On a new bike do you drain the fork oil after breakin?

[rosscopeeko]

I just bought a 2003 CR250 that has 12 hours total on it. The guy i bought it off didn't do any pre-greasing on the swingarm linkage, stearing stem bearings etc, so i'm planning on doing those before i ride it. I started reading the manual and it suggests you drain the fork oil after a few hours of riding because there will be small aluminum fragments in there from breakin. I know it hasn't been done on this bike so should i do it? Manual says it will add to the performance of the shocks. Is the rear the same? Thanks,

 

[mtk]

It's not a bad idea to change the suspension fluids in both ends, if for no other reason than now you know they're fresh and you've established a maintenance baseline.

I'l also suggest you put an hour meter on the bike while you're at it. Then you can base your maintenance schedule off of data, rather than wild-assed guesses.

 

[NO HAND]

Sure isn't a bad idea, depending on how hard it was ridden for that 12 hours. I have heard of tests on stock bikes made by national pros indicating stock suspension fluids did not reach 12 hours before fading. Add to that the fact often the shock is not well bled and the bladder is often partially collapsed from the factory.

 

[motometal]

you got my vote too...my '03 had shiny particles the first time I changed it. To do it right, you'll need a special tool or two though. You may as well get familiar with working on your forks now...it's only a matter of time before you'll be changing a fork seal (fork seal life is a weak spot of late model CRs in my opinion).

 

[91kx]

Did you buy it last saturday in Merrit for $3500.I missed out on a 03 because a guy from kamloops was gonna buy it.Darn Kamloopians!!! JK.

 

[2-Strokes 4-ever]

On a new bike, I have always changed fork oil after a couple good rides, then every 50 hours after that, and have had good luck with fork seal life. Only do shock service once a year though.

 

[rosscopeeko]

Yeah, i did buy it in Merrit last weekend, but the seller upped the price to $4000. Said he made a mistake in the buy and sell. Tried to get him down but no go. If anybody else had looked at the bike it would have been gone. Still had stock tires on it with very little wear. It's essentially a new bike with upgraded bars. Time to do maintenance on greasing etc. that the original owner didn't do. Just have to wait for the snow to go and i'll be riding soon.

 

[91kx]

All the best with it!

 

[motometal]

ahhhh.....4000 Canadian....you had me thinking for a minute, "could the market for two stroke CRs be THAT much different wherever these guys are?"

roscopeeko...love the screen name! I luv it I luv it!

 

[rosscopeeko]

Yeah, I'm in BC, and bikes don't go for nearly as cheap as down in the U.S. For instance, our 05 cr250's were $7899 on the floor Canadian. With the current exchange and comparison to the American prices it doesn't add up. Canada is just expensive for bikes, especially hondas. So here's another question, do you guys think i could drain the fluid myself and replace it. The Honda dealer told me they would totally disassemble the forks and put them back together with new fluid for $100 bones. Can't you just drain them and refill them without disassembly?

 

[motometal]

it depends what your future plans are. For example, if one or both seals go bad, are you going to want to tackle the job yourself? If so, it wouldn't be a bad investment to get the tools now. I think I paid about thirty US for the wrench for the big nut, and made the tool for holding the dampening rod out of aluminum. A fork seal driver would be nice as well, those are pretty expensive though. Another consideration is how long you will either have this or other HOndas.

On the other hand, if you'd rather not work on it, $100 Canadian doesn't sound out of line.

must disassemble to do a thorough job. Also, you don't fill these by measuring distance from the top of the tube, you go by volume. For the most plush action, i'd recommend starting off with less than the stock nominal volume, and add gradually with a syringe until it only lightly bottoms.