Fork Oil and Spring Service NEEDED

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Cav47

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FORK and Spring Service NEEDED.

After reading so much great stuff on the forum here, searching youtube, and analyzing my own riding, it has become apparent that I NEED to change the oil and springs.

Inquiry with the first owner of the bike indicated no oil change had been done in his 30K miles. I have had it 2 years and I have not done it, so at over 56K, I am sure it needs it.

Riding to event season is coming upon me as I am attending CFO, EOM, and planning on Hooterville. I really would not like to head to those events with the mush that I have now. I think it is unsafe really.

About a year ago I started noticing the Mush, but thought it was a matter of dampening or other poor adjustment. I had a flat tire (that I ran on for almost 2 days) in Arkansas that I thought was an explanation of poor handling. I changed tires and that made a difference in some handling aspects as tires always do. Last Month, I went to Southern Indiana with some buds from the forum and my bike feels like junk going into the corners, in the corner, and coming out. We messed with the settings and it helped a little, but after this weekends rides, it is not fixable by preload, dampening, or any other setting. Her legs are worn out from all the riding...........Just like some of our favorite posters concubines!!!!! It does fine on the mostly highway and commuter miles that I have put on it this year, but enough is enough.

I weigh 220 lbs with full gear on. 90% of my riding is solo with empty or no sidecases. Spring recommendations so I can point my dealer in the right direction??

I do not feel confident enough with my limited mechanical skills to do the service. So, I either have to take it to the dealer, or find a tech day.......none of them existed around here until later. So that leaves me to going to the dealer. I would love to buy the kit, and assist someone in fixing my bike. A tech day would have been great. I would supply drinks and food for the knowledge gained but event season is upon us.

Thanks for the info on the spring recommendations in advance.

 
You will need to replace bushings too. Recommend doing the seals while you have them apart. You will need the tools for the bushings and seals too. If you were closer we could do it in an afternoon.

 
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Have a look on the Racetech site here

Hopefully that link will take you directly to the calculator for your year (2004). If not just follow the links from the beginning. I'm sure other suppliers will have their own guides.

If you are struggling a bit with the front suspension and you intend to strip/rebuild anyway, I would seriously recommend going all the way and installing a set Of Racetech Gold Valves at the same time.

You really need to think about upgrading you rear shock at the same time.

I know it's not cheap but it WILL transform the bike.

 
FORK and Spring Service NEEDED.

After reading so much great stuff on the forum here, searching youtube, and analyzing my own riding, it has become apparent that I NEED to change the oil and springs.

Inquiry with the first owner of the bike indicated no oil change had been done in his 30K miles. I have had it 2 years and I have not done it, so at over 56K, I am sure it needs it.
That is going to be some good smelling oil.

 
I weigh 220 lbs with full gear on. 90% of my riding is solo with empty or no sidecases. Spring recommendations so I can point my dealer in the right direction??

Thanks for the info on the spring recommendations in advance.
I think you will find that 1.0 KG fork springs will be a noticable improvement but you will not get the full benefit of heavier springs unless you also also have the forks re-valved to accomodate the heavier springs. You haven't mentioned anything about your shock but when you improve just one end of the suspension it makes the other end feel worse than it did before. A low cost shock option is to install a GEN3 shock but don't buy it from a dealer unless they will the match the price you can find on the Internet.

 
I will be looking for a Gen 3 shock for sure. I also potentially have a bead on a wrecked 14. Front is trashed due to a bambi collision. I am guessing the rear would be okay.

Bob, I certainly wish I was close enough for that!!! If EOM was before CFO, I would be all about taking an extra day off and heading your way. Definitely going to be replacing all the internals at the dealer if I have to go that route.

Revalving is prob not in the financial card$ for now. But certainly a great idea to add to the spring change.

 
FORK and Spring Service NEEDED.

After reading so much great stuff on the forum here, searching youtube, and analyzing my own riding, it has become apparent that I NEED to change the oil and springs.

Inquiry with the first owner of the bike indicated no oil change had been done in his 30K miles. I have had it 2 years and I have not done it, so at over 56K, I am sure it needs it.
That is going to be some good smelling oil.
Thinking about pouring it into my neighbors pool right before he closes it up for the winter. He doesn't like it that we have kids that play in the front yard and street on our dead end cul de sac. I think the basketball went out into the road once on a rebound and he had to slow down for the ball.

 
Thinking about pouring it into my neighbors pool right before he closes it up for the winter. He doesn't like it that we have kids that play in the front yard and street on our dead end cul de sac. I think the basketball went out into the road once on a rebound and he had to slow down for the ball.
Two choruses of the Navy Hymn for Him - Him, Him, F6@& Him, second verse same as the first

 
Stopped by my dealer today (Kawasaki only). I trust him with repairs and other stuff and he has done me right on accessories and prices. He is a rider himself and it is a small shop where quality and referrals counts. I like to throw any business I can his way. Here is the problem. He can't get Yamaha parts quick enough to get me done before CFO. He did say that he would make an exception to his rule about letting the customer bring in the parts and he would put them on/in the forks. He said he did not like to order from Partzilla because it was a consumer place and not a dealer merchandiser???

