Requisite tools:
- Bike/car jack and rear stand
- Set of allen wrenches (the good kind, but one in your tool kit will be handy)
- Set of sockets up to 22mm
- Phillips screwdrivers of varying sizes
- 1 1/2" PVC pipe, at least 2 1/2 feet long
- Hammer or mallet to bop said PVC
- Bench vice
- A liter of 5w fork oil
- Oil pan
- Steel wool
- Something to measure 12.2 oz of fork oil (360 mL) and a funnel
- Set of new oil seals and new dust seals (OEM $51)
- Towels and rags to keept things clean
- At least a couple of hours and the Service Manual
EDIT: From a later post in this thread:
Quote:
Originally Posted by CThunder-blue
Going to replace the seals soon. Just wanted to provide some clarification:
The 08-09 factory service manual calls for "SHOWA SS08 or equivalent SAE 10W." The original post should be amended to include this info @ Alex so people don't rush out and buy 5W. |
First you need to take off the side cowels, the lower fairings, the radiator fairing, and the front fender.
Great reference for fairing removal. Note how the rubber piece in the photo has deteriorated-- this is like a bumper for the threads, and if they're as crappy as mine are (and my bike is only a year old) then you may want to replace them, or be wary if they tear in the removal process. You need them to put the fairing back on.
Once you've got the fairings off, you need to get the front wheel off the ground. You do not need any special stands to do this. As you can see, I need to order spools and a rear stand, but made do with some bolts and jacks. We placed a car jack underneath the center of the engine, and if its sqaure, the bike should be very stable when lifted.
Bend the metal that's holding the brake line and pull off the brake caliper, but make sure to bunjee or tie it to the bike so the hose is relaxed and not bearing weight (as you can see with the red bunjee in the picture below). Remove the speedo cable (pliars do the trick) and the bolts holding the black piece thats underneath the fender. Using a 22mm socket wrench on one side, and a 17mm on the other, twist the axel nuts loose and remove the front wheel.
Now you need to get the forks off! Unscrew the four bolts holding down the handlebars, and drape the clip-ons over the side. You'll see black plugs in each fork tube. Removing these is significantly easier with a second set of hands: One person needs to push down on the plug with a large screwdriver while the other person uses pliars or a small flathead to remove the metal clip. Once these are out, you need to loosen up the two clamps holding the fork (picture) and then gently slide the fork down and out.
Keep the fork vertical until you're ready to pour out the oil. Pull out the spring and washer from the tube, and then flip it over and let it drain. Pump it a few times to get out the oil.
Next, put the cylinder in the bench vice and use the allen wrench from the tool set to loosen the bolt that is at the bottom of the lower cylinder. This did not require a lot of torque to loosen, and there will be a little oil left. Check the bolt and washer for wear and tear, and replace these if necessary.
Now remove the dust seal. Gently prying it up and out with a box blade should do the trick.
Then use a small flathead to pry off the metal clip that is underneath the dust seal. Don't lose this!
To separate the cylinder simple yank the two pieces apart a few times. Not too wimpy, but don't lose your grip either. The inner cylinder will pop right out.
Here's what you'll be looking at once you pull everything apart:
Inside the lower cylinder is a pin with a small spring and a silver tapered cap. These will fall out once you pull the fork apart. Clean and dry everything, and pull off the old oil seals (pictured below). Inspect the copper bushing and washer for any dings/chips or damages.
Use the steel wool to gently rub out any imperfections on the tubes and bushings. This is the time to make sure everything is smooth and clean. You don't have to take off the bushing and washer unless you want to.
Now it's time to put the fork back together. Put the pin with the tiny spring through the fork tube and screw on the silver cap with the tapered end towards the top of the fork. Then place this back into the lower (black)cylinder. Put service-removable locktite on the bolt that goes into the bottom cylinder, and screw it in by hand to make sure everything lines up.
Put the fork back in the vice and torque the bolt snug.
Slide the copper bushing down the fork into the lower cylinder, followed by the washer. Use the PVC pipe and a few good hits to knock these about a 1/2 inch down into the lower cylinder. They sink to a certain point-- you don't want to hammer them out the other end. Now slide the new oil seal down the fork (a little oil on the inside lip helps) and slide the old oil seal down on top of it. As photo'd, you will knock the PVC pipe on the old seal, and when you're done the old seal will sit flush with the lower cylinder. Gently pry it back out with a box blade and discard.
Next slide down the metal clip, and finally the new dust seal. Take the fork and slide it back up through the two clamps so that it sits 12mm above the surface of the triple tree. Make sure to measure the two forks the same way so that they're even (second set of hands is helpful here)
Snug the clamps once your forks are at the appropriate height. Measure again to make sure they're even. Put the long spring back into the tube, then the washer, then the collar.
The exact amount of oil is 12.2oz, so we measured 12oz on the slightly generous side. The important thing is that there is the exact same amount of oil in each fork. Because you pulled out everything, and dried everything, you can refill by volume. If you're just changing the oil and do not disassmble the forks, you would measure the distance of air between the top of the fork and the oil level.
Use the funnel to slowly pour in the fork oil. If any of it overflows, you'll have to do it all over again, and that's just no fun.
Putting the black caps back on the forks is easier than taking them off, simply push down with the screwdriver and put the clip back in. Re-assembly is self-explanatory, and I would highly reccommend keeping your bolts organized (another DIY thread)
I hope this makes things easier for anyone else willing to get their hands dirty!
(2 pdf's attached, second one might print better; the content should be the same between the two)