NGWClub®, Inc.

Hi Everyone,

I know this has been covered elsewhere but I have read through most posts and cant find the answer I am looking for

My front forks are bone jarringly stiff, I almost lost my Sena unit this morning as it bounced off my helmet. Here is what I have done so far -

Gone through Randakks procedure twice
Replaced what seamed to be very thick fork oil the OP had put in with 7.5W
This didnt work so went to 5W
This didn't work so last night went to 2.5W

Tried reducing the quantity of oil to well below recommended amounts

What weight oil are people using?

All seals are ok, no signs of any leaks, replaced recently by PO
Stanchions were replaced by PO quite recently with aftermarket units. There is positively no play in the forks at all.

There seems to be very little difference in performance after any change I have made, but If anything going to 2.5W seems to have made it worse so am I going in the wrong direction, my understanding is a lighter oil would give a softer ride but am I wrong.

My gut feeling is the new stanchions are slightly oversize and sticking under load, has this been known to happen?

Is there anything else I can try?

Thanks for any help.

My procedure for problems like this is always - what if anything has been changed from when they were working, albeit badly.

You have answered that question already - the stanchions. I have 10w oil and aftermarket tubes in in my forks and they work fine. Measure them, they should be no more than 37mm.
I guess there is also a possibility of over-tight seals and dust caps too. If the stanchions measure up, then you will need to strip the forks down.

Stock springs? Has it had a Vetter or other faring on it, now or in the past?

LuckyEddie wrote:Stock springs? Has it had a Vetter or other faring on it, now or in the past?

Good point! Standard GL1000 springs normally require little in the way of force to get the top nuts on. That might be an indication of a change.

Thanks for your help everyone.

I have a pretty good history of the bike including many invoices, none of which mention springs so I am assuming they are original. As indicated not much force is needed to put the caps back on.

Seals are mentioned twice although I dont have any invoices, could they be aftermarket and a little too tight as you suggest Old Fogey, would it be worth replacing with original.

I will measure the stanchions when I get home, I believe they are Paolo Tarozzi derived.

Thanks again, Ken

I doubt very much if Tarozzi parts are wrong. I'm wondering if the PO has messed with the damping rods. You would have to strip the forks to find out.

The Randakk procedure is the one to loosen all the clamps and axle nuts while jouncing the forks to normalize the alignment? This is more important than many people understand. Just tightening the axle clamps in the wrong sequence can bind the forks.
How hard is it to jounce the front end without any oil? How hard is it to move a bare slider with the oil and spring out? Seals come in all sizes; the PO might have put in some that are 1mm too tight on the ID, and that WILL cause friction. I've used seals that were 1mm larger than stock to loosen up the stiction, but they don't last as long, obviously.

Randakks procedure is about lowering the stanchions all the way into the fork case which I guess is to prevent any maladjustment through play between both components, loosening the triple trees, giving them some whacks with a rubber mallet to settle them then tightening in the correct sequence.

During this process the stanchions do seem to slide well into the cases but I havent tried jouncing the forks without oil in.

I have ordered some OE seals from Partzilla, I think I am going to have to strip the forks down and take a look

another thing to be wary of is the oil amount. for a 1000 from empty , the amount recommended by the manual is
200 MLs. or 200 cc ( same thing ) per fork leg.
randakk blog suggests a method of measuring from the top of the fork to the oil level. the measurement given is blatantly wrong.
far easier to measure the correct amount in a measuring cup and pour it in.

Thanks, Yes I remember reading somewhere the 150mm measurement given would be dramatically overfilling.

I use a measuring jug and tried various amounts last time was only 140cc, varying the amount makes no discernible difference, I am going to strip them down but I reckon if I didnt put any oil in at all they would be the same

You might want to check your front tire for excessive runout and high/low spots.

Never thought of that thanks, would the symptoms be a regular frequency if the tire was at fault in some way? at the moment on smooth surfaces the ride is fine, any undulations whatsoever though and its time to make a dental appointment.

My method of fork alignment has been to remove the caps and springs, loosen the triple tree bolts and axle cap nuts, and slide everything up and down while incrementally tightening everything up ensuring free travel. Not as bad as it sounds and works well. Might be worth a shot before stripping everything down.

An old friend who is a Honda mechanic taught me to align the front end this way: Loosen everything except the pinch bolts at the tops of the forks and roll the front wheel against a wall, then sit on the bike, grab the brake and bounce the front end up & down as hard as possible a few times and tighten it all back up.

BTW: Are you sure you are completely draining the fluid before adding more each time? My neighbour told me recently about his buddy servicing the forks on his bike and having very similar symptoms because he put too much oil in...

Assuming you did indeed completely empty them each time, the next time you empty them try bouncing the front end without any oil. If it feels the same the oil is not the problem.

I used Randakk's method and the shocks work great. Following Mike Nixon's advice, I sanded the dust covers for a minimal contact with the stanchions.