fork me!

[fishtail]

so if your front forks have been painted black - this is what might lurk beneath..




any suggestions? I heard some over cleaner could take the anodising off?

might try that just to take the edge off - so it aint patchy at least... ( all tho some of the aluminum is flaking away - are these constructed like a samurai sword???!!!! )

all budget so far on getting the engine running right again ( cant get new forks until bike is proven running )

planning on changin the seals etc on the forks tho.

what weight oil for a 65kg individiual? (could be 70 for all I know now )

apparently my rear shock spring is 20nm rather than 15 nm.. but its been loaded up with nitrogen, new seals orings and rubber stopper!

cheers!

[twistednuts]

Your bike is great etc, but judging by the rest of it, i think id just tart it up a bit instead of spending big dollars and time.

Just repaint everything. A few stickers etc an it'll look good enough.

Save ya money for the twins cos you'll need it congrats on that by the way

[fishtail]

thanks! yeah inclined to agree.. especially with the Twins! exciting and scary! no more new bike plans, so have to make most of the one I got

wondered if there was a shrink wrap solution to get around them - or maybe a foam?


would nice not to be toooo embarrassed when ppl are helpin me pick it off the floor!


--> the aluminium flaking is normal? there's a couple of longish slivers about 1 or 2 cm long

[fishtail]

can I grind them a bit? make em smoother? a few flat spots now- at least chamfer the edges and make em all ali color?

[fallenmikethebike]

Blast and a repaint.
Mike

[knackeredMk1]

FMtB +1

[fishtail]

since my bikes a dog I attacked the forks with a wirebrush on a drill - and they have come up ok, way less noticable...

I am planning to change the bushes and the seals once I got the bike running ( tired of spending money with no 'result' yet..

actually seals arent leaking - so maybe I just refresh the oil? make sure its to level?

read the FAQ and it said between 5 an 10 wt is standard - but some take it 20wt?

my rear shock spring is apparently 20 Nm - as opposed to 10-15 as standard..

any recommendation for fork oil? most of the stuff i do is quite technical - not really massive jumps or super high speed

or should I just leave playing with the oil until I change bushes and seals? ( i notice front wheel bearings are boggered as well.. ) but I want to hear some ring ding ding before any more cash registers...

[fallenmikethebike]

7.5 should be fine, go 10 if you like, and back out the dampers slightly.
Mike

[fishtail]

is there a lazy way to refill with out removing the spring? was thinking i will buy new seals an bushes once I get it all going again - so will do the degunk ( diesel or canned brake cleaning spray ) the old oil STANK! and was totally blackened.

looking thru at a bunch of old posts. have a question,,

since I just pootle down the hill for 5 mins to get to my track - I wanna set it up for rocky / rooty / and shortish steep climbs/ descents- plenty of boulders / trees to hit/get over etc..

from reading below If its true that using most of the suspension is better off road---> then a larger air gap ( anyone got a suggestion for my needs? try the 120mm? can always add more ( perhaps dont need to remove springs to add more oil? )

and a viscous oil would be better - hence mike recommending 7.5 rather than 10?



mike advice in 2011 - " Generally, the level of the oil from the top of the compressed fork, with the spring removed would be somewhere between 90mm, and 120 mm , in you're weight choice of oil, and flavour."

eddie evans said
If you don't know what oil is in the forks I would suggest filling them with 10 wt oil with an air gap of 100mm
The standard air gap on the Mk2 should be 107mm but is 90mm on the Mk3. The air gap is the measurement from the top of the oil to the top of the fork tube with the spring out and the fork fully compressed.

My understanding is that a smaller air gap should make the fork become stiffer just before they bottom out.
It is also my understanding that during an off road ride most of the fork travel should be used. Lightly bottoming out a couple of times is OK but using 90% of travel being the ideal. Using less means the forks are too hard. Regularly bottoming out obviously means they are too soft. There is no rebound adjustment and only 4 position adjustment on the compression which is at the bottom of the forks. Most dirt bikes have 20 clicks for rebound and comp damping although most effective adjustment takes place. So although it is possible to revalve the original forks there is little adjustment available there after.


