.

[DeepBlueRider]

.

 

[dpaul007]

You should have it easily done in 2 hours. Depends on how long you let the forks drain upside down. When I did mine, I dumped out the oil and flushed it out with kerosene, let them drain/dry upside down over-night, then finished the process the next day. I really can't think of anything difficult about it. Getting the front axle out was the worst part, as I had to get the right tool for it.

Oil level should be measured with the springs out and fork compressed.

 

[FinalImpact]

Crack the caps loose before unbolting the triple, but honestly, they're not that tight unless someone has been there before and cranked em down! :spank:

PS - its fair game to set the bike on the headers and center stand, so don't gave that a second thought. Try not to scratch your fender when pulling it through. You can cover it quick with painters tape. And don't hang the calipers by the hoses! Beyond that, its all about how much time you want to spend getting it clean.

Personally I didn't use any solvents but bought an extra qt of fluid and pumped that through them.
i.e. dump 85% out (its all that came out).
pump while up right, dump - out 5%
pump while up right, dump - out 5%
pump while up right, dump - out 5%
- add fresh fluid to loosen sediment, pump, pump, pump
- Dump
- Repeat a few times.
- Then using a yard stick and micro fiber towel wipe it out and fill it up. Pump it lots before checking the final fill volume and you should be good!

 

[outasight20]

My best advice is don't spill a quart of fork oil all over your kitchen floor. ie: this is a job best kept to the garage.

 

[MattR302]

you can hold the legs in a vise to keep them vertical while working, but hold them by the caliper mounting tabs, not the outer tubes themselves. I've ruined a set like this

 

[dpaul007]

Good to hear! Was the old oil nasty?

 

[aclayonb]

I'm not an expert but I've never seen fork oil that didn't have particles in it. Most of my experience is with OLD bikes that sat way too long though. I've seen fork oil that was black sludge and I've seen it midly gray - never clean. All of the forks I've played with had brass bushings and I expect that's where the particles come from.

 

[PhotoAl]

Had mine apart two times and both times they were a mid grey color with the sparkly metal. Would not worry about it. In the process of filling them, they had to be pumped a few times to make sure all of the air bubbles were out. The effort should have been about the same for each. If it was then don't worry about them unless they are obviously not working when riding.

I have a very special tool to remove the front wheel - a 3/4" bolt and two nuts from Home Depot. Jam the nuts together or weld to bolt and it make a prefect tool to remove the axel.

 

[FinalImpact]

It wasn't that bad. Right leg was much cleaner than left. However had "graphite" look and even some sparkling metal particles in it.

I probably should rebuild forks but I haven't got time yesterday and FZ6 is my main commuter.

Should I be concerned about metal particles ?

Don't forget the springs are just rattling around in there too. If they bow out during compression I can see them having the aluminum sleeve right next to them for lunch. I don't know but I suspect its where the bulk of the grey matter comes from. Dump them every year and they should be good!

More Pogo Stick Action - more black it gets!

 

[marke14]

Godd@mn, I need to change my fork oil. I've done it once since 2007, and that was early on when I dropped in my RaceTech springs and heavier oil.

Now, I don't even have my centerstand any more - I'll have to buy a front stand (the triple tree kind) to work on the forks.

Maybe I'll pay someone to do it ... Too busy these days to do all of this ... in the open air parking lot of a condo complex for sure.