front fork overhaul

[kblackburn]

Hi Guy's need some very urgent advise, if you can help.

my Fjr right hand fork has started to leak oil, I have bought a seal and bush kit, now upon taking them apart, I have found that the washer that

is seated below the seal is slightly concave, I have just spoken to the local Yamaha dealer, who was unable to tell me if this should be totally flat or slightly concave, can anyone help, I need to get the bike mobile asap as it's used as a blood bike.

kev

 

[TripperMike]

It's been a few years since I've done mine, but with that said, I need to overhaul mine today as well. IIRC I believe it is slightly concave.

I'll let you know in about 2 hours.

Just noticed your bike is an '02 and I guess your forks are slightly different than my '05. That washer may be concaved to help keep the spring centered in the fork tube.

 

[escapefjrtist]

Washer gets deformed slightly when the new seals are put in place, it starts out flat. On our many Tech Day rebuilds, if the person didn't buy a new washer, we just flattened it and reinstalled. No issues I'm aware of to date.

--G

 

[blassoff]

Kev:

I'll be totally candid with you. I've worked on two different sets of FJR forks. 2005 and 2006 FJRs (I owned them both).

Both were weeping oil past the seals before I worked on them. I dropped the forks out of the triple tree, took the caps off and removed the internals. I drained them fully (and even left them to hang upside down for a couple of hours). While draining I was careful and pumped them repeatedly to remove as much of the old (stinky-smelly) fluid as possible.

Once drained, I replaced the internals, filled them with 15wt fork oil to the correct level and put the caps back on. I installed the forks back on the bike and they have been leak free ever since.

It occurs to me that cleaning the internals and pumping the fork legs alot cleaned away all the grit and grime that had built up around the oil seal. I put another 10,000 miles on the 05 before I sold her and the seals were never an issue.

My advise, unless the seals are badly weathered, clean everything really well, use quality fluid, and button the forks back up. Unless the oil seals and dust caps are in bad shape, they have a significantly longer lifespan then we allow.

Just sayin...It's worked well for me and I've been able to repeat the results.

 

[kblackburn]

TripperMike,

they are indeed slightly concave, I have just pulled the other fork and that's exactly the same, I have also had a look on the Fj Owners club site, which

has a fork stripped, showing the location of all the components and the order in which they are fitted, it's quite clear that the washer is concave.

kev

 

[Viper Pilot]

If you buy a new washer it starts out flat!

 

[wfooshee]

But they get concaved, either during installation, during use, or during the slide-hammering required to separate the forks on disassembly. it is NORMAL to find them concaved.

 

[Viper Pilot]

yup, totally agree. But if they were mine I would either install new ones or flatten the old ones prior to reinstalling.

 

[gixxerjasen]

Boring Gen I fork rebuild threads.

 

[TripperMike]

Boring Gen I fork rebuild threads.

Certainly lacking in fireworks that those Gen II forks can sometimes offer up. lol

Having just disassembled my forks, I feel kinda dumb for having said that the concave washer might keep the spring centered. Oh Well. Won't be the last time.

I doubt I'll try to flatten mine out either. I'd be more concerned about the end result being too uneven.

 

[yamafitter]

The trick Ray has been using in getting the GenII forks apart is to apply a little heat to the areas where the middle & top bushings are located. Especially the middle bushing since this can be the one that can get jammed up if the bottom bushing doesn't catch the lip of the middle bushing properly when using the slide hammer technique.

 

[wfooshee]

Found my pics from when I did my fork seals four years ago. I replaced the washers....

 

[kblackburn]

Hell,

mine are concave, but no where as bad as those, anyway, I put it back together.

phoned several Yamaha main dealers, no one keeps the washers as stock item, and were quoting 7-10 days, as Yamaha

have a minimum order quantity !!!

I needed the bike mobile, as I use it as a blood bike, I will get some washers and do them at next service.

kev

 

[garyahouse]

Hell,mine are concave, but no where as bad as those, anyway, I put it back together.

phoned several Yamaha main dealers, no one keeps the washers as stock item, and were quoting 7-10 days, as Yamaha

have a minimum order quantity !!!

I needed the bike mobile, as I use it as a blood bike, I will get some washers and do them at next service.

kev

Huhh? Funny that nobody caught this. What is a blood bike?

 

[kblackburn]

Blood bikes,

we are volunter riders, who deliver blood,samples, and anything else,that may be required by local hospitals,out of normal working hours.

This amount's to a massive saving for the hospital trusts, who, if we did not offer this free service, would have to pay taxis companys to deliver said items.

It is a charity organisation, and we do have dedicated bikes, but most of us use our own bikes, and fuel, hence the urgency to be back on the road.

we provide cover from 7pm to 7am week nights and 24 hour cover at weekends.

Hope this sheds a little light on what we do.

regards

kev

 

[RaYzerman19]

Don't buy new washers, just flatten them and re-install. When removing bushings and seals, remove the upper fork protectors, heat the upper bushing/seal area with a torch..... the upper bushings are an interference fit and can be a bear to get out.. the easier they come out, the easier it will be to remove the middle bushing.