Changing fork oil - how?

[Winder]

Does anyone own the special suzuki tool to stop the damper rod bolts from turning inside the fork?
I found it online ages ago but can't seem to find it now. I was hoping to make one up somehow as my sharpened brush pole with a rubber glove finger glued to the top has seen better days.

Originally Posted by Sid Squid

Don't use an impact driver on said bolts - you'll snap the lugs off of the fork lowers.
I really mean this, I've been presented with several forks that this has been done to.
An air driver or any other power tool will save time - if what you wanted to do was knacker the bolts and round the heads out very quickly.

If they won't come out, remove the forks with the mudguard still attached, then get the lug backed up by a strong anvil of some sort, it's not very easy to get a suitable setup, in fact it's bloody awkward and you'll almost certainly need another pair of hands for this, then using a suitable punch give the bolt head a proper whack, several if need be. If it's ever coming out, that's how you'll get it loose. You must not bash the lug without proper firm and rigid backing, it won't do any good and will probably snap the lug of the fork lower.

Thank god someone else finally said it!

I dare not for fear of being shot down as a cowboy!

[Sid Squid]

Originally Posted by Thunderace

Thank god someone else finally said it!

Trust me - anyone who knows what they're talking about would never do that.

Originally Posted by Thunderace

I dare not for fear of being shot down as a cowboy!

Yeah, well, errr... Good call on your part - but I don't know if you're out of the woods on that front just yet.

Originally Posted by Winder

Does anyone own the special suzuki tool to stop the damper rod bolts from turning inside the fork? ...my sharpened brush pole with a rubber glove finger glued to the top has seen better days.

Get another glove and/or broom pole. Much cheaper and every bit as effective. The actual tool looks like a big countersink with a lengthier taper, and needs a holder - long extension bar handle thingy - as well. Not really that dear, but not worth it unless you plan to use it day after day.

[Jayneflakes]

Changing oil in the fork is a doddle. When I did mine, I also checked the head bearings and found to my shock that there was actually some grease left in there, but not much.

Anyway, if I can service my forks (even with the knackered mudguard bolts which I drilled out in the end) then anyone can.

Originally Posted by Winder

Does anyone own the special suzuki tool to stop the damper rod bolts from turning inside the fork?
I found it online ages ago but can't seem to find it now. I was hoping to make one up somehow as my sharpened brush pole with a rubber glove finger glued to the top has seen better days.

In the end I didn't need a tool. Leave forks assembled and spring will hold the damper in place. If you don't have a vice and can't get enough purchase on the fork leg to turn the damper bolt, put the tube back in the triple clamp & use it like a vice.

Undo the bolt from underneath (of course making sure you have a container to catch the fluid). When doing back up you can hand tighten bolt, reassemble components without fluid and tighten some more. It won't tighten all the way but just enough to get a seal so there will be no fluid leakage.

Don't overtighten at this point. Disassemble/re-assemble fork components with correct fluid, then re-attach to the clamps, before finally torque tightening. It only takes 30nm to tighten so shouldn't be too hard. I didn't need an impact gun either. I think some of this is down to good luck Can't hurt to try it this way. Just take your time.

Originally Posted by Jayneflakes

Changing oil in the fork is a doddle. When I did mine, I also checked the head bearings and found to my shock that there was actually some grease left in there, but not much.

Anyway, if I can service my forks (even with the knackered mudguard bolts which I drilled out in the end) then anyone can.

Haha, hilarious vid Jayne! Those bloody birds were annoying though

[Sid Squid]

If you can get it apart without holding the damper, it's likely that the fork has been apart before, and has been reassembled without the damper bolt being threadlocked.

Now I know a billion people will respond that they didn't use any threadlock and they've since done 38 grillion miles and 582,000 trackdays and it's never fallen apart, so Suzuki are a bunch of tossers who just want to rip you off and sell you a single cc of caviar priced threadlock in a rubidium plated bottle, but, as Runako has noted, the bolt isn't that tight, and is intended to be threadlocked in order to stay there.

[muzikill]

To get the bolts out i reinserted the axle rod a certain way so it allowed me to still get access to the bolt but it hit the other fork so it would stop the turning. Its in a old forum thread i did.

[Sid Squid]

What's being referred to is restraining the damper rod, not the fork lower.

[yorkie_chris]

Just needs enough torque to squish the washer a bit to form an oil seal to suit fairly low pressures.

Loctite 243 or other medium strength general purpose type is fine. However good luck cleaning the oil off to get it to actually do anything if you are draining oil from bottom.