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showa forks

K

kevcole

after deciding against sending the forks to be serviced and revalved due to the costs involved, i thought i would see why the front feels so harsh.

made a couple of tools to help
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then proceeded to pull the internals out ready for new seals and fresh oil next week
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dust seal was shot, main seal looked ok, both bushes ok. but the oil :puke looked rank
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will have to make something to knock the bush and seals back in, and to set the levels correctly.

the preload and rebound adjusters were seized together, so could explain the way it felt, they wont be when it goes back together :thumbup

crack on with the other leg once this is back together
 
I overhauled mine recently due to the front end feeling very unstable, my oil was in **** state too, replaced with Silkolene Pro 5W. (I'm around 13.5 stone kitted up)

Glides over the road surface now and is rock steady on bends and uneven surfaces.
 
amb67 said:
I overhauled mine recently due to the front end feeling very unstable, my oil was in **** state too, replaced with Silkolene Pro 5W. (I'm around 13.5 stone kitted up)

Glides over the road surface now and is rock steady on bends and uneven surfaces.
Click to expand...

Mine was the same. Replace oil ever 9000
 
all back together now

no pictures cus the camera packed up :angry

and whats the deal with having to break into a second litre of bloody fork oil!
:dunno

still not tested it yet as i'm cleaning the threads on the sachs unit as the collars were stuck solid

Kev
 
kevcole said:
all back together now

no pictures cus the camera packed up :angry

and whats the deal with having to break into a second litre of bloody fork oil!
:dunno

still not tested it yet as i'm cleaning the threads on the sachs unit as the collars were stuck solid

Kev
Click to expand...

I used one container for the two legs so as to increase the air gap. Now I get all but 10mm of travel. Saved the second bottle for the next time:pirate
 
picked up a scruffy pair of fork legs to experiment with

stripped the valves out the damper tube
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this is the compression shim stack
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this is the rebound shim stack
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will look at swapping the shims around to increase the rebound damping and decreasing the compression.

Kev
 
not sure

i did my own, but depending on where you are there may be someone on the forum who can point you in the right direction

Kev
 
swapped the second pair of forks over last night, after changing the shims in the dampers.

changed the compression as can be seen in the graph, blue is stock, yellow is the new shim stack stack
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the rebound is the same, blue is stock and yellow is the new shim stack
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ignore the dashed lines, there just the range of adjustment in the screws as stock.

as for the ride, i still ended up with the compression wound all the way out and the rebound all the way in, but even so, it's miles better. really took the edge of the harsh feel on the front, far more compliant. probably not to everyones taste, but it's more comfortable with it softer, might not work on a track, but for roads in the midlands its getting better. :thumbup

pulling them back out tonight hopefully so i can make more changes

Kev
 
think you should of gone to specsavers

can't you tell by the crystal clear shimmering water that it was bilston baths!!!!!!
 
kevcole said:
think you should of gone to specsavers

can't you tell by the crystal clear shimmering water that it was bilston baths!!!!!!
Click to expand...

Ive got to admit, my first thought it could be Bilston but I was fooled by the lack of "floaters" :puke
 
ok

second re-valve all dialed in.

softened the compression some more and stiffened the rebound too. all this is with the stock shims, just shuffled around. :thumbup

this is the new compression flow
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this is the new rebound flow
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the blue lines (setting) are the stock showa valving and the yellow lines (current) are the new shim configuration.

the bike is so supple now on the front, nice and soft, which suits me. so much more confident in the front end now, holds its line real nice mid corner, doesn't seem to be easliy upset etc. all in all real happy with it. and as my speed and confidence with the bike grows i'm sure the valving will change again. :doug

Kev
 
boys and girls

get your showa's (or ohlins) revalved or set-up to suit you. I've just spent a few hours this afternoon being a compete moron around cannock after i revalved my own showa's last week. :biggrin

it's the best thing you can ever do, forget more power, you don't need it. there's more than enough when you can wind it on whenever you need without fear that it will bite you in the arse.

it's a proper hooligan machine now, forget traffic,:nana you can carve them up at will once the suspenders are sorted.

if your technically minded, it's not too taxing to do it yourself either. but if your not sure then go get it done by experts, it's money well spent.:doug

Kev
 
Ive just finished changing the oil in my forks. The old oil came out looking kinda like black coffee. I didnt need any special tools, i just had someone lend a hand and pulled the spring presser tube down with my hands using a bit of cloth to grip it while my helper took the end off, it didnt take much force to compress the spring.
I tipped a little bit of fresh oil in to the drained forks and pumped the damper rod a bit to help flush out that stinky old oil then re drained, dindnt want to risk damaging any seals or bushes with petrol or the like, worked quite well.
Cant wait til the nicer weather to ride it and get some settings dialled in :doug
Definately get someone to lend a hand, it will help LOADS :thumbup
 
Last edited:

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