06 FJR Fork Drain-Plugs

[Jeff Overman]

How to put new tires on my MJR so I decided well my front tires off I change the oil in the front forks. WTBS I GOT THE OIL DRAINED AND WENT TO PUT THE DRAIN PLUG BACK IN TO THE FORK BUT I COULDN’T GET IT TO GO BACK IN; is there something that I’m missing or missed or is this a secret technique to get the drain plug to go back in and if there is what is that secret technique or process?
I’m in desperate need of somebody’s expertise to get my fork drain plugs back in so I can get oil put back in and start writing my baby again!

Thank you in advance for your help considering this issue!

Sincerely,
Jeff

 

[RossKean]

That isn't a fork drain plug. It secures the fork innards and I think you'll likely have to take them off to get them back together.

 

[torch]

As RossKean touches on, the correct way to drain (Gen1/2, anyway) the fork is to remove the top, remove the fork and invert it. The bolt in the bottom secures the damper, which will spin freely.

Yamaha offers a "Damper Rod Holding Tool" that slides inside the fork to hold things on assembly. Google it for home-made alternatives, but one option is simply pressure. Put the top back on and compress the fork against spring pressure (may require an extra set of hands. Strong hands.) Once the bolt is started in the thread, an impact gun may be needed for tightening, but be very cautious to use it on the lowest torque setting and finish with a torque wrench once it is tight enough to prevent spinning.

 

[Sunnyorlando]

Using Torches' recommendation is a very possible way to get that bolt to grab the thread, I've been there.
However, do not use the impact gun without being very sure that you have threaded the bolt well into the damper. If it get cross threaded, you'll have whole other headache.
Impact tools are excellent for a lot of jobs, but not use properly can mess things up.

 

[MotoMike]

Jeff,
Before you do anything, you might want to read this:

https://www.fjr-tips.org/maint/ForkSeal-BushingReplacement.pdf

There is a very nice description of how to remove the forks, how to remove the innards, how to build the special tools needed for re-assembly of the forks, how to re-install the forks, etc.

You might find, as I did, that the best route to go is to remove the forks and take them to a suspension shop where they have the special tools and the know-how to do the job properly.

 

[redneckj]

You need to get forks off the bike. Find a local motorcycle suspension shop in your area and take the forks to them.

 

[Oldjeep]

If you already drained the oil out - no real reason to remove them from the bike. I assume you already removed the caps so that you can fill. Remove the springs from the cartridges and then you can get whatever tool you decide to use to hold the top of the cartridge (socket welded to a piece of pipe is my method) Then you can get the bottom bolts back in. The oil level is set with the springs out, so you need to remove them anyways. Then using your oil level tool - I use an adjustable suction tool that sucks out the excess. Use it in the middle of the side so that you are accounting for the angle the oil will be sitting at with the forks on the bike.

 

[Jeff Overman]

I want to thank everybody for their replies,and helping me reinstalling what I called the drain plugs from my front forks after the springs released up into the shock-tubes. Went to the hardware store and bought a longer bolt that allowed me to physically reach/screw into the base/bottom of the spring and pulled it back to the bottom of the the Shock-Tube. After that removed extra long bolt and reinstalled the original bolt; torqued it to specs and put the recommended number of ounces of fork oil back in both shocks. Been riding it ever since with no issues!