Forks gone solid

[gmars70970]

Looking for some wisdom from you guys....

Done 500mls over 2 days on my gsx, then put it in the garage for 3 weeks. Pulled it out this week to use for work and the front forks are solid. Ive screwed every adjustment out and back iin, everything moving freely. There's 0 sag and if i pull the front brake on, push the front down i can only get 25mm of travel.
Any ideas whats happened ?  And how to sort lol

[Del]

Im sure @seth had a similar issue - so may be worth a shot at searching his posts

[gmars70970]

Perfect 👌

Found the post and sounds like the same thing. 500ml trip then all has went solid.

Not sure im capable of stripping it down myself tho 😬

[Hooli]

From memory of Seth talking about it you might not need to strip them right down. Just crack the top yoke pinch bolt off & unscrew the caps in the top of the forks. I'm sure Seth said he did that & loads of compressed air came out.

[grog]

Makes sense. 

[Eric GSX1400K3]

That would mean fork seals are shagged (a technical term).

[seth]

Hiya it was emma's bike had a strange fork seal in it that only had a single seal rather than the more common double seal .
Anyway the problem was it was letting air in on the up stroke and compressing it on the down stroke making the forks become quiet highly pressurised.
That gave 10mm of fork travel .
A new set of seals,bushes and oil now as good as new and a few this and miles later all still good.

[gmars70970]

@seth did it happen slowly or was it a sudden change ?
Ive had the bike a few years, bought it from my brother and never had any real problems with the suspension. Was using it regularly and my last trip was to Gairloch a 500mls rnd trip and everything was fine. Just when i went to use it this week its solid, no leaks from the seals either.

[seth]

It came on very quickly .
We think it happened going over a very bumpy field at a rally in Belgium.
Was almost unrideable by the time we got back to Scotland.
Emma made it then I fixed it all .

[gmars70970]

I'll pop the top off the forks and see if there's anything blatantly obvious. I'd order up seal kits & give it a go myself but i dont have the "special" tool for going down inside the fork legs. Easy enough to make one ?

[mlivkovich]

On early models k2-k4 piece of 1/2" black pipe works great. 70cm is more than enough.

[Del]

@gmars70970 if you can get up to my place then you can borrow the fork tool I have - its fairy easy job to do but - if you want your welcome to do at my place I have all the tools needed
Del

[gmars70970]

@gmars70970 if you can get up to my place then you can borrow the fork tool I have - its fairy easy job to do but - if you want your welcome to do at my place I have all the tools needed
Del

Thanks very much Del 👌

I popped the top off the forks today. Exactly as @seth described there was a release of air pressure !
I was going to put it in to the local mechanic but i think i'll give it a go myself, is it overly technical or diy friendly, now i see what the tool looks like im thinking its nothing to fancy.
I actually work at Rolls-Royce Del so im up in Glasgow dailly,might take you up on borrowing your tool.

I have tgese already, would i need anything else other than oil ?

Cheers everyone 👌

[gmars70970]

I also have this unopened bottle of fork oil i'd bought for my trackbike, 10w be ok for the GSX ?

[Del]

If its teh RR on Manor Avenue then were not too far apart

Its fairly easy mate- just organise yourself - I do one fork at a time and lay all the pieces out on a towel as I remove (best to clean parts as you remove as old fork oil really stinks) - I use a tub of brake cleaner or thinners to dunk the parts in and wipe down

top tip is to loosen the top yoke mount then undo the top fork bolt but you have already done this so shouldnt be a bother (there a pain in the arse to loosen off the bike)

Let me know if you want loan of the fork tool

Del