Got my Progressive fork springs today. The stock fork oil level is  3.9" (99mm). The install sheet says the level should be 140mm (5.5") max.  Whoever else has done this, did you take fork oil out and if so, how? I want to do this without removing the forks, aka i'm looking to see if anybody 's got any tricks.
Thanks much!

You don't have to remove the forks or the oil to install the springs, but if you keep the stock oil and level you will find the forks underdamped with the new springs.  Do seriously consider doing the job properly and replcing the oil with the recommended 15wt at the recommended height.  It only adds about half an hour to the job and is well worth it.  Good luck.

Unofficial method...

First it is recomended to remove the forks and use the 15wt oil.  

However, I did not and the forks work great.  My bike is a '99 with 6900 miles on it so I did not feel the need to remove the forks.  Some tips on my spring change:  

Get the front tire off the ground.  

Only one fork at a time.  

I used a long wire (CLEAN Wire) to check the fork oil level after removing the fork cap.  Then marked that location on the wire lightly with a file.  

Remove the original spring and spacer.  

Install progressive spring with recommended spacer.  Mine was .750 inches cut from the original.  Don't forget the washer or seat as it is called.  

Check and adjust oil level with the wire.  I had to remove some oil using a large syringe and a length of tubing.  

Repeat on the other fork.  

This method assumes the fork oil level was correct to begin with.  I did not measure the fork fully compressed per the manual.  

In the end it is your choice but I am very happy with the results.  Good luck.  

MacDuff

Pablo's page says you can take a big veterinary syringe (300ml!) with a stiff catheter hose and use it to suck-out what you can, then replace.  I've been thinking of trying that... but 1/2 hour to yank the forks?  Yow, I think I spent that long getting the wheel off and adjuting the fork brace.

It's not the time that scares me from pulling the fork tubes; it's wondering what I'll break getting them off and on!

i just took my forks off yesterday and there really isnt much to break. pretty solid stuff your dealin with there

Quote from: cozyGot my Progressive fork springs today. The stock fork oil level is  3.9" (99mm). The install sheet says the level should be 140mm (5.5") max.  Whoever else has done this, did you take fork oil out and if so, how? I want to do this without removing the forks, aka i'm looking to see if anybody 's got any tricks.
Thanks much!

I installed the Progressive springs on my 2001 a few months ago, with very successful results.  Some straightforward steps regarding the fork oil
- Progressive indicates that the stock fork oil is fine (10W).  There are strong views on the board about bumping it up to the slightly thicker weight fork oil (15W).  I stuck with the stock oil and have found the results perfect for street use.
- Perform the work with the bike on its center stand.  This will enable you to remove both springs, necessary to fully compress the fork to set the oil level correctly.  The Progressive springs call for slightly less oil in the fork tube because the denser spring displaces more oil than the stock, as you'll see when you remove the stock spring.
- The bike on the center stand is sufficiently balanced such that it will compress the fork naturally but not be so heavy that you can't lift it off the front wheel (shifting the weight to the back wheel).  This step is necessary to install the new spring, washer, spacer, and cap.

If you don't compress the fork, you'll be in the dark as to whether or not you've got the correct fluid level for the fork oil.

Good luck.  You'll be thrilled with the results.

progressive makes a fork oil removing tool

Quote from: Puunjobprogressive makes a fork oil removing tool

I'm not sure if it's the same thing, but Motion Pro makes a slick tool for getting the fork oil level right.  You can find a picture and description (along with the MSRP --  gulp!) about halfway down the Suspension Tools page on the Motion Pro site.

richard and I accomplished the same thing by:

1) Making a depth gauge. We wrapped some stiff wire a few times around the middle of a discarded carpenter's pencil and then made it stick straight out about 3 or 4 inches to form a 'T'.  We measured from the flat of the pencil and put a notch in the insulation at the 99 mm mark.

2) Alternately pouring oil into (and/or out of) the forks and checking the depth with the pencil & wire tool.[/list:u]That's about as close to FREE as you can get, and it worked great!

--------------------------------------------

Richard - do you still have the "tool", or did I make off with it?  A picture is worth a thousand words....  :mrgreen:

I don't remember... you might have it.  I'll check when I can.  I'm up to 50 hours so far this week at work, so I'm not sure when that'll be.


It looked something like this:


============
    |
    |
    |
    |
    |
    -
    |


Where the - is a notch in the insulation at 99mm

gotta love ASCII art, eh? =][/code]

Hey, I just used a chopstick with two marks 14 cm apart.  I just lowered the chopstick into the tube and checked to see if the fork oil level was ok.  And if I needed to make an adjustment, I had a turkey baster.  For really fine tuning, the chopstick held enough oil to lower the level a couple of mm each time I stuck it in really far.  Didn't absorb oil if I wiped it off.  Good thing I have plenty of chopsticks around... Gotta try cooking more Japanese food one of these days

Quote from: richardgotta love ASCII art, eh? =]

Yep!  If a picture is worth 1,000 words then ASCII art must be worth ... what ... 300?  

(Did you catch my recent ASCII art diagram in the need replacement petcock thread on the "For Sale" forum?  :mrgreen: )

Here ya go -  I've added in the wire coiling around the pencil, using '/' characters:
=====///====
    |
    |
    |
    |
    -
    |
    |

TIP: The longer you make the wire, the sooner you can get feedback about how the oil level is coming along.

