Front fork no oil : don't laught to me!

[geologie]

Hi! I have a GS850GL 1982. I remove old oil from front fork using the bottom screw. I read my clymer book but i don't understand how to put some oil in the fork! They just say "put the correct amount of oil in the fork".

I have an air valve on the top of the fork so impossible to put oil there but where to pu it? I know the quantity and the quality but can't find the filling hole!

I'll tell you more... I'm riding the bike in this condition for 2 summers without oil! The riding is very hazardous so that's why i want to refill them...:hand:

 

[Steve]

You're not kidding it's a hazardous condition.

It's somewhat amazing you haven't lost control and dumped the bike.

The PROPER way to fill the forks is to have them off the bike, vertical, spring removed, and fully-compressed, so you can measure the height of the oil. If you want to just fill and take your chances, remove the air valves and use a syringe with some narrow tubing to put the oil in. If you don't have access to a syringe and tubing, you can remove the tops of the forks (be carefull of flying springs ) then put the oil in.

.

 

[Nessism]

The top caps, with the air valves, unscrew. Take them off and add oil.

There is a good chance your fork seals allowed the oil to leak out. If that is the case you will have to change the seals.

 

[geologie]

I'm able to unscrew the air valve but i want to fill fork not on the bike.

The top cap, where the air valve is screw, seems to be unremovable; am i missing something?

Thanks again!

 

[Nessism]

If you look up your bike in the parts fishe you will see how the entire top cap unscrews... http://www.alpha-sports.com/suzuki_parts.htm

 

[Tim Tom]

Having just rebuilt the forks on my 850G I have some recent experience in what your going through. The bolt on top of the forks threads out of the upper fork. This top bolt is also where you put air in. If your forks have lost their oil you can bet that the air isn't properly pressurized either.

You should probably rebuilt the forks with new seals. Here is a handy PDF guide that one of the forum members put together to help people with the process. It sure helped me out. While the forks are not complicated, they seem a mystery at first. Trust me you can figure it out and properly rebuild them.

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/storagecliff1/images/Install_Progressive_Fork_Springs.pdf

While this guide also covers replacing the fork springs if that is not in your budget you could re-use the stockers but I would strongly suggest the upgrade.

*Note- if using the original springs then you must put air back into the forks, the progressive springs do not need air.


Also attached is a print out of an Excel sheet listing the parts, part numbers, prices, and where to get them from. Another forum member sent this to me when I rebuilt my front forks and it was very helpful.

I hope this information helps you out. With everything here it should make the forks a lot easier to understand.

Good luck.

 

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. geologie,

Here are some guides with pictures that show you how to service/upgrade your front forks. I always take them off the bike when changing the oil.

Install Progressive Fork Springs

Fork Seal Replacement

Fork Seal Replacement
(by Mr. Matchless)

Now let me dump a TON of other information on you and share some GS lovin'.

I just stopped by to welcome you to the forum in my own, special way.

If there's anything you'd like to know about the Suzuki GS model bikes, and most others actually, you've come to the right place. There's a lot of knowledge and experience here in the community. Come on in and let me say "HOoooowwwDY!"....

Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", "Top 15 Tips For GS Happiness", the Carb Cleanup Series, and the Stator Papers. All of these tasks must be addressed in order to have a safe, reliable machine. This is what NOT to do: Top 10 Newbie Mistakes. Now let me roll out the welcome mat for you...

Please click here for your mega-welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors, and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Don't forget, we like pictures! Not you, your bike!

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed. I will put you on my prayer list.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[DPage]

If you use Tim Tom's part list and decided to upgrade to Progressive springs, the 11-1107 springs won't be long enough. Because you have an "L" with longer tubes, you'll need longer springs. Check out the Progressive Springs site to figure out what's right for your bike.

 

[Steve]

If you use Tim Tom's part list and decided to upgrade to Progressive springs, the 11-1107 springs won't be long enough. Because you have an "L" with longer tubes, you'll need longer springs.

That's OK, they are not long enough for the G model, either.

For both models, you need to have spacers to make up the difference, but the L spacers are likely longer than the G.

By the way, there is no listing in the PS catalog for the 850L.

.

 

[Guest]

If you use Tim Tom's part list and decided to upgrade to Progressive springs, the 11-1107 springs won't be long enough. Because you have an "L" with longer tubes, you'll need longer springs. Check out the Progressive Springs site to figure out what's right for your bike.

I replaced the front fork springs on my '82 GS850GL with Progressives.

