durty3
2004 Yamaha FZ6
It was a great weekend in my shop! On Saturday I gave my bike, and my brothers, an oil change, chain clean/lube and wash. Yesterday was the big phase II.
I had the All Balls steering head bearing kit and a liter of Bel Ray 10 weight fork oil. Went over to my friends shop where I do motorcycle work--it is such a joy to have an air compressor, welder, press, car lift and full compliment of Snap-On tools.
Started by taking apart the front end--this was a breeze. Fork legs came right off and the triple tree slid right out. The lower bearing was total junk, now we know why it was clunking!
Removing the lower race: this is what I was nervous about and seems to be the most difficult/time consuming task. My friend, the professional mechanic got out his pneumatic chisel gun and had it off in about 30 seconds. No scratches to the stem either! He wanted to use heat to pop it off, but I wouldn't let him.
Installing new lower bearing: easy, we had a perfectly sized pipe and a 3 pound sledge.
Fork oil replacement: the old oil smelled rank and was milky as could be. I drained them for over an hour and then refilled. This process was easy with 4 hands, although admittedly--tedious. Right at the 5.28" mark in both fork.
Buttoned everything up and hopped on the bike. My initial impression is wow, these forks are super spongy now! Took it for a short ride and it runs smoothly, but a noticeable clunk. Oops, didn't torque down the handlebar nut. Got that torqued and another short ride, still a little clunk. Called over one of the mechanics and took off the handlebars, he then tightened up the nuts that secure the stem--told me to eat my Wheaties, they weren't nearly tight enough. Then tightened the handlebar nut securely and went on another ride. No clunk!
QUESTION: after reading on the this forum I was hopeful for a better damping action, but now it feels VERY spongy. I rode the bike for about 45 minutes after all of the test rides were complete and it runs real nice, but it is super bouncy at rest. I can't notice it as much when riding. I failed to measure the spring length when outside the forks. What might cause this, is it normal? When the old oil is super milky, does it actually make the forks "stiffer"?
It’s an ‘04 with 2 previous owners, 16k miles on the clock. I bought it 2 years ago from an older gentleman who owned it for 2 years. He was a small guy and also had a Harley and Corvette in his garage. I myself am 6 feet and 165 pounds, never ride hard.
Maybe nothing is wrong, or maybe something is very wrong, what do you all think?
THANKS!!!
I had the All Balls steering head bearing kit and a liter of Bel Ray 10 weight fork oil. Went over to my friends shop where I do motorcycle work--it is such a joy to have an air compressor, welder, press, car lift and full compliment of Snap-On tools.
Started by taking apart the front end--this was a breeze. Fork legs came right off and the triple tree slid right out. The lower bearing was total junk, now we know why it was clunking!
Removing the lower race: this is what I was nervous about and seems to be the most difficult/time consuming task. My friend, the professional mechanic got out his pneumatic chisel gun and had it off in about 30 seconds. No scratches to the stem either! He wanted to use heat to pop it off, but I wouldn't let him.
Installing new lower bearing: easy, we had a perfectly sized pipe and a 3 pound sledge.
Fork oil replacement: the old oil smelled rank and was milky as could be. I drained them for over an hour and then refilled. This process was easy with 4 hands, although admittedly--tedious. Right at the 5.28" mark in both fork.
Buttoned everything up and hopped on the bike. My initial impression is wow, these forks are super spongy now! Took it for a short ride and it runs smoothly, but a noticeable clunk. Oops, didn't torque down the handlebar nut. Got that torqued and another short ride, still a little clunk. Called over one of the mechanics and took off the handlebars, he then tightened up the nuts that secure the stem--told me to eat my Wheaties, they weren't nearly tight enough. Then tightened the handlebar nut securely and went on another ride. No clunk!
QUESTION: after reading on the this forum I was hopeful for a better damping action, but now it feels VERY spongy. I rode the bike for about 45 minutes after all of the test rides were complete and it runs real nice, but it is super bouncy at rest. I can't notice it as much when riding. I failed to measure the spring length when outside the forks. What might cause this, is it normal? When the old oil is super milky, does it actually make the forks "stiffer"?
It’s an ‘04 with 2 previous owners, 16k miles on the clock. I bought it 2 years ago from an older gentleman who owned it for 2 years. He was a small guy and also had a Harley and Corvette in his garage. I myself am 6 feet and 165 pounds, never ride hard.
Maybe nothing is wrong, or maybe something is very wrong, what do you all think?
THANKS!!!