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What are signs front forks need maintenance ?

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Forks needing maintenance are subtle, its hard to tell if they need looking over, however some of the signs are:

Forks bottoming out too easy
Front end feeling wobbly, loose, uneasy in corners
Sucking or squishy sounds when compressing forks
Sticking or stiction in fork travel
Fork seal leaks

With the exception of the leak, these symptoms are subtle, and have a gradual onset so its easy to mistake them for normal operation (its one of the main reasons new bikes seem to handle better than old ones)

Fork oil is supposed to be changed every 2 years anyway. I bet yours are still on their original fill, and when you change the oil, it will be quite dirty, I even had some rust on parts inside my bandit forks.

If in any doubt, I would recommend changing out the fork oil asap.
The job is not difficult, but you will need to pull the forks off the bike, there is no drain bolt, and to set the oil level properly the forks have to be vertical with the springs out.

The reward: a much better handling bike.

EF
 
Race tech advises new bushings at 20,000. I clean the forks and change oil about every 10,000 miles. At near 60,000 true miles, that's all I've done is change to 8 fluid and ride. ;-)
 
Thanks for the info....What I've noticed is that I notice the front end slightly diving between shifts...And they just feel softer for some reason.
 
whitesands said:
Thanks for the info....What I've noticed is that I notice the front end slightly diving between shifts...And they just feel softer for some reason.
Click to expand...

Thats because just like motor oil, fork oil also breaks down and looses viscosity. Fork oil is probably the most neglected thing on most motorcycles, and I found over the years that a lot of people seem to think that because the forks are sealed, that the oil never needs to be changed.

If you have never changed your fork oil, and you have over 20k on your bike, spend the extra time and completely disassemble the forks so that the cartridges and the insides of the forks can be thoroughly cleaned and the bushings, seals and wipers inspected. As with really dirty forks, just draining the oil out will still leave a dirty residue on all of the internals.
 
What MM said. Mine were pretty dirty at 10K miles. I should of taken them apart and cleaned when I changed out the OEM Tires at 4K miles instead of waiting for 10K miles.
 
My bushings were looking pretty ruff last time I had my forks apart for cleaning at some wheres around 45K miles indicated. I'm now at a corrected 59+ thousand miles and have not changed anything yet. Probably will change all bushings , seals and dust boots next time. Probably this winter.
Racetech recommends changing all bushings at 20K if you have not change fluid by that time.
 
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