| Author | Message | ||
     Thumper74 |
In preparation for March Badness I still need to setup my suspension and change the fork oil. How do you drain the fork oil? How do you fill it up? How much fork oil goes in? I'd like to setup the suspension for the aggressive riding, but if it's already set, where do I go from? Is there a definitive stop if you were backing off the settings to know when you were at the neutral settings | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
Do you still have a owners manual? The "zero" procedure is in there along with how to set up you suspension. I sent New12r a email with a link to this thread. He has the info you need on changing the fork oil. | ||
| New12r |
Thumper, there is a procedure in the manual, but I dont remember where. First you will need a couple things. A vise, a 32mm Deep socket(VERY IMPORTANT!!!) and an impact gun. Remove the forks from the bike. remove the c clip at the top, remove the spring adjuster and washer. I screw my compression and rebound adjusters all the way out(softest settings). Now remove the top cap with the socket and impact. You should be able to pour the oil out at that point, but pouring is not enough, you need to pump the fork to get the oil out of the valves. Now it is time to refill. If you want a stiffer front end use a little thicker oil. I used the Screamin' Eagle Extra Heavy(very very very very stiff.) I would step up one weight for a more aggressive front end. You will need almost a full bottle for each fork and the manual will give you a depth to measure from. Mine used 95% of each bottle. Hope that helps! | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
Hey Charlie, Isn't there a way to do it without removing the forks? | ||
| New12r |
You might can. There is a sealed bolt on the bottom of the forks, you would have to remove the axle and look up. It secures you valve assy to the fork. You could in theory drain it that way but I never have or even tried. | ||
| Blake |
Thumper, Check the Factory Suspension Settings in your Owner's Manual then fine tune (one adjustment at a time only) according to what effect you desire based upon the recommendations there. Buell's suspension tuning/settings guides in the owner's manuals are wonderful. Please take full advantage of them. The number of turns specified for compression and rebound are the number of turns out from the maximum possible damping setting, meaning the # of turns counter-clock-wise from fully screwed in (turned clockwise until hard stop). Charlie, I'm curious. You feel a need for increased damping over and above what the OEM oil viscosity can provide? I think that is the first time I've heard of someone going up in viscosity to try to improve their Buell's suspension behavior. Would you please explain your rationale in following that path in your suspension tuning efforts? It's very tough for me to imagine needing damping action that exceeds what is available with the OEM viscosity fork oil. | ||
| New12r |
I am wayy to cheap to spring for the springs. Every guy I know who races tell me they use no spring damping and use all fluid and valve damping. So I took that and ran with it, I put in the heavy oil, set spring rates at the lowest(softest setting) and tuned from there with the Compression and rebound settings. Just putting in the Extra Heavy oil gave me a very stiff front end but on the track it was flat out sweet, or so I thought. It was better than stock as I could throw the front end in a lot hotter as I did not dive while decelerating. Now that I have rode a "race bike" with Traxxion Dynamics AK20's and an Ohlins rear I will spring for the whole kit and kaboodle. Big difference. BTW, I have Heavy oil in the Uly, It keeps me from blowing seals on my mid air adventures! | ||
| Blake |
What is "spring damping"?  Charles, It sounds to me like you may well have a very non-optimum suspension setup. I've never ever heard of a racer increasing viscosity versus OEM fork oil to achieve improved suspension action. I think what the racers were trying to tell you is that you don't use spring preload to adjust your suspension action. That I agree with 100%. The preload should be set where it needs to be to achieve the proper ratio of compression to rebound travel, then you adjust the damping to optimize the suspension action. Proper preload for the track will leave from 1.00" to 1.25" of available rebound travel with the rider mounted on the bike in riding position with full gear. If you want to change the effective spring rate of the front forks, there is something you can do short of swapping springs. Adding oil to reduce the amount of air inside