( dunno how i missed this in the FAQ -

17: With the fork vertical pour in your fork oil (600ml-mk2 or 650-mk3. These are not the actual required amounts as it is easier to fill the forks than remove oil to get the correct oil height!!). Remember the forks must be fully together i.e fork bottom in contact with the dust seal. Adjust the amount of fork oil 'till you reach the measurement from the top of the fork outer tube (mk2-108mm,mk3-90mm). Pump the damper rod up and down a dozen or so times and re check the oil height.


would be well handy if there was a known volume!

cheers!

[Eddie Evans]

is there a lazy way to refill with out removing the spring? was thinking i will buy new seals an bushes once I get it all going again - so will do the degunk ( diesel or canned brake cleaning spray ) the old oil STANK! and was totally blackened.

looking thru at a bunch of old posts. have a question,,

since I just pootle down the hill for 5 mins to get to my track - I wanna set it up for rocky / rooty / and shortish steep climbs/ descents- plenty of boulders / trees to hit/get over etc..

from reading below If its true that using most of the suspension is better off road---> then a larger air gap ( anyone got a suggestion for my needs? try the 120mm? can always add more ( perhaps dont need to remove springs to add more oil? )

and a viscous oil would be better - hence mike recommending 7.5 rather than 10?



mike advice in 2011 - " Generally, the level of the oil from the top of the compressed fork, with the spring removed would be somewhere between 90mm, and 120 mm , in you're weight choice of oil, and flavour."

eddie evans said
If you don't know what oil is in the forks I would suggest filling them with 10 wt oil with an air gap of 100mm
The standard air gap on the Mk2 should be 107mm but is 90mm on the Mk3. The air gap is the measurement from the top of the oil to the top of the fork tube with the spring out and the fork fully compressed.

My understanding is that a smaller air gap should make the fork become stiffer just before they bottom out.
It is also my understanding that during an off road ride most of the fork travel should be used. Lightly bottoming out a couple of times is OK but using 90% of travel being the ideal. Using less means the forks are too hard. Regularly bottoming out obviously means they are too soft. There is no rebound adjustment and only 4 position adjustment on the compression which is at the bottom of the forks. Most dirt bikes have 20 clicks for rebound and comp damping although most effective adjustment takes place. So although it is possible to revalve the original forks there is little adjustment available there after.


( dunno how i missed this in the FAQ -

17: With the fork vertical pour in your fork oil (600ml-mk2 or 650-mk3. These are not the actual required amounts as it is easier to fill the forks than remove oil to get the correct oil height!!). Remember the forks must be fully together i.e fork bottom in contact with the dust seal. Adjust the amount of fork oil 'till you reach the measurement from the top of the fork outer tube (mk2-108mm,mk3-90mm). Pump the damper rod up and down a dozen or so times and re check the oil height.


would be well handy if there was a known volume!

cheers!

The reason it is not a known volume is that it is not possible to know how much oil is left in the fork. Look at the videos of people setting the air gap on you tube. it is not hard to make a tool up that sucks the oil out to the level you want. going by the colour of your forks they look like Mk2s so the gap should be 107mm. ATF fluid is cheap and supposed to be around 7.5 weight. would be worth a try to see if you like the feel.
I use 5wt in my berg and 2.5 wt in my XR. The 2.5 weight is literally like water

[twistednuts]

Fishy, just get a tube and mark the depth you want, say 107mm/whatever, put this in your closed forks so the mark is at the top of the closed fork (with spring out)
Attach a flexi pipe, a bit of old oil pipe will do, to the tube and then to a syringe. Pour fluid into ya forks and let the tube 'dip' in the fluid. Then suck it out with the syringe.

Yeah, old fork fluid stinks bad, nearly made me vom.

Eddie, are you EddieFE off the berg site?

[Eddie Evans]

Eddie, are you EddieFE off the berg site?

Might be

[fishtail]

right - making more sense now thanks,, and transmission fluid definitely sounds like its worth a go

twisted's tool is a great tip! going to have to change the bushes on me hornet as well I think - big help appreciate

( altho I need to see what weight is required there )

lots of firsts going on for me this year!