So I have two options. Get the parts myself and let him put them on ( that is if I get them in time) or order them and put them on myself. I can't see myself doing the job without help from someone on the board that has experience. Like BOB said before, I would be all about jumping over to a mini-tech day if it was closer. I could wait until after CFO, but I am due for sure. I looked today and I am over 59k on the original oil. Yikes. Anyone up for a mini tech day within 500 miles???

 
I weigh 220 lbs with full gear on. 90% of my riding is solo with empty or no sidecases. Spring recommendations so I can point my dealer in the right direction??

Thanks for the info on the spring recommendations in advance.
I think you will find that 1.0 KG fork springs will be a noticable improvement but you will not get the full benefit of heavier springs unless you also also have the forks re-valved to accomodate the heavier springs. You haven't mentioned anything about your shock but when you improve just one end of the suspension it makes the other end feel worse than it did before. A low cost shock option is to install a GEN3 shock but don't buy it from a dealer unless they will the match the price you can find on the Internet.
+1. GoldValves will be the finishing touch to the rebuild to give you a well behaved fork and yes, the rear shock will then seem REALLY bad. I'd do the Gen 3 OEM shock as well.

 
Get the parts and then decide. The front forks for the Gen I are not bad - easier than the Gen II. If you are really uncomfortable with it and can't get help (and don't have leaky seals), Do the oil and swap the springs (very easy). Save a rebuild for a better time. You will get improved performance at the cost of a couple quarts of fork oil.

 
Get the parts and then decide. The front forks for the Gen I are not bad - easier than the Gen II. If you are really uncomfortable with it and can't get help (and don't have leaky seals), Do the oil and swap the springs (very easy). Save a rebuild for a better time. You will get improved performance at the cost of a couple quarts of fork oil.
+1

 
From another thread. Order these items, OIL, and Springs. Are the springs just drop in? No modifications or other parts than the OEMs??

.

METAL, SLIDE 1 4SV-23125-10-00

SEAL, DUST 4SV-23144-00-00

OIL SEAL 4SV-23145-01-00

GUIDE, COVER UPPER 4SV-23115-00-00

CLIP, OIL SEAL 4SV-23156-00-00

METAL, SLIDE 2 4SV-23135-10-00

Thanks Peeps.

As for the Rear shock, just purchase one from a 2013 from partzilla??

Now I just have to find the correct springs somewhere and get them shipped
 
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As for the Rear shock, just purchase one from a 2013 from partzilla??

Now I just have to find the correct springs somewhere and get them shipped
I'm not familiar with partzilla but the GEN3 shocks have been selling for $390-420. I have bought several springs from SonicSprings.com but I have also been very happy with the OEM springs in my '13A. Springs are not a true "drop-in" unless the new springs are the same length of the old springs, the general rule of thumb is that the spring plus spacer should be the same length as what you are replacing but going to much heavier springs may require a bit of spacer shortening to keep the sag and steering geometry consistent. You should measure your sag with the old springs before you remove them to get an idea what adjustments are going to have to made to the spacers to get the proper sag with the new springs.

Linear springs are better than dual rate or progressive springs because (at least in theory) they give more consistent damping. Most dual rate springs are mostly a marketing gimmick because the weight of the bike and rider will bind all of the tightly wound springs and you end up riding on the heavier portion of the springs almost all the time.

 
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You should not need the 'guide cover upper' or the 'clip, oil seal' . Those are reusable parts. I'd go with straight rate springs.

Also, you can order the seal kit instead of individual seals and dust covers... save ya a couple of bucks. 4SV-W0038-00 (about $22)

 
Thanks for the last two posts with practical experience. I'm in the same boat as Josh for the front springs.

Josh is out with the guys playing poker tonight, so I'm taking over the thread since my 36th anniversary dinner is over.
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You should not need the 'guide cover upper' or the 'clip, oil seal' . Those are reusable parts. I'd go with straight rate springs. Also, you can order the seal kit instead of individual seals and dust covers... save ya a couple of bucks. 4SV-W0038-00 (about $22)
Thanks for the info on the seals and kit stuff. According to the girl at Partzilla, they do not have a complete kit in stock--just for info purposes Tom.

 
After talking with Pants and absorbing as much info I possibly can prior to actually undertaking this process, I ordered up the parts list from PartsZilla.

Going to work on the bike in stages. Stage one will be a fork oil change. At 59,500+ miles, I am certain the oil is not functioning as it should. Springs will come later if the ride is still not satisfactory. I will have all of CFO to evaluate. I plan on gleaning some suspension set up info while at CFO, so do not be alarmed if I ask "How do you like your forks set up?"

Stage 2 will be a new Gen 3 rear shock if the above fix is not good enough. That is more complicated to swap out from what I have heard. Maybe get some help with that from someone who has first hand experience with rear shock assembly. Maybe right before EOM or Hooterville.

Stage 3 will be a new set of aftermarket springs that are beefed up slightly if needed. Maybe right before one last ride in either Arkansas or Wisconsin again.

And if all that doesn't fix it well enough, I will buy a Gen 3 in the DEAD of Winter and sell my bike come spring of 2018(the Gen 4s will be out by then and some poser will finally need to upgrade from his 'not new-enough' Gen 3. I should have enough money saved by then)

If anyone knows of a Youtube video of a Gen 1 fork oil service, shoot me the link. I have not found an exact example yet.

Thanks for all the help you have provided so far.

Cav

 
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