Fork oil filling tips 83 650gl

[DrDankNuggs]

While I'm waiting for my new springs & seals to come, I was curious if anyone had a way to fill forks while on bike. After searching the net for a bit It seem like the Schrader valve at the top is less common & I wasn't able to find any way to top off oil.

My initial thought which I think is wrong was to remove Schrader valve & put oil down the hole but I'm not confident enough that's the rite way to go.

 

[Grimly]

While I'm waiting for my new springs & seals to come, I was curious if anyone had a way to fill forks while on bike. After searching the net for a bit It seem like the Schrader valve at the top is less common & I wasn't able to find any way to top off oil.

My initial thought which I think is wrong was to remove Schrader valve & put oil down the hole but I'm not confident enough that's the rite way to go.

If you're fitting new seals and springs, you'll have the caps off anyway.

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Get yourself a service manual from BikeCliffs website. It?s all in there. Link in my signature. Pic to show where to put your wrench, not suggesting you use and adjustable. It?s just what I had handy. The whole cap spins off. But you?ll want the forks off the bike to do seals and clean everything up before doing the spring upgrade. Breakdown and reassembly is in the manual except for the details about how to remove the cap. Manual just reads ?remove fork cap bolt?.

 

[Steve]

As already mentioned, to replace the the springs and seals, you WILL have the forks off the bike. While you have the forks off the bike, simply follow the method outlined in the manual, then slip the completed fork tube assembly into the triples.

I generally overfill the forks, then have a fixed-length spacer on my suction pump to pull out the excess, leaving both forks with exactly the same amount of oil.

What springs are you getting? What oil do you plan on using?

.

 

[DrDankNuggs]

Steve,
I Ordered the heavier set of Sonic Springs & plan on using 10w I believe Maxima brand oil. I should have been more specific I was trying to see if it was possible to add oil without removing forks. I own a service manual and looked at their pro/cess which seems good enough hoping the Springs come with a couple points of what I should do differently if not I imagine there are plenty of threads here to help me.

Thoughts on Motionpro Fork filling tool? any other tools needed or suggested for this upgrade?

 

[Grimly]

I was trying to see if it was possible to add oil without removing forks.

Yes, unbolt the top clamps and loosen off the caps of the fork legs. That top clamp puts a fair old bit of compression onto the tube, so if you try to unscrew the cap while the clamp bolt is still tight you'll go blue in the face and possibly wreck the threads.

 

[RichDesmond]

Steve,
I Ordered the heavier set of Sonic Springs & plan on using 10w I believe Maxima brand oil. I should have been more specific I was trying to see if it was possible to add oil without removing forks. I own a service manual and looked at their pro/cess which seems good enough hoping the Springs come with a couple points of what I should do differently if not I imagine there are plenty of threads here to help me.

Thoughts on Motionpro Fork filling tool? any other tools needed or suggested for this upgrade?

You need to remove the forks from the bike to do the job right. It's not hard, and actually takes no more time than the "shortcut" method.

Half-assed methods lead to half-assed results.

 

[Steve]

Half-assed methods lead to half-assed results.

I have always said that any shortcut(s) taken are merely opportunities to do it over and do it RIGHT. :encouragement:

.

 

[RichDesmond]

I have always said that any shortcut(s) taken are merely opportunities to do it over and do it RIGHT. :encouragement:

.

Yep, and I've had many of those learning opportunities over the years. I'd like to think that I'm smarter now, but not sure the evidence really supports that theory.

 

[Wingsconsin]

I have always said that any shortcut(s) taken are merely opportunities to do it over and do it RIGHT. :encouragement:

.

Yep, and I've had many of those learning opportunities over the years. I'd like to think that I'm smarter now, but not sure the evidence really supports that theory.

I always learn from my mistakes -- I try really hard to not make the same mistake twice --I am smarter than I once was .

 

[DrDankNuggs]

My Springs will be here Monday, so I'll just wait till then, I just wanted to top off temporarily till I properly took them apart for the spring swap. which at this point will likely be Monday/Tuesday. Ive seen a special fork seal install tool, at work I do about 3/4 pto/mag seals a week & I just a socket to install. Any one see any issue with me using just a large deep socket for the seal install?

 

[Grimly]

No problem with that - same as nearly any other ordinary seal.

 

[salty_monk]

Easiest way to get the correct oil level is to remove the top off a "windex" style spray bottle & cut the straw to the length of your oil height. Rest the sprayer on top of the fork leg & pump to spray the extra oil into a rag.... much easier than trying to set it with a rule or caliper

 

[DrDankNuggs]

I Installed the springs and have given it week of riding. My god what a difference, at first I thought they were a little stiff but after the first ride I was proven wrong. I may have to adjust oil I put the 300ml the sonic springs manual suggested. What a difference the springs make, the stock springs were soft and mushy feeling.
Thanks again for all the tips and advice, as always TGSR forum comes through!