[sugar13free]

I almost have my cafe racer done. The seat is going to start getting sewn up tonite, so while I'm waiting on that I need help on my forks. I have noticed that they are bottoming out when I put pressure on the front end or when I hit my front break. What is the best place to start to correct this? New seals? Fluid? Springs? Thanks.

 

[CXSarnia]

A number of fixes for this, and you do them all at the same time.

You remove the old fork fluid - which is likely ATF fluid, and replace with 20 wt. FORK oil.

Replace you Fork seals - They are likely due anyway.

You can do one or two other things - replace springs with progressive NEW springs

or you can first try putting a spacer at the top of the springs. (somebody else will chime in with the size of pipe/metal to use)

 

[kingston73]

It really depends on how worn out your springs are, but this was my experience. I had very sagging, bouncy forks that bottomed out on stopping and tried both new fork oil and a 2 inch long spacer. Both together definitely helped things but it still wasn't great, so I finally sucked it up and bought new springs which made things much, much better. Try the new oil and a spacer in each fork first since that's a cheap fix, if you like it that's all you need to do. The spacer is basically just a piece of pvc or metal tube, I don't remember the exact size but it's just under the diameter of a quarter if I remember correctly.

 

[sugar13free]

Thanks for the responses. Hope to take apart my forks tomorrow and see what I can do.

 

[sugar13free]

I just disassembled my forks and measured my springs. They are still good. Even compared measurement to another set of cx500 forks I had laying around and they are the same. So I don't think its the springs. I also don't think its the seal as there are no leaks. More help needed. Thanks.

 

[sugar13free]

Does anyone think "stiction" could be the issue?

 

[DanCX500]

Does the 79 have oil and air in their forks?



I know with my 81 I'll bottom out w/o air in them.

 

[sugar13free]

Yes oil. Only air is what is trapped in there. No air can be added.

 

[sugar13free]

ok, so I reassembled the forks, removed front fender, and problem still there. When I compress the forks they do not want to come back on their own. With no tire on the bike, I can push up on bottom of fork tube and they compress and return ok. I think it may be an alignment issue bending the fork? Maybe?

 

[sugar13free]

This time Totally disassembled forks. Cleaned them out real good. Reassembled with new oil and changed out one tube and dampner. Still doing it. It does it with front brake on or off, doesn't matter. At a loss. Called local repair shop and of course they want me to bring it in and drop it off.

 

[King_Panther13]

I've read this suggestion around here before, but this is quoted from someone on advrider.com:



"With the springs out you need to ensure the sliders move freely (individually) up and down with no binding. Then install the wheel and snug the axle, check for smoothness again. As stated earlier, tubes need to be dead straight, but rotating them in the triple trees may improve things. Patience is your friend here.

You may have internal issues as well, parts wear, springs sag and you may not be the 150# guy they designed the bike for in the 70s. "

 

[DanCX500]

After thinking about this post for awhile.......here are some thoughts......



Do you feel any resistance from the oil in the shock. Is the oil doing it's job? If not....something is worn out, broken, or missing.



Are all of the parts there? I personally don't know what they all do....(I haven't had to work on this part of my bike besides changing the top seals)



What does the "oil lock piece" do?



Is the piston ring on the piston? Is it in good enough condition to form a seal so the oil can give resistance?

 

[sugar13free]

I've read this suggestion around here before, but this is quoted from someone on advrider.com:



"With the springs out you need to ensure the sliders move freely (individually) up and down with no binding. Then install the wheel and snug the axle, check for smoothness again. As stated earlier, tubes need to be dead straight, but rotating them in the triple trees may improve things. Patience is your friend here.

You may have internal issues as well, parts wear, springs sag and you may not be the 150# guy they designed the bike for in the 70s. "

Thanks for the input. I do feel resistance with the oil in, so I believe its doing its job. I did change one tube the other day because I did feel resistance with it apart and empty, the other moved freely. I'll try rotating them little by little and see what happens.

 

[sugar13free]

After thinking about this post for awhile.......here are some thoughts......



Do you feel any resistance from the oil in the shock. Is the oil doing it's job? If not....something is worn out, broken, or missing.



Are all of the parts there? I personally don't know what they all do....(I haven't had to work on this part of my bike besides changing the top seals)



What does the "oil lock piece" do?



Is the piston ring on the piston? Is it in good enough condition to form a seal so the oil can give resistance?

I checked when it was apart and all the parts are there. Oil is doing its job, I can feel the difference without it. Its crazy cause the rebound back great with minimal load and not on the bike. I'm going try rotating the tubes and scratch my bald head some more. Thanks.