Hi everyone,
I just purchased a used 07CRF450 with about 10 or 15 hours on it. The fork was revalved by the previous owner and it is equipped with a subtank. I don't think the suspension company who did the work is relevant here, so I'll keep their name on the side. But here is what happened :
One of the fork seals was leaking so I decided to replace it. When I got the center bolt loose - with the fork slightly compressed - the damping rod did not stick out a couple inches like it usually does. I had to pull on it to expose the lock nut. I finally got both nut and lock nut out and the damping rod got sucked half way into the cartridge!
After refilling/bleeding the cartridge, I can not really picture putting the cap back on and create a vacuum at the same time. That doesn't make much sense. So the vacuum must have been created after the fork was reassembled.
Could a faulty subtank valve cause that? (I haven't check them yet...too cold in my garage these days!)
Or is it just by strapping the bike down for 6 or 7 hours on the trailer with a leaky seal?... the pressure would have leaked past the seal, then creating a vacuum once the bike was back on its stand with the fork fully extended...
In any case, it appears that the vacuum was transferred from the air chamber into the cartridge via the damping rod seal.
Has anyone experienced stuff like this before?
Thanks,
I just purchased a used 07CRF450 with about 10 or 15 hours on it. The fork was revalved by the previous owner and it is equipped with a subtank. I don't think the suspension company who did the work is relevant here, so I'll keep their name on the side. But here is what happened :
One of the fork seals was leaking so I decided to replace it. When I got the center bolt loose - with the fork slightly compressed - the damping rod did not stick out a couple inches like it usually does. I had to pull on it to expose the lock nut. I finally got both nut and lock nut out and the damping rod got sucked half way into the cartridge!
After refilling/bleeding the cartridge, I can not really picture putting the cap back on and create a vacuum at the same time. That doesn't make much sense. So the vacuum must have been created after the fork was reassembled.
Could a faulty subtank valve cause that? (I haven't check them yet...too cold in my garage these days!)
Or is it just by strapping the bike down for 6 or 7 hours on the trailer with a leaky seal?... the pressure would have leaked past the seal, then creating a vacuum once the bike was back on its stand with the fork fully extended...
In any case, it appears that the vacuum was transferred from the air chamber into the cartridge via the damping rod seal.
Has anyone experienced stuff like this before?
Thanks,