the forks will increase the effective spring rate as the forks compress. The front forks are not only spring suspended but with any compression they are also air suspended. When increasing fork oil level, the resulting smaller trapped air volume increases in pressure more quickly as the forks compress compared to a larger air volume. Just don't add too much oil or it'll blow out the seals. It's a very sensitive fork/suspension tuning method. Be careful if you try it. It's a great way to prevent bottoming while still maintaining a compliant road ride at cruise. It would help significantly with your brake dive issue. Good idea on the Traxxion and Ohlins. I've heard nothing but praise for each. | ||
| Blake |
"I am wayy to cheap to spring for the springs. " But you're going with Traxxion and Ohlins? Me confuse. | ||
| Bcool83 |
Ugh this sounds like such a friggin process - and I don't have an impact gun - but I suppose I should get around to doing it sometime... | ||
| Thumper74 |
Bcool, there's a not bad way. You can do it in less than 2 hours. It was easy. Take the circlip off the rebound adjuster (blue thing on the top of each tube). Back the compression out all of the way (7 lines on the adjuster). Remove the fender, wheel, and caliper. Use a 36mm axle socket to break loose the fork caps while the tubes are still mounted in the trees. Loosen the trees, slide the tubes down, take off the snap ring, slide the tube out of the trees. Unthread the top cap and slide out. There's a metal tube with holes in it. Use a ratcheting tie down in the hole and put the other end at the bottom of the fork and compress the spring enough to get to the wrench surfaces to remove the top cap from the damper (?) rod. Note the position of the spacer for the metal sleve (the metal washer faces the threee (3)pins on the back side of the top cap). Use a 17mm on the blue section and the appropriate size on the bare metal (I used an adjustable wrench), and loosen to remove the top cap. You can now remove the guts. Cycle the rod to pump the oil out. Hose it down with some brake cleaner and allow to dry. Put the appropriate amount of fluid in there. Assembly is the reverse of disassembly. | ||
| Blake |
I'm pretty lazy when it comes to changing fork oil myself. Buell's 10K mile recommended replacement/maintenance interval for fork oil seems ridiculously conservative to me. For all intents and purposes the fork oil is in a sealed system. It's tough to see why it needs to be changed so often. I suppose they are worried about moisture contamination and the like. I've not seen it, and I've ridden plenty in wet conditions. It would be interesting to compare the recommended fork oil replacement intervals for other brands of motorcycles. (Message edited by Blake on March 11, 2008) | ||
| Jlnance |
Buell's 10K mile recommended replacement/maintenance interval for fork oil seems ridiculously conservative to me. I agree. The transmission oil also has a 10K service life, and there are actually gears and a clutch spinning in it. Compared to that, it's difficult to see what, in a fork, would wear out oil. | ||
| Thumper74 |
If anything I would guess that it's just the fact that they are subject to road grime. | ||
| Twowheeldream |
the damping action of the oil creates heat... thats how the energy of a bump is absorbed. Heat will break down the oil which then decreases the oil's viscosity, or thin it out. A thinner oil will flow through the oil passages more freely | ||
| Blake |
"Heat will break down the oil which then decreases the oil's viscosity" The heat generated in the forks isn't likely to approach anything near that required to begin breaking down the oil. | ||
| Bad_karma |
To those that do theirs at 10,000 miles does the oil look dirty, the level low. My concern, is metal wear or coatings wearing off. I have found a small amount of fine black particles at the end of the draining. Joe (Message edited by bad_karma on March 26, 2008) | ||
| M1combat |
The only thing I know about the oil subject is that I rebuilt my forks at 20K miles and they felt a LOT better. I'll do them at 10K from now on. I stuck with the recommended viscosity... | ||
| Djkaplan |
Buell's 10K mile recommended replacement/maintenance interval for fork oil seems ridiculously conservative to me. I went significantly longer than 10,000 miles on my first fork oil change (about 30k). I don't know if the old oil was contaminated, but replacing it with 'Type E' was a good thing that made a noticeable improvement. | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
for what model is the fork servicing interval 10k miles? my 00 X1 manual says every 20k.. |
