96 Fork seal/oil replacement

Discussion in 'Mechanics Garage' started by JAVIERM, Jul 22, 2011.

  1. JAVIERM

    JAVIERM New Member

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    Well I just did the service on my fork seals for my 96 VFR and everything seems pretty good, except for a minor little problem. I replaced the seals with the oem seals and filled each leg with the recommended 412 cc oil capacity. At the same time I also replaced the front wheel bearings. The forks are not leaking, but my only problem is that when I brake, coming to a stop, I hear/feel a little knock coming from the front of the bike. The noise only happens when I brake and I pump/push the front suspension. If I pump/push the front suspension without pressing the front brakes I do not feel the knocking noise. The noise is not loud but good enough to where can feel it. I did notice that when pressing the front brakes while rolling backwards causes the front forks to extend out a little further, causing the knocking noise. So did I mess up by not replacing the bushings or do the forks not have enough oil? Thanks you guys
     
    JAVIERM, Jul 22, 2011


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  2. tinkerinWstuff

    tinkerinWstuff Administrator Staff Member

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    Interesting. I just tried dropping in new 1.1kg springs in my 3rd gen and having similar issue. Haven't had the time to disassemble and inspect yet to determine the cause.
     
    tinkerinWstuff, Jul 22, 2011


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  3. slowbird

    slowbird Member

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    Do 1 of you two fellows have an extra set of ears to listen around the front of the bike while you make the bike knock? Or have someone sit on the bike and make the knocking noise while you look around the front end?

    I had something similar on my 1st gen and it was a loose caliper bolt/bracket.
     
    slowbird, Jul 22, 2011


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  4. JAVIERM

    JAVIERM New Member

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    I actually looked at my calipers and they do have some play, but not on the actual mounting brackets.
     
    JAVIERM, Jul 22, 2011


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  5. tinkerinWstuff

    tinkerinWstuff Administrator Staff Member

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    Mine has nothing to do with the brakes. Drop my old springs in and it's normal again.
     
    tinkerinWstuff, Jul 22, 2011


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  6. slowbird

    slowbird Member

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    Well I'm outta ideas! :tongue:
     
    slowbird, Jul 22, 2011


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  7. JAVIERM

    JAVIERM New Member

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    Thanks for the responses. I guess I will take mine apart this weekend and see if I missed anything.


    Thanks
     
    JAVIERM, Jul 22, 2011


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  8. tinkerinWstuff

    tinkerinWstuff Administrator Staff Member

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    I was hopeful that I'd tear into mine this weekend too but it's starting to look like it's not going to happen.

    Good luck
     
    tinkerinWstuff, Jul 22, 2011


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  9. Dominator

    Dominator New Member

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    I'd check the pad/calipers if it only happens with the brakes on.
    Tinker did you make sure the new springs/spacer = the length of the old ones?
    I just did the 1.0kg conversion and the racetech springs are shorter. If you use the oem spacer it will knock.
    I have the measurements if you need them.
    BTW i'm 225 and the 1.0 feel super stiff wish I had gone with .95kg
     
    Dominator, Jul 22, 2011


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  10. tinkerinWstuff

    tinkerinWstuff Administrator Staff Member

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    I'm using a 180mm spacer. My ohlins spring is shorter than OEM. I'm also going with less static preload than OEM - thus my spring and spacer are at least 1" less when compared to the OEM spring+spacer.

    All as per my local suspension shop
    http://www.stmsuspension.com/

    Sounds like you might be running too much preload and may be contributing to why you aren't impressed with 1.0kg

    FYI; 1-1/4 copper tubing from the hardware store near perfectly matches the OEM spacer ID/OD (although pricey)
     
    tinkerinWstuff, Jul 22, 2011


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  11. tinkerinWstuff

    tinkerinWstuff Administrator Staff Member

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    before anyone jumps my shit - I understand that preload is different than rate. That's why I said "contributing"
     
    tinkerinWstuff, Jul 22, 2011


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  12. Dominator

    Dominator New Member

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    Dominator, Jul 22, 2011


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  13. tinkerinWstuff

    tinkerinWstuff Administrator Staff Member

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    That's exactly what I'm saying - except that getting the cap started isn't too tough when the OEM spring is a .6 rate

    my stackup of spring and 180mm spacer gives me 3/8"
     
    tinkerinWstuff, Jul 22, 2011


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  14. Dominator

    Dominator New Member

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    Try 3/4 otherwise good luck finding the noise cos i am out of ideas!
     
    Dominator, Jul 22, 2011


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  15. JamieDaugherty

    JamieDaugherty New Member

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    The first thing I thought of when reading the original post is steering stem bearings. Sometimes what would seem to be a simple change, like new fork seals and fluid, can bring a problem like that to the surface. Hold the front brake and rock the bike back and forth (push fairly hard) and see if you can reproduce the noise.

    FYI - it's almost certainly not the fork springs. They don't make noises like that. Good luck!
     
    JamieDaugherty, Jul 23, 2011


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  16. tinkerinWstuff

    tinkerinWstuff Administrator Staff Member

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    In my case, it actually turned out to be fork springs. In fairness, I didn't take the time to post up all my symptoms. The forks were not getting full travel - they didn't compress and "hit a wall" but felt kind of like they were binding. The springs were .035" larger OD and slipped down the tube beautifully. However, once the springs compress and flex/rotate, they bound in the tube after about half travel.

    He had another set of springs on the shelf that were the same OD as OEM and a .95kg rate. All assembled with new seals. Just waiting on my allballs stearing stem bearings to try them out. He'll order up the 1.1's for me if I decide I want more.
     
    tinkerinWstuff, Jul 26, 2011


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