Hey guys.  Dug this thread back out because I plan to install these springs and do the lazy fork oil replacement this weekend.  

I'm seeing contradicting statements regarding what will happen if I take both springs out while the bike's on the centerstand.  Pablo's directions say the forks will fully compress and the bike will fall forward off the stand.  Not good.  But GaryIF says you can take 'em both out and the bike will be fine.  Anybody have any more opinions on this?  If possible I'd like to compress the forks fully so I can get the best measurement possible when I'm filling 'em up.  If Gary's right this shouldn't be too tough, but I'd like a little more reassurance so I don't end up with the bike falling over in my garage.  Thanks,

jeff

Have you had it up on the centerstand before?  It rests on the front wheel.  As soon as you take the fork caps off, there is nothing keeping the forks from completely compressing.  This may or may not be a problem, but I'm not going to try it and find out.  after a couple of inches of travel, it will hit a hard stop.  This also, may or may not be a bad thing.  I would suggest putting a jack under the frame or some straps over your garage ceiling joints so that you can lower the bike slowly in a controlled manner and bring it back up if it gets unstable.  Even then, i don't know if I would let the weight of the bike rest on the hard stops of the suspension, for fear of bending something expensive and/or hard to fix.  Meh...maybe it's fine though...

Quote from: DiderichHave you had it up on the centerstand before?

Many times.

Quote from: DiderichIt rests on the front wheel.  As soon as you take the fork caps off, there is nothing keeping the forks from completely compressing.

You're right it does normally rest on the front wheel, but if I'm reading GaryIF's post correctly, you can also rock it back so it's resting on the rear wheel, so you can get the springs back in with the forks fully extended.  

If that's correct, I think what I'll try doing is getting it up on the center stand, putting it on it's back tire, taking both springs out, and either roll it back onto the front wheel to compress the forks, or maybe use my floor jack to push the front wheel up further to compress 'em.  Hopefully this way I can get a good measurement and make sure the correct amount of oil is in there.  Then let the forks back out, reinstall the springs, and be done with it.  I think I'm gonna at least start tonight, I'll post the results.

jeff

I think I can clear up the confusion.

When Kerry and I replaced the fork oil (and seals) on my bike, we put weight on the back of the bike to lift the front tire off the ground, and then used a car stand (like you use after you've jacked it up if you want to leave it there for awhile) to prop up under the bike so it wouldn't come back down.  I imagine you could do the same thing with bricks, 2x4s, large stacks of microsoft products, or other such disposable goods.

The key is to make sure there is something there to take the weight off of the front wheel while, well, the tire isn't there.  If you don't do this, then you will have problems.

Good luck!

ah ha, that does help clarify things.  I can use a floor jack/jack stand to support the bike from the bottom, keeping the front wheel off the ground.  This will unload the springs, making them easy to take out and put back in.

Regarding my other question, is it going to be safe, once the springs are out, to lower the bike back onto the front wheel to compress the forks to put the new oil in?  Might the bike try to roll off the center stand?  Or would it be a better idea to use the floor jack under the front wheel to push up and compress the forks while the bike is leaning back?

jeff

I'm thinking of getting a syringe (with cc's marked off) and a long tube to change fork oil level.  For 39mm forks, that would be approx 1.19 cc's per mm of fork oil level.  Not sure what the ID measurement of the fork tubes are... Well I think I have my math right! hehe.. Then once you make note of your oil level when installing your springs, you can adjust your fork oil level just by opening the fork tubes and sucking out or addding the appropriate volume without taking the springs out

There is no need to put the forks back on the bike to compress them.

After you remove the springs, you can easily compress them by hand.

In fact, you'll need to to get all of the old oil out.  (You are changing the oil, right?  if not, don't waste your time taking the forks off.  I highly recommend it, though... put in 15w or heigher.  I have 15w, works great, others like more)

I was planning on doing it without removing the forks.  I'm thinking I can use a jack to compress the forks while the bike is leaned back on the rear wheel.

I'm planning on sucking as much of the old oil out as I can while the forks are still on the bike, then filling it up to specs with new.  

jeff

personally, I'd just remove them from the bike, having done it once.  the hard part of front spring maintenance is changing the oil seals... if you aren't doing that, you don't have to mess with the spinning bolt problem and make funky tools, etc, so the hardest part is getting the fender off... which still isn't real difficult.  just remember that most of the bolts for the fender have nuts on the bottom that you need to hold still in order to get off, and they are often pretty tight to start with.

After you get the fender off, I think there are 3 bolts on each side that you loosen, and you'll have a better chance of getting all the oil out.

It's up to you, of course, and the other way will probably also work... I just don't think it will work quite as well, or save you all that much time.

That Said:

Once you open the forks, and have the front of the bike propped up on stands (I put the stand just after the frame curves down to the bottom point and goes straight again) so that the front wheel is off the ground, you can remove the wheel, and with the front fender on you can't compress the forks individually, so you'll have to do them at the same time.  Make sure to keep the parts with the correct side!  probably won't be a problem, but be careful just in case.

you should be able to pretty easily compress the springs by hand, and either prop them there somehow or hold them while you do your syringe trick.

Let us know how it goes!