Soft Shocks

[Spyk]

I have been riding my the last few weekends and have noticed a bit of fork oil at the bottom of my fork tubes after i get done. Also noticed that my forks are pretty soft and i adjusted them to a harder setting but they are still pretty soft. I am thinking that the seals need to be replaced but was also wondering if maybe i could add some oil to them to stiffen them up for the time being?


Also does anyone know how much a shop might charge to replace the fork seals?

I have a 1995 Honda Cr125 with Kayaba shocks btw.

 

[flying flea]

you, my friend, have a busted seal.

 

[Spyk]

Yeah i kinda figured that was the case...I want to try and change it but i am affraid that i will put it off and put it off and miss part of the summer or riding...so tomorrow i am going to go to my local shop and see how much and how long it might take to fix.

 

[rmc_olderthandirt]

When you know how to do it changing the fork seals will take about an hour. If all you are doing is changing the seal then it can be real easy. If you want to disassemble the entire fork tube there can be a trick or two that can be a bitch.

It took me a few days to figure out how to do it. I am not familiar with your bike but my Yamaha YZ had an "inverse" nut on the bottom and I had to make a tool and then improvise an impact wrench.

If you are not ready to tear into the forks you should at least top off the oil. On my bike it is a simple matter of releasing any pressure, unscrewing the top cap (careful, it can be spring loaded), pouring in the proper amount of oil and then replacing the cap. The only trick is knowing what the proper oil level is, so get a manual if you don't have one already.


Topping off the oil should restore proper shock operation until a significant amount leaks out again. If it doesn't, then just replacing the seal won't help, you will need to rebuild the inner parts.

Rod

 

[Spyk]

Thanks a lot for the advice. i watched a video on you tube on how to change the seals and it didn't look to terribly difficult but i was just curious if i could only add oil instead of changing everything. From the sound of things it sounds like i can.

I do have a manual on the way so hopefully this weekend i fill it up

Thanks again for your help.