forks with no oil- I'm mr bobble head

[mrgrits]

boy my ride to work has gotten very rough, i'm not sure of how to put oil in the forks. is there a special tool i will need or what. can some one please help me
Mr.Grits

[Ed_in_Az]

These GSs have the mushiest forks I've ever encountered. Progressive Springs fix that problem. Are your forks leaking? Oil can be added by removing the cap from the top of each fork. Unless the oil has leaked out this is not the way to go. If the oil has leaked out, you probably need new fork seals as well. Otherwise, if there has been no leakage, don't just add oil. , change the springs.

[mrgrits]

yeah they are leaking at the seal, i ordered the seal and dust cover, is there anything i can do until then?  :dunno: can i just put some in for now at the top?

[Ed_in_Az]

I suppose you could add some oil from the top, but I don't know the proper measurement to check the level. Hopefully someone else here will respond that knows. Since you're going to change the seals, you really should install Progessive springs too, since the forks will be disassembled anyway.

[mrgrits]

ok where at the top do i pour it in, this is a temporary fix for only 4 days. i am new to working with bikes.

[Kerry]

1) CAREFULLY pop the 4 plastic covers off of the handlebar clamps:


2) Remove the 4 bolts that hold the handlebar clamps down.

3) Use a 1/2" ratchet (with no socket) to remove ONE of the fork caps.  Be careful as it gets close to the end of the threads - it's under spring pressure!

4) If you like, remove the washer under the cap (and maybe even the tubular spacer) and use a long wire to find out the current oil level.

5) Pour new oil directly into the top of the fork tube.  I don't know how far down from the top the level should be, because all of the manuals have you measure it off the bike and fully compressed.  A rough estimate would be ... 12"?

6) Put the first fork back together, being careful not to cross-thread the cap.

7) Repeat with the other fork.

8 ) Replace the handlebars.

[Ed_in_Az]

I knew you could handle it Kerry.

[A_Rivers]

Don't forget to loosen but not remove the upper fork clamp bolts other wise the top of the forks will be really hard to remove.

[scratch]

Are the bottom of your forks black from roadgrim? If so, the leak may be from down there, and you will need to remove your forks anyway to have those bolts tightened up with an airtool down there.

[mrgrits]

Thanks Kerry the GS Guru!