am pretty sure that mine are stockers with extended spaces.

[BruKen]

May I ask where do you get these pvc spacers from, or if they are home made is there a thread dealing with this? (I couldn't find anything in the sticky's)


also the manual talks of creating a tool to get the damper rods out. Apparently it's a 30mm nut welded to a bar inserted via the sliders to hold the damping rod in place while you undo the damping rod bolt at the bottom of the fork. My problem here is two fold. A) the bolts seem to have seized in and won't loosen even with a pneumatic impact wrench and I am concerned about stripping the hex or shearing the bolt off. B) I made the tool described for holding the damper rods but it doesn't lock into anything and spins freely???

All I want to do is replace the oil seals. Do I have to remove the damping rods to slide the bottom bush up to knock the top bush and oil seal out? If I do can I loosen the damping rod from the bolt by using the homemade tool and turning there rather than the bolt. If the answer is yes to both of the above why is my 30mm nut not locating in a socket?

Please help, I am about to give up on replacing the oil seals in disgust.

[BruKen]

Doh! I've just noticed the forks they show in the Heyns manual are different. Have a square bottom as opposed to the tapered one on the 98 steamers. I am going to use dentist picks to pull the oil seals rather than dismantling the entire unit. As the forks are different I can't trust the manual. How much oil / depth check do I put in?

[Mustang]

Bruce
the special tool that triumph uses has on 1 end a hex and on the other a square . on the tiger , trophy , trident , thunderbird and sprint
you insert the hex end of tool into fork

from the Triumph Service Manual
9. Slide the hexagonal end of service tool 3880090 down the inner tube and turn until a positive engagement is felt in the cylinder.

10. Hold the inner cylinder with the engaged tool  and remove the capscrew situated in the outside base of the outer tube .

the square end of the tool is supposed to be for the Daytona and Speed Triple

this info from manual is also for the Kayaba forks that were on the earlier bikes
the 98 had Showa forks so may be different
Never had a set of 98 showa forks apart so I can't verify one way or the other .

[Mustang]

May I ask where do you get these pvc spacers from, or if they are home made is there a thread dealing with this? (I couldn't find anything in the sticky's)

the home made pvc spacers are simply a pvc tube with as close a diameter as the original spacer tube with an additional 1 inch in length  

you want more preload cut em a little longer than the added 1 inch you want less preload cut em a little shorter

[BruKen]

Thanks for that Mustang. I dropped a little LED torch down on a piece of string. No hex on the showa damper rod seen. I am too concerned about damaging the unit trying to get the damper bolt out from the bottom. I'll try dentist pics to get the oil seal out. If this fails I will take another swing at removing the bolt before taking them to an engineer shop.

Any idea on how much oil to put in a showa?