Front forks... rebuilding and found this...

[Hawk Jr]

I tore my forkss down this weekend and on the fork that was leaking I found the "SPRING COLLAR" had several holes worn in it and all of the fork oil was "gray" color instead of the other forks red color. What would have casued the collar to wear like this?

I will post a pic tomorrow morning when i get to work.

I am guessing I need to replace this part now...

Rob

[Hawk Jr]

Looks like someone tried to weld it for some reason?

[Doc]

That is not good.

The good news is you can replace it cheap with a same size piece of PVC pipe. Maybe a little longer for some extra preload.

[Hawk Jr]

OK i was wondering if I could do that. The stock piece runs like $15.

If I replace one i guess I should replace both.

Is this also the piece that gets longer if I cut my springs down?

Rob

[NT696]

Check what it was rubbing on as well. (Inside of upper tube?) Weld material can be very hard and abrasive. Hope it isnt as bad as it looks.

Red colour? Normal fork oil is amber, isnt it? It gets a little grey as the teflon wears off the seals. Bad forks have dark grey sludge in them. Red oil might mean someone has put in aircraft hydraulic oil

[jaysun0ne]

i just took my f2 forks aparts and they had green oil wich was really dark from the metal flake in it. both sets of forks actually had green oil. from two different sources. one michanic not sure but the other guy was good and knows alot about motorcycles, both selts where rebuilt in small local bike shops.

since we are on the subject what wheight do you guys run in your forks becuase i wanted to run thicker oil to help the springs

i got f2 w/ progressive springs and im 250# if that helps

[NT696]

jaysunone:
I run a simillar setup; F2 / racetech straight rate springs and cartridge emulators. I go with 5" from the top using 15w oil. I got the preload caps as well. This setup works well for me.
I'm 190 and a moderate rider for reference.

[jaysun0ne]

thanks for the info

and sorry to thread jack but
this is my first time rebuilding forks
do you need to "bleed" them like brakes to get an accurate 5" mesurment?
im assuming bleeding just means pumping the forks a few times?


i think i will mimic your set up for now. i guess it would be good to run alittle soft than to hard.

[nt650hawk]

There will be some air in the system. I always cycle thru to clear them out before final installation.

[Hawk Jr]

Also found my collar bushings were mostly copper... the service manual says to replace them if they are more copper than teflon.

If i don't change them whats it gonna do?

[brewsy]

Give a lot more friction (called stiction when refered to forks) when the stanchion moves up and down. The teflon is designed to give minimum friction when sliding up and down on the chrome of the stanchion.
Dont skimp on changing them as they are cheap and you REALLY dont want to have to strip them all the way back down to change it...

[Hawk Jr]

I ordered a pair

[cafebaltimore]

Which Race Tech fork springs for my weight

I weigh about 230 pounds (about 16.4 stones).

Which progressive spring rate would be good for my weight?

[Hordpower]

You'd need a straight rate spring honestly, something in the .95kg/mm range.