I've been told that the front forks go at about 30k

[kurtis.randle]

true or false as mines at 26k

[Dave20046]

Depends. Do they feel ****?

[Magnum]

Whaaa? :smt108 That doesnt make any sense...

[Gene genie]

well i'm still on the old folks and still working them hard.

[Viney]

true or false as mines at 26kWhat do you mean go?

In all honesty they should have the oil changed, and possibly the springs as they get 'soft' But forks dont 'go' they just weaken etc, same as the rear shock. All depends on how you ride, where you ride, and how heavy you are.

[Dave20046]

Slightly OT, and a stupid question but how do you test a rear shock for wear? Mines done about 8k just wondering how it is.

[rictus01]

Just a matter of interest, who imparted this golden nugget of advice to you ?

Cheers Mark.

[yorkie_chris]

Just a matter of interest, who imparted this golden nugget of advice to you ?

Cheers Mark.

Same person who taught him to spell.


They don't "go", like any other part of a bike they require maintenance. However, the stock forks are not suited to an average weight rider to begin with.

[Frank]

It may have beem me that planted that little nugget.lol
come on Kurtis ...I didnt actually say the forks go.
I said that mine went and needed a serious overhall:D

[yorkie_chris]

Slightly OT, and a stupid question but how do you test a rear shock for wear? Mines done about 8k just wondering how it is.

A stock one, just run it until all the oil falls out, you couldn't make the performance much worse. You could put it on a shock dyno, and find that it's useless. Then try the same with a brand new one, and find it's useless.

[Frank]

Same person who taught him to spell.


.
Chickie gat:cool:

[Dave20046]

TBH it all depends on your folks doubt I could get 2k for mine.

[Mr Speirs]

My folks don't come with a odometer but I'm sure they have lasted over 30k.

[Dave20046]

My folks don't come with a odometer but I'm sure they have lasted over 30k.
oops I was thinking at auction.

[dizzyblonde]

Slightly OT, and a stupid question but how do you test a rear shock for wear? Mines done about 8k just wondering how it is.


you come take your bike down Warley Road, and if you've not bounced into one of the trees that lines it, its a goodun:rolleyes:

I think the forks on my black SV were perfectly ok at 28k, until Bambi bent em!

[yorkie_chris]

And if you have to drop below 80 then the shocks either FUBAR, you've already been killed, or you're just being soft.

[Magnum]

http://www.chasecouriers.com/thats%20all%20folks.jpg

[kurtis.randle]

well i'm still on the old folks and still working them hard.

how many miles u done?

[kurtis.randle]

It may have beem me that planted that little nugget.lol
come on Kurtis ...I didnt actually say the forks go.
I said that mine went and needed a serious overhall:D


just wondering'

[punyXpress]

Thanks for that little gem, Kurtis
Just rolled over 29000 today. Another week & I'm on borrowed time!

[speedplay]

My folks don't come with a odometer but I'm sure they have lasted over 30k.


Beat me to it :(

[Viney]

how many miles u done?Im on 59800ish miles. I have ahd the oil changed once, and uprated the springs at 25000 miles.

[Sosha]

So where do they go?

[joshmac]

So where do they go?
Somewhere over the rainbow IIRC

[punyXpress]

To the Old Forks Home.

[AndyW]

and how heavy you are.
Gravitically challenged, please.

[vardypeeps]

Fluid seal has bust on one of mine at 20000miles. Other than that I'm guessing they would still be ok.

[rictus01]

As a point of reference, the forks don't "go" on the SV, my SV (K2 SVS) Had 153,000 miles on 4 oil changes, original seals and progressive spings,that said there are three parts that wear and degrade over time/use.

1. Springs.

the forks come as standard somewhat budget by nature, however the basic design works well on the bike, however the spring weight is appropriate for about 10 stone or so any heavier and you'll get the infamous "knocking", so it's advisable to change them for something more suited to your own weight.

Replacement springs come in two basic types these being:-

Single rate springs - you buy them according to the weight required and they give a consistent performance along the springs travel range, the coils of which are evenly spaced (good as long as you have the right weight, but limited to that weight).

Progressive springs - these work within a varying weight range and provide greater resistance the more they are compressed, the coils of which get tighter along its length (covers a wide range of weights).

All springs will loose their "bounce" over time the dynamic range of progressives should be an advantage here so the standard (and single rate springs) will go "out of range" the quickest, but it's hard to say when as it depends on how the bike is ridden to a great extent, checking them should be part of your service schedule and if you can't tell performance has decreased then get someone you trust to check for you every year*.



