I was attempting to change my fork seals this afternoon, as well as swap in some .85kg Racetech springs (with 15w oil). After removing one tube from the clamps, I set about loosening the dreaded lower allen bolt. No problem, right? Compress the shock, whack it with an impact driver and presto! Except no amount of compression seemed to prevent the inner cylinder from spinning when struck. Unless someone can correct me concerning this method, I intend to try using the homebuilt fork disassembly tool mentioned several times on the boards. There are various sizes mentioned for the hex-head bolt, though; 5/8", 5/16" and 24 mm (M16). Which is correct? Also, will it work on my model year (2002)? I remember I3udda having problems on his 04 due to Suzuki's slight tweak of the inner cylinder. Thanks in advance. The GS is turning into quite the education.
5/8" is equal to 16mm. Go with 5/8" per these guys: http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=7084.0
I used 5/8" bolts as per the instructions and it worked great on my '00. I remember someone saying their F model had a different design on the damper rod which made the tool useless. The only thing to do is remove the inner tube and take a look at yours I guess.
Thanks for the replies--it turns out that 5/8" hex bolts have heads that fit 15/16" sockets (or in a pinch, 24mm). After some extensive searching, I was only able to find bolts 6" long or less, so Kerry's tool idea wasn't an option. No 5/8" lock washers, either, so a threaded rod (which had damaged threads where they were available) was a dead end, too.
Back to the drawing board I went (the fork was still sealed).
On a hunch, I picked up my impact driver and started to drive screws into some scrap wood. The result? It seems I had misread the L<>R engraving on the tool and was unknowingly trying to tighten the slider allen bolt! Luckily, the damper rod just spun around, preventing any damage. Armed with a long bar (trigger) clamp, I then compressed the fork by resting one end on the fork cap and the other on one of the slider's fork brace bosses. Finally, the impact driver worked as advertised. The 2002 damper rod head still has a 12-pointed depression, which fits the abovementioned 5/8" hex bolts nicely.
Some other goofs during dis/assembly:
-Tried to pull the forks apart without removing the oil seal retainer ring.
-Twisted one retainer ring getting it out of the slider groove. The ring is actually more of a circlip, so levering the ends out first (using a tiny screwdriver to lever the protruding bits that hold the seal down) allows it to pop out cleanly--watch your eyes!
-After cleaning everything, I slid the new oil seal on upside-down (the Clymer manual is a bit misleading).
Now I'm in need of more advice. I compressed the open fork assembly, poured in fresh 15w oil (to within a suggested 99mm of the fork tube top), popped in the Racetech spring and washer and...what next? Do I extend the fork tube before I add the spacer and cap? I seems like it will overflow if I don't. Also, when you determine the preload (bike) sag and the static (bike and rider) sag, do you add the results together?
Here is a good link on setting sag,
http://www.wotid.com/tls/content/view/22/53/ (http://www.wotid.com/tls/content/view/22/53/)
Let me know what length of a spacer you used, since I will also being doing the same thing in about 2 weeks