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How many miles on the moto?
30,000. Ironically just turned over yesterday...
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How many miles on the moto?
2 inches of sag is over 50 mm, no? That's quite a bit. Fresh oil and new springs will definitely change things for you. I bet the old oil will be GREY and nasty when it comes out (no where near as clean as your chain!!!!).
R6 forks....they are cartridge forks...OEM forks are damping rod...you can google the differences.
Sourcing and installing the R6 forks is much more of a hassle than simply dropping in new oil and/or springs. I recommend for you the best route is to simply freshen up the front end with new oil and/or springs. I wrote a thread on how to do it.
First question: are your forks leaking?
If not, here's my suggestion...
I installed RaceTech springs (for my body weight, use ther online tool to calculate your rate) and 15w oil in my forks and it did wonders for the handling of my bike.
After you remove your fork legs and remove the fork caps, dump out the old oil from each leg and fill each leg with kerosene - cycle the legs several times. The kerosene will gently clean the crap out of your forks without damaging your seals.
Next, dump out the kerosene and pour some oil in. Cycle the legs several times and then dump out the oil. This will remove any residual kerosene from your forks.
Next, fill the legs with oil and use a fork oil tool to set the level in each leg. Don't bother ffing with a graduated cylinder - a motion pro fork oil tool can be had for cheap online and you can set your level perfectly.
You will have to cut new proload spacers for your fork. Considering that the new springs will be shorter than your old ones, calculate how long your old spring + spacer were and then calculate your new spring + spacer at the same length. Take this distance and + or minus length on the spacer to add or subtract preload.
When you reinstall the forks in the triples, gently snug the upper triple pinch bolts first. Then, install the wheel. Then, snug the lower triple pinch bolts. Then torque all the pinch bolts to the factory spec.
There you go - fresh oil + new springs + aligned forks... Yay!
What is the advantage of doing the R6 versus just springs and oil besides adjustability and upgraded brakes? I already have the '07 with the new brakes, and not sure I really need the adjustability. I'm just starting to do research on this, so I'm open to any suggestions/info I can get.
Thanks so much! This, with Defy's thread will surely get me through the work.
Don't worry about me, being a chemist I have ways to measure fluids :thumbup: Seriously though, I was already thinking about the fact that some of the oil will come out on the springs and some will stick to the inside of the tubes, so even measuring what pours out will be short, right? I was thinking of using a dipstick type thing, just a metal rod that I dunk down into the fluid, then I can measure the fluid level directly, which is actually how it's specified in the manual. Having done the mod, do you think this would work?
I do not currently have a leak, but is it worth doing the seals while I'm in there?
Take alook at the pic - see the collar and the rod? Once you set the collar to the correct distance, you can easily suck out the oil until it is at the correct height. This makes setting your oil level fast and accurate. Iv'e found that using rulers and graduated cylinders are nothing but a pain in the ass...
No. I'm sure they are fine. Changing the seals can be a pain. Pulling off your forks to do this work is not very difficult.
I have an order into Racetech for .95 springs and 15W oil (not yet confirmed over the phone).
I have a leak on the front right fork seal, so while I'm repairing that, I'm doing the springs too.
{Goes off to order fork seal parts from RonAyers}
Springs arrived tonight :rockon:
Can't wait to install them, probably over the weekend.