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Changed seals & oil in forks - very stiff ride


Vlad

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Hi - 

 

I changed the seals and using method posted earlier in this forum  and now my bike feels very stiff, hard to turn. Used proper viscosity oil.  Already loosen both adjustment nuts to the max on top - doesn't help.
Did anyone have similar issue? Searching online folks suggest checking fork alignment, wrong oil, etc... Will appreciate any advise/recommendation.

 

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Sounds like too much oil. Had the same thing happen to me once. A shop just did a dumpy dumpy and didn't bother measuring. turns out I had almost no air space and the forks wouldn't compress more than a few mm.

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I don't know 7th Gen... what does the manual say for oil level, should give a volume but best is an oil level...... measured with springs out, forks compressed, say 110-130mm from the top of the fork tube.  You can do that on the bike if you measure on a side, not front or rear, not that it's super critical..  Have to jack the wheel up to compress the forks/let front end down depending how your holding the bike up while you do this.

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1 hour ago, Vlad said:

i.e. too much oil? wonder if I can check it somehow w/o taking the whole thing off the bike...

check out this post;
 

30 minute fork oil change

 

I’ve not done this myself and I didn’t read the entire thread to see what was said as to it’s validity and workability. But maybe it’ll help!

 

Good luck!

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As I became a better rider I had to add fluid to each side of my fork so I would not bottom out. 

 

If you can lift the bike up, so there is no weight on the forks:

 

Get a large srynge, and put a plastic tube on it. Measure from the end of the hose up 160mm, making sure the hose is fairly straight. Undo the large outer nut on one side of the forks. Lift the cap out of the way. Insert the hose to the 160mm mark and suck out any excess fluid. Tighten down top nut to specified torque. Repeat for the other side. If the bike still acts funny, then something else is wrong.

 

If you cannot lift the bike all the way, you can unscrew the top caps and suck out 1 syringe full of fluid for each fork, and retest until the bike acts normal. **Only do one side at a time with the help of an assistant or the bike may fall over. Document how much has been removed from each fork in case you go too low. ****The problem with this method is you will never really know if you have the correct amount of fluid, but it may get you by until you can measure it properly.

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status update. 

so I unscrewed the top caps, bike tilted forward to max compression of both shocks. I don't see any oil in the tubes looking from top and though I can only see & reach about 4" deep (~10cm) with a thin plastic tie-down, before it gets stopped by something. See attached images.

 

Looking through the manual (pages 15-27, 15-28) it looks like they do 160mm oil measurement BEFORE  plastic collar and spring are installed. I'm thinking about attempting to remove plastic collar and the spring while still having shocks installed on the bike. Anyone sees potential problem with this? Other ideas?

 

 

 

IMG_3407.jpg

IMG_3406.jpg

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I have taken the caps and springs off my VFR800 while the forks were installed. Not really any different from doing that with the forks removed except there is a motorcycle in the way and the tubes are not truly vertical when setting the oil level. Obviously the springs are under compression so take care when you get the caps off. 

 

I stick a screwdriver at right angles into the spring and wind the spring up/out on the screw driver. Helps the oil to drain off nicely inside the leg.

 

When you check the oil level make sure the forks are fully compressed with the springs out. 

 

I assume when you do this you will have pulled the rebound needles right out; when you reassemble, it is important to fix the cap/locknut in the right position on the damper rod, otherwise the adjuster may not be able to move the needle through the right range. I tighten the rebound adjuster down to fully in, then screw the cap on until the needle LIGHTLY bottoms out. Now hold the cap in place and back the screw out 1/2 turn, and tighten the locknut. 

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Yep, sorry, I keep doing it to add fluid, but yes, need to remove the spring, spacer, spacer washer, and top adjuster (manual calls it the fork bolt). The 1200 manual also states that when you re-install the rebound adjuster, to back it off all the way, counter-clockwise. Also if the pre-load is all the out it will be easier to engage the fork caps.

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ok, I ended up removing shocks off the bike as I could not figure out how to press down the white plastic collar inside the shock to disassemble, with shock on the bike.

Indeed I had too much oil; removed 35ml + 65ml, measured 160mm off the top edge when compressed. 

Now ride is back to normal.

Thank you all for all the help and advises.

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