HELP! Front suspension seal+dust cover+noise. Should I take it out for 100km ride?

[Drew]

fuck. upon closer inspection I realised that the noise is coming from the other side.
dust cover looks as though is in good condition, but no thin layer of oil.. + noise..

Im going to purchase the kit and replace all seals and do the oils on thursday, and see what happens I think.....

dang, no ride over this beautiful weekends!!

Poor luck man. But it's very hard to buy a perfect bike, and saving by buying private means no come backs.

That said, you can do a complete fork rebuild for $100 a side, and have it better than factory new. Not a major in the grand scheem of things.

Oil viscosity is key when you do the seals. I almost always go thinker than factory spec oil weight, but then again, I don't own a cruiser. Ask a parts man you trust, who actually rides and does their own spannering.

[DODO``]

Poor luck man. But it's very hard to buy a perfect bike, and saving by buying private means no come backs.

That said, you can do a complete fork rebuild for $100 a side, and have it better than factory new. Not a major in the grand scheem of things.

Oil viscosity is key when you do the seals. I almost always go thinker than factory spec oil weight, but then again, I don't own a cruiser. Ask a parts man you trust, who actually rides and does their own spannering.

whats the advantage of having thicker oil??

[nathanwhite]

whats the advantage of having thicker oil??

Thicker oil moves slower and therefore slows down the compression and rebound of the forks. You set up the weight of the oil by adding parts of 5, 10 and possibly 15wt oil to suit your weight and/or riding style.

Or at least thats what I think it is. No doubt someone will be along shortly to correct me.

[DODO``]

Thicker oil moves slower and therefore slows down the compression and rebound of the forks. You set up the weight of the oil by adding parts of 5, 10 and possibly 15wt oil to suit your weight and/or riding style.

Or at least thats what I think it is. No doubt someone will be along shortly to correct me.

Sorry for being dumb. So how is it good /differ if the suspension compression / rebound is slower??

[nathanwhite]

Sorry for being dumb. So how is it good /differ if the suspension compression / rebound is slower??

I think it's like preload. You set it up for your weight.

[Drew]

whats the advantage of having thicker oil??

It's a primitive way to tune your suspension, by doing what Nathan White says below.

Thicker oil moves slower and therefore slows down the compression and rebound of the forks. You set up the weight of the oil by adding parts of 5, 10 and possibly 15wt oil to suit your weight and/or riding style.

Or at least thats what I think it is. No doubt someone will be along shortly to correct me.

Sorry for being dumb. So how is it good /differ if the suspension compression / rebound is slower??

I think it's like preload. You set it up for your weight.

Less to do with weight, more about getting the right feel. The fluid doesn't hold the bike up, but slows it's descent/rise through the stroke of suspension. By using a thicker oil, you can stop the bike from bottoming out under brakes, leaving a 'buffer' for bumps mid turn, where traction would normally be the only thing that could give.

Suspension is as important as tyres on a bike, and on road bikes often gets totally forgotten. Hands up anyone who changes their fork oil, or has their rear shock serviced before they start leaking?

And there are huge benefits, including more comfort, longer tyre life (lots), and increased performance for those, "Oh fuck" moments.

I don't think you have cartridge forks on your bike, (which is a far more efficient way to damp the stroke), so thicker oil is a cheap stop gap unless you want to put emulators in. They are a very simple and cost effective (run you about $500 to have installed by a pro) way to get a middle ground between damper rods, and cartridges.

It's all worth the money, because like tyres in my opinion, it's cheaper than engine casings and body work.

[DODO``]

Brilliant. Thank you.

[mossy1200]

My MT01 had a leaking fork seal at 7000km.From the MT website its common.I took the forks out and took them for service.Taking them out of the bike saves some money.

My yamaha now has honda seals.Is that ghey or am I still ok.

If the suspension is bad its prob just no or very little oil.I dont think spending a larger amount of money will greatly increase handling or tire life on a cruiser if your just cruising on or around the speed limit.Having no oil will make it really soft and ride bad though.

[Drew]

My MT01 had a leaking fork seal at 7000km.From the MT website its common.I took the forks out and took them for service.Taking them out of the bike saves some money.

My yamaha now has honda seals.Is that ghey or am I still ok.

If the suspension is bad its prob just no or very little oil.I dont think spending a larger amount of money will greatly increase handling or tire life on a cruiser if your just cruising on or around the speed limit.Having no oil will make it really soft and ride bad though.

Oil level is lesss of an issue, than degredation. The oil absorbs moisture, and looses it's hydrolic properties. Front tyre wear on a cruiser is usually ugly as fuck, and I don't hink it needs to be.

Mr Taylor, help me out here with some tech info!

[mossy1200]

Oil level is lesss of an issue, than degredation. The oil absorbs moisture, and looses it's hydrolic properties. Front tyre wear on a cruiser is usually ugly as fuck, and I don't hink it needs to be.

Mr Taylor, help me out here with some tech info!

i just think theres a good chance it has no oil in one or both sides at all hense forks not leaking.

[DODO``]

i just think theres a good chance it has no oil in one or both sides at all hense forks not leaking.

one side is definitely dried out.

[Drew]

i just think theres a good chance it has no oil in one or both sides at all hense forks not leaking.

I agree, I said the same thing earlier in the thread. I thought we were talking generally here though.

[DODO``]

O i c i c... hey look what ive found.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbe2a...ure=plpp_video

[nathanwhite]

Less to do with weight, more about getting the right feel. The fluid doesn't hold the bike up, but slows it's descent/rise through the stroke of suspension. By using a thicker oil, you can stop the bike from bottoming out under brakes, leaving a 'buffer' for bumps mid turn, where traction would normally be the only thing that could give.

How does this differ from different spring rates?

[mossy1200]

O i c i c... hey look what ive found.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbe2a...ure=plpp_video

Handy watch.Did you take yours apart.Looks like the dust seal rusting is a common issue.Wonder if he just kept wiping up oil and left it leaking until it ran dry.