2. Oil.

Fork oil is a work component, often overlooked but over time it will degrade.

Fork oil comes in different viscosities, denoted by a number 5W OR 10W and so on, the higher the number the "thicker" it is and makes the damping heavier.

Obviously active use and heat buildup will decrease the life, so once again it's hard to predict when this will need changing, but it should be checked every 20,000 miles or so (if it's grey and like water, it's passed it's best).

You can also vary the oil weight to suit your riding if needed.

3. Seals.

Basically a steel banded rubber seal to keep the oil in, as these take a considerable pressure when under load they require to be in good condition, fortunately they rarely just "go" and as you have one on each fork you'll be very unlucky to have both leak at the same time, however regular inspection for escaping oil above the seal should be carried out and replacement undertaken if that's found.

As the seal is by nature frictional it will wear, but under normal use this should be years before becoming an issue, poor maintenance of your forks allowing buildup or pitting will dramatically effect this as it will tear up the seal in short order, so care should be taken to clean the fork legs whenever possible**.



*you can remove the springs and measure the length to check they are within spec, if not they will need replacement.
** some aftermarket seals have been known to be less effective than OEM, so be aware sometimes a saving may not be as good as it first appears.


HTH

Cheers Mark.

[hovis]

So where do they go?

To the Old Forks Home.

PMSL

:cheers:

[robh539]

quote:
Originally posted by sosha http://forums.sv650.org/images/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://forums.sv650.org/showthread.php?p=1836042#post1836042)
so where do they go?

quote:
Originally posted by punyxpress http://forums.sv650.org/images/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://forums.sv650.org/showthread.php?p=1836070#post1836070)
to the old forks home.

pmsl

:cheers:


lmfao

[robh539]

So weres the best place to start looking for progressive springs? cheers

[yorkie_chris]

Hagon.

But I would use linear.

[Dave20046]

Aren't linear like three times the price? Find my hagons fine for pootling if you absolutely hammer it or have unlimited money then yeah go for linears!

[yorkie_chris]

There's not much in it AFAIK

[Dave20046]

There's not much in it AFAIK
ah sorry for some reason I thought linears were £150+ must have been thinking of something completely different.

[yorkie_chris]

You are thinking about emulators I think

[Dave20046]

You are thinking about emulators I think
Yes I am!
:rolleyes:
Should have got bloody linears myself last month instead o prog.s cause I remembered they were supposed to be better but then thought of what I thought was the cost and didn't bother looking into them.

[Bluefish]

Yes I am!
:rolleyes:
Should have got bloody linears myself last month instead o prog.s cause I remembered they were supposed to be better but then thought of what I thought was the cost and didn't bother looking into them.

****
edit above had the letters, ares, in it but not in that order. i wasn't calling you a **** dave.

[northwind]

Like's been said the oil wears out, and it's too thin in the first place for most folks, so it's not so much that they "go", just that for most people it's worth correcting the forks and springs in the first place, and even though they start out wrong they do get worse.

the thing is, suspension usually goes wrong slowly, so it's really easy not to notice- you just adjust. A mate of mine has an RVF400, he's convinced it's a razor sharp handler since it's an RVF, but it's 50000 miles old and the suspension's utterly shagged, it goes round corners like a drunk. But he doesn't think so because it didn't suddenly go bad, it got slightly worse over the course of a decade and he just got used to it. I shouldn't be too up myself over this since there's every chance the same thing's happened to my SV and I've not noticed either :smt017

[ixlr8]

As a point of reference, the forks don't "go" on the SV, my SV (K2 SVS) Had 153,000 miles on 4 oil changes, original seals and progressive spings,that said there are three parts that wear and degrade over time/use.
Cheers Mark.

120,000 harsh courier km, fairly quickly progressed to losing its bump deflection, locked solid. 4 oil changes, no problem with seals even at the end. New forks now for the last 22,000.

[MattCollins]

I haven't worked up a service schedule for the SV's suspension yet, but I'd expect a clean and oil change every 15,000-20,000km and a periodic rebuild.
The Beemer has the shocks changed out with a pair sitting on the bench every 20,000km (that's about two months) and I do whatever needs to be done. At 30,000km without any attention they'd be a soggy pile of mush.
At 50,000km I couldn't imagine that there'd be much of anything left on either bike.

It is a lot cheaper and easier to look after suspension properly than it is to let it go until it is spent and possibly damaged.

Cheers