Fork adjustment/Oil Question
 

Ok, so I was trying to put on some risers today and I took off the wrong part. (I am a mechanical retard so it's not surprising)

Anyway, I ended up releasing my left fork tube. I lost a few oz's of oil, maybe a small cap full when I was putting it back together. I did get it back together with a C-clamp and a wrench though, it was tough!

I got the fork tube back together, risers on the right way, and everything seems fine. I do have a few questions though.

1. The tops of the tubes have adjustable settings. I have done some surfing and found that on the SH you should have 4 lines showing, Is that correct? (on the little part sticking out the top of the tube, not sure the name?)

2. The S and H settings with the dial in the middle, I assume is for Soft and Hard rebounding? Is that correct? What should that setting be?

3. I did not lose a lot of oil and I do not race or track my bike. It is a commuter bike and I do not run it hard. The bike is just over 5000 miles now and I am planning on taking it in for the scheduled 8000 mile maintenance. Did I lose too much oil, or should it be fine for now?

4. On the stock handlebar set up there is a small locking wire that helps hold the bar clips in place. Once the risers are on it seems to put the seam of the stock clips in where the wire used to be. The risers cover the old area where the locking wire used to be so I assume that wire is no longer needed, correct? (I am saving them anyway) As for having the risers on correctly, the locking wires are not needed?


Thanks guys

There is no "correct" position for this adjustment. It is how you set the preload(done by measuring and setting the sag) and will be different for each rider depending on their weight and how the forks are set up. If you don't know how to set sag check this out : https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...ad.php?t=21455



Yes they are and once again, watch the video and it will be explained better than can be done here


Well that is a tough call. You have increased the air gap on that side but by how much is hard to say. As you don't run it hard, you should be ok but if you feel the bike bottoming out, get it fixed.


The lock ring is just there to keep the clip on for coming off the fork tube if the bolt loosens up. It is added safety but not required.

Hope this helps a bit.
Cheers,
Mike

It would be very bad to run the forks with one fork having little to no oil in it anymore. The forks hold under 10 ounces which is not much more than a cup so if you lost that much its basically empty. You need to tear the forks down enough to make the air gap the same in both forks again. Motorcycles are more like air planes in maintenance isues, it might be ok but should you risk failure mid flight... I don't think so.

Great advice guys. I appreciate it. I am due for a fluid change before it gets warm. I will have them take a look at the settings and adjust the bike more for my weight as well.

Great video by the way!

Agreed, depending on the actual amount I'd say that forkleg is probably around half full... Not a good thing on it's own... Even worse with one forkleg full and one half... Disaster waiting to happen...

BTW eersfanpilot... If you are above 100 lbs setting the stock fork up for your weight is an impossible task... Crank it hard and call it good is about the best you can do... To be even ballpark right you need new springs in there...

Not sure where you got the fork has little or no oil in it. From how I read it the OP "did not loose a lot" also used the term "a small cap full" not a cup full. Therefore I gave the advice I did.

It always better to have them set up correctly and i would ask why the fork oil wasn't changed while they were off but we all do things differently.

In this case i don't think he will have to much of a problem using the bike until he gets the forks serviced but then I'm just some guy on the internet....

Yeah, as you stated Hawk, I did not lose a lot, just a small amount when I was shoving the unit back together. I am planning on having all my fluids serviced in a few weeks once the weather warms up a bit. I will have them refilled then.

true maybe I over stated the amount lost, but "not alot" means different things to different people. I would say the forks do "not hold alot" of fluid to begin with. Just me though if the OP wants to run it that way then that is totally up to him, but honestly when mm of air gap can make a big difference in how the fork behaves I personally wouldn't chance a out of spec difference between the forks. Maybe I am just siding on the extreme I don't know.