question about front forks

[jayphlip]

hey, i just got my bros nt400 last week and today i noticed that the front forks were leaking. my question is, can i keep riding till the end of the season or do i need to get them looked after right away? i did get a cbr600rr front end on ebay but was gonna wait till the winter to do the swap.

thanks

[joel]

That's a personal call there-depends upon how bad they're leaking and what exactly you're doing with the bike.
If they're just weeping a bit,you can - to some extent- let em go for a bit but use some common sense in knowing that they ain't supposed to be doing such and puking fork oil over your tire and ruining your brake pads is a bad thing.

It's always better to err on the side of caution-if you question riding on em,you probably shouldn't.That's as close as I'm going to come to a legal disclaimer.

[DefTrap]

What joel said.
If you do any sort of mileage you'll find that the leak will get progressively worse - starting from a 'light mist' on the legs and ending up by literally pissing out onto the floor when you pump the forks.
FWIW I only ever bother changing the leaky seal, rather than both, though I always change the oil in both legs. Man, I'm cheap.

[drinmotoracer]

uh... I would recommend putting that 600rr front end on now if you have it in your possession. You could probably put around town with the leaky seal, but that is with conservative riding (in a straight line). Any type of load bearing on the front end will just keep juicing oil from that leaky fork until you reach a critical level and then you will put a lot of pressure on the good fork.
2 cents.

[squirrelman]

Definitely another way of doing it

[drinmotoracer]

Uh... that was weird. I tried quoting squirrelman, and it did something weird, and then I tried editing my own post, and it edited squirrelman's post? Plus my original post got deleted. Weird.... sorry squirrelman. He said to tie a sock around the fork leg to catch the oil, and then keep refilling the fork leg with oil until you are ready to replace.

[squirrelman]

wierd indeed, you deleted my post!!
keep secret how you did it or folks will delete ALL my rants!!

[raul507]

The CBR600RR 05 swap I did was the best thing I've done for my bike....besides the rear shock. Very easy and very nice.

[jayphlip]

thanks for the advice guys!!! just got the 07 cbr600rr front end in yesterday. im gonna start he swap even though i dont have the wheel and rotors yet.

anyone have any tips before i start? i am very much NOT mechanically inclined!!!

another question, can i just throw on any cbr 600 rr wheel? or do i need the 07 specifically?

thanks

[formulahawk]

def check on the front wheel because at one point (not sure which year) the 600RR switched from a conventional fork to a USD. Being an 07 you probably have the USD fork and will need a wheel to go with it. THe axel diameters are usually much larger. But there maybe a few years that will fit. Local honda deal might be able to tell ya or i'm sure some one here on the board knows the specifics better than me. good luck and good choice.

[surferdude]

thanks for the advice guys!!! just got the 07 cbr600rr front end in yesterday. im gonna start he swap even though i dont have the wheel and rotors yet.

anyone have any tips before i start? i am very much NOT mechanically inclined!!!

another question, can i just throw on any cbr 600 rr wheel? or do i need the 07 specifically?

thanks

The reason I chose not go with the '07 600 RR setup, from what I understand, the front wheel is different from the '03-'06's (again, not 100% sure about it since the '05-'06's are also USD). I read someone's comment in another thread about it, and decided to go with a 1000 RR setup instead. So to be safe, keep looking for a '07 front wheel and rotors.

If I'm wrong about that, hopefully someone in the know will correct me and then you can get what you need to complete the front end swap.