Gen 1 Fork Rebuild

[Festus]

Looked like a good set of videos on doing the rebuild. Some interesting tips. I hadn't seen it before and couldn't find where it had been posted before. Sadly, no Gen 3, but still good and applies to a lot of people.

[wheatonFJR]

Is that gixxerjasen?

Jk...Thanks for posting.

[Auburn]

Good videos. I like the use of the mighty vac for setting the oil level.

[raYzerman]

Those were Gen1 forks.... can't see how you can gixxerjasen those, no middle bushing.

Although he has good shop practices, as a general fork reassembly, I'll nitpick a bit.... Title says FJR, but some of these videos can mislead you terribly. Best consult your manual for model/Gen specific.

Interesting he hones the lower tubes, which in effect if roughing up the surface in a cross-hatch pattern. I don't think anybody hones unless there are scored tubes, at least I don't. He might be onto something, but being aluminum, I'd say that honing might be short-lived.

I leave the chrome tubes smooth and only fix nicks in them if any. Hope his hammer didn't hit the tubes... why not use a piece of PVC pipe as a driver on his seal install tool.

He put the stock springs back in, which are terribly undersprung for that bike, at minimum would need to crank the preload all the way in. He put them in upside down to the manual if anybody cares. I'd upsell on aftermarket springs!!

I use a syringe to set oil level, Mighty Vac would work great. Oil level he set is WAY low.... only aftermarket springs require a lower oil level (120-130mm). Most FJR's oil levels are 40-50mm more than he did.

Dunno where he got his specs for damping settings, it's wrong, but I gather he is trying to set them at "Yamaha standard" settings.... Again, consult model/Gen specific manual.

Because he used stock springs, standard settings, just shows you how easily he was able to compress the completed fork.....

Gen 2/3/4 A's have middle bushings, need a special tool for that. On Gen3/4 left and right cartridges are different, best do one at a time. Note also, when dumping the oil on Gen3/4, good chance your rebound adjuster spring and tapered needle will be in the bottom of your drain pan, so good idea to push on that little rod to ensure you have springback.

On Gen4 2016+ there is a specific procedure to set the depth of the fork cap to enable rebound adjustment, all others, run them right down.

I did not search out his videos on how he got the forks apart, but again, these weren't Gen2/3/4 and don't have middle bushings to complicate matters....

[wheatonFJR]

Im not gonna nitpick the nitpicker, but...

I know, you put forks together drunk ONE time, and it is never forgotten.

[N4HHE]

Good videos. I like the use of the mighty vac for setting the oil level.

Meh. I use an old empty Formula 409 spray bottle. Set the straw on spray pump in fork to desired depth. Pump the lever spraying oil into the bottle until it sucks air.

To hold depth I use a 1x2. staple nail the straw to the side carefully driven to let the straw slip for adjustment. Thought about getting fancy making a clamp with another piece of wood but this worked so I quit enhancing.

[raYzerman]

This is what I use..... find them elsewhere for less....... can even make your own.
https://traxxion.com/product/fork-oil-level-gauge/

[Auburn]

I have the motion-pro version of the syringe and depth gage. Problem, is the rubber in the syringe swells after a couple of uses (even after cleaning the excess out.) I have an extra mighty-vac, so that seems like a good use of it for me. The other problem with the metal straws, is they have small openings, and with higher weight oils, they take a lot of vacuum in the syringe to pull the oil in. Not every fork uses the same oil, especially the ones that are modified, same with other makes of forks.

[raYzerman]

Same problem, rinsing with isopropanol and silicone grease helped extend the life.... but I bought a 5-pack of cheap plastic syringes that have no rubbers.... was gifted a MightyVac missing the reservoir a while back.... gonna make one up one day soon.

[N4HHE]

My Formula 409 squirt pump is 20 years old. Put away wet after use.