The PS catalog doesn't list them for that bike, but I measured the stock ones & used the 11-1108 ones with 70mm long spacers. I believe the spring dia was a bit smaller than stock, but the spring length & rate matched what I needed. I also refilled the forks with 260ml (26cm oil height) of 15W fork oil, but I would use 10W if I was to do it again.

Spacer length is a matter of personal preference, so you may want to use a different length to better suit your riding style.

 

[geologie]

I'm very happy about all your reply. I will also change the seal at the same time.

Thanks a lot

 

[DPage]

You're right, Hikermikem, to upgrade to Progressive fork springs, #11-1108 is what I used for an "L" model because of the longer fork tubes. I figured this out for another bike, not my own "G" model. Now that I recall, part #11-1108 didn't come from the factory website, but from researching the threads on this GS website. If you want to solve it all with spacers, I guess you could use the spring for a 50CC dirt bike - 6" of spring and 18" of spacer. But I'm inclined to use more spring and less spacer.

 

[Tim Tom]

DPage- Thanks again for the Excel sheet. I'm sorry I could not remember who sent it to me .

I assure you it was incredibly handy and made the job much easier. Now my bike actually handles again. Not to mention the brake dive that I used to feel whenever I touched my front brakes is gone, and I can go over bumps without bouncing off the seat. A working suspension is a very good thing

 

[karllmt]

If you don't have access to a syringe and tubing, you can remove the tops of the forks (be carefull of flying springs ) then put the oil in.

.

If you try this method, be sure to have the bike on center stand and jack up the front, under the engine, so the front wheel is off the ground extending the forks as far as possible. This way the spring won't fly as far and it will be easier to re assemble.

Edit: I now relalize that he has the forks off the bike, but if one needs to add oil with forks still in place, you have to get the front end up.

 

[geologie]

Ha! I've done the job BUT when i remove the air valve cover it cut down the thread so i am not able to put air in it anymore. I was able to remove the screw brass in the cover so i can reuse the chrome plug again. I went to my suzuki dealer and they said that this part is not manufacture anymore! Is there a non OEM replacement for this brass fitting/air valve somewhere?

Thanks again!

 

[Steve]

If you want to solve it all with spacers, I guess you could use the spring for a 50CC dirt bike - 6" of spring and 18" of spacer. But I'm inclined to use more spring and less spacer.

Yeah, your idea of "more spring and less spacer" is pretty much the ideal, but Progressive only makes so many springs.

They tend to go for situations that will cover the most bikes, so they use a fixed spring length of a given weight and diamater that will fit a fork tube. Since that length spring will not be proper for ALL bikes, you need to add the spacer to get the ride height correct.

Keep in mind: adding length to your spacers really does nothing to the spring rate while you are riding. :-k
Let's say that your forks "sag" 3" between on-the-centerstand measurement and riding measurement.
Adding 2" to your preload spacer will only make the front of your bike ride 2" higher.
The springs will still be compressed the same amount while you are riding.

.

 

[deven5498]

Changing Fork oil

Changing Fork oil

I changed my fork oil today and found this tread very helpful. Adding oil while the forks are still on the bike can be a bit confusing. Here was my process.

- Remove air valve cover and release air pressure. (11.4 psi on my 1980 GS1000G)
- Remove Air valve. Allowing air in the top helps ensure full faster draining.
- Remove small drain screw at bottom of fork and let it drain for a while. ( I waited an hour or more)
- Replace drain screw when completely empty

Now the refilling turned out to be more challenging than I had expected. First i had to measure out 241 ml of fork fluid (specific to the 1980 GS1000G). I used a graduated cylinder and eye dropper.

While you could add fluid through the hole where the air valve goes the entry channel is very small and angled so it would take a very long time and almost definitely involve some spillage which will throw you out of the allowable 1 ml difference between the 2 forks. Unless of course you can replicate the same spillage on the second fork.

- I ended up unbolting the handle bars and tying them out of the way to keep pressure off the wires, cables, and lines.

- Get the front wheel off the ground to relax the fork springs. This way the cap doesn't go flying when unbolted. A jack stank under the crash bars is prefect on my bike.
- Then you can remove the fork caps and easily add oil.
- Replace fork cap and air valve, then add the specified amount of air pressure for your model. 3 pumps with a small hand held ball pump worked well. Don't use an air compressor.
- Replace air valve cover
- Repeat for other side
- Replace handle bars
- Test Ride


Thanks for all your help on here!!

 

[chuck hahn]

Let the air out and use a adjustable and crack the cap loose with the forks in the trees first..much easier to loosen there than if you dont have a vice to hold them..