Forks drained, removed, and question

Hi all hope all is well,

I was wondering if I could run some kerosene through my forks then drain without swelling or hurting the seals and o rings. I have removed the spacer, washer and spring, plus drained and pumped out the old fluid. I would like to clean out the residue before putting in new fluid.
TIA
danyoder50@zoominternet.net

 

I've flushed forks with cheap ATF, that's what came in alot of them, then you don't have to worry about getting every drop out.

 

Sounds like very good advise. Thanks very much.

 

What year bike and how many miles on the forks? I know for a fact that you accumulate alot of mug in those forks after 20,000 miles. You would be amazed at the shate thats in there :smile:. Why not take the cir-clip out and replace the fork seals and give it a good cleaning?

The fork leg ATF enima aint a bad idea though. Kind of a lazy mans fork tune up :smile:

 

Wash with the solvent of your choice--several times--and drain upside-down over a bucket.

Kero won't hurt anything.

 

Totaly broke it and me

I bought a 83 VF750F in May. I bought this old 83 VF750F shed find for 500.00 and cleaned the tank put a clean set of carbs on bought a new battery and it started right up. I then rebuilt the calipers and replaced all fluids. I then saw this Interceptor for 1,500 on craigslist and or trade for a crusier. Long story short I gave him my shed find plus 250.00 for the Unterceptor. I do have plans on rebuilding the forks with race tech cartridge emulators and new springs. I have been talking with Jamie Daughtery about that. Soooo I just want to do a quick fix for now and in a few months do it right. I rebuilt and cleaned the carbs with all new o-rings. I then had to buy new plugs, all new fluids and rebuild the rear master cylinder, caliper and new hose and cup. The cup was cracked and it had epoxy on it. I am now pulling the wheels to install two new Dunlop GT501 and when I pulled the final driven flange balls fell out on the floor. So then I ordered all new bearings (3) plus seals and circlip. I took the chain off to soak and clean and found that the driven sproket actually all the teeth are bent a few degrees. I bought a swingarm, pro link, and rear shock off of Ebay all for about 50.00 I want to rebuild all of them and then remove mine and sell them. I have spent so much money on her that I need to slow down in any area I can. When I removed the front wheel I found that (2) axel studs were stripped and the nuts were torqued around 12 ft lbs. This thing was a worn out abused little lady, but I love her. And when I am all done she will be sweet sixteen.

 

The first thing I did was plugs, oil change and a valve adjustment. I had one lobe with a small scratch all the rest were fine. I will do a leak down test soon and let you know what I find. It runs strong but I think it has been run hard. It only has 28 k but I guess it could be a Ebay instrument cluster. I also order some new exhaust studs and seals. One stud was broken off. Since I started out with a 750.00 investment and will have spent probably another 750.00 it might be a an okay deal if the compression test and the leak down goes well. Actually I love bikes that need work done to them. I have a 85 V65 that is perfect and a 84 VF700C that I needed to rebuild the forks and brake cylinders and master cylinders. This is all a learning experience for me. The more I work on them the closer I am to them. As long as I have my V65 up and running the other two bikes are just fun projects. I have learned so much in the past three years thanks to my friends on the forums. It is just like going to motorcycle repair school and the tution is the 300.00 a month I spend on parts. I also have purchased (2) oil mod kits. I made my own kits from a parts list that I found from Dave Dodge on the MOOT forum.

 

Just another case of too many costly problems on too old a bike for any practical result.

 

Two words- MONEY PIT. As long as you realise this going in to the rehab of your bike here you will have no problems.

 

Hey its like spending $6 on a pint of beer that turns to piss..who cares as long as you are enjoying it. Spend your money and enjoy your bike. I promise you'll have many more opportunities to waste money on something far less exciting. Guys quit being such negative nancies..cheers to anyone who take the initiative to keep a classic out of the bone yard regardless. Sounds like you have a great project. Good luck with it and post some pics if you get a chance. Above all have some fun and dont be late to class haha.

 

Well, I thank you dutchwurx and tinkerinWstuff for your nice words. I have to admit the threads put a hole in my sale, but these guys are right. I bought a 84 VF700C for 1,200 and have spent over 600.00 on it, so I do know that these things are money pits. I am 61 years old and I am having a blast making these old bikes like new again. I know I will never get my money back but I have two boys that I am going to give these to when I get to scared to ride. They will be in top notch shape and something that my boys will love to have. When they come to visit me I always have at least two bikes on the road at all times for their enjoyment. I get great pleasure learning the engineerng and design of the mechanisms and a great feeling of pride in my work. That is worth alot to me. I have three bikes and have spent 6,000 on all of them that includes oem parts. I keep a spreadsheet on each bike and yes it is not pretty. From 18 to 40 I spent 20,000 rolling joints now that is really a waste of money. Well I guess this is my VFR World iniation. Did I pass?

 

Ignorance is bliss in this case. Once I sold one of my old bikes I tossed out all my old paper work along with the receipts. Why beat yourself up. I learned a long time ago a valuable thing, Dont tell another man how to spend his money!

Dont tell the wife either what that new shock absorber cost, cause you might get hit in the head with a skillet :smile:

Enjoy the act of wrenching, its all Zen and a means to an end me guesses, too philisophical sawwrrry...

 

+1 You can buy a 5 year old bike and spend $1000+ to get it in shape just replacing tires, chain/sprockets, batt, valve adj, fluid change, air filter and a few odds and ends, so it's at least reliable. But then you have a run of the mill bike like you see everywhere. As long as you realize old bikes need alot of fresh parts to make them new again you won't have a problem. I keep some bikes a long time so I don't worry what it cost to restore it, I'll get my moneys worth in the long run, my VFR is a keeper. I like the advantages of the old VFR...full coverage Collector Bike Insurance, agreed value of 5K for $125 a year, $20 Tag and no emmissions test necessay.