Suspension too stiff after fork seal replacement

[zzzzip]

My buddy's '06 (35k) had a fork seal start leaking over the winter. He took it into the dealer for a repair, and they put in new oil and seals. He has only ridden it a little before the winter after he bought it from me, and a little since the repair.

I rode it yesterday while he tried my V Strom and found it rode like a log wagon. No give in the front suspension at all. When stopped, you can't even bounce the front end. We checked tire pressure, and suspension settings (which were all soft or standard settings).

My question is: would this be from the wrong weight oil, or possibly over filling? How can you check, can it be fixed without pulling the forks? I know nothing about suspension fixes.

Thanks for any input.

 

[LAF]

My buddy's '06 (35k) had a fork seal start leaking over the winter. He took it into the dealer for a repair, and they put in new oil and seals. He has only ridden it a little before the winter after he bought it from me, and a little since the repair.

I rode it yesterday while he tried my V Strom and found it rode like a log wagon. No give in the front suspension at all. When stopped, you can't even bounce the front end. We checked tire pressure, and suspension settings (which were all soft or standard settings).

My question is: would this be from the wrong weight oil, or possibly over filling? How can you check, can it be fixed without pulling the forks? I know nothing about suspension fixes.

Thanks for any input.

I would guess oil weight for sure. However if you have checked all settings are you getting any response from that? If you are not getting any variation than maybe they screwed the needle valves in removing or reinstalling the forks? No way I know of to check or adjust fork oil without removing them, and using a rod of some type to check headspace or oil level. The weight is everything on oil and it appears there is very little correlation from one brand to the next as to weight of oil.

 

[MCRIDER007]

It really sounds like a problem being caused by the new fork oil, either its too heavy or there is way too much in the forks. However, since a dealer screwed it up, I would take it back and let them figure out what they did wrong and if they can't/won't fix it then you know who to avoid in the future.

 

[HaulinAshe]

Perhaps they failed to properly seat the middle bushings, or failed to replace the bushings while replacing the seals. It's nearly impossible to replace seals on a Gen-II without doing some damage to the middle and lower bushings during disassembly.

 

[Good2Go]

It's nearly impossible to replace seals on a Gen-II without doing some damage to the middle and lower bushings during disassembly.

Really? Please explain. Seals can easily be removed without touching the bushings.

 

[Fred W]

What brand and weight oil did they use? They may have used something completely inappropriate for an FJR without even knowing it.

 

[zzzzip]

What brand and weight oil did they use? They may have used something completely inappropriate for an FJR without even knowing it.

I don't know, and I doubt they put it on the work order-- I think he got them replaced under Y.E.S. I was hoping we might find an easy fix before he has to go back and hash it out with the dealer.

Thanks for the replies. I'll give him the opinions next time I see him. I imagine he will just take it back and try to get them to make it right.

 

[Fred W]

If this was a Yamaha authorized dealership they should have used Yamaha "01" Fork Oil ( actually made by Kayaba). It is a very thin oil that is approximately a 3 weight oil. It is also a bit expensive, so they may have used some other oil in there. Check on this chart to compare the viscosity of what they used to the Yamaha "01", which is near the bottom of the chart, meaning it is thin.

For instance, I used Motul Fork Oil (light) which is marked on the bottle as a 5W oil. Because its viscosity is considerably higher that the stock oil (20 cSt. @ 40°C vs. 14.57) I knew that I would have to open the dampening adjustments up several clicks from the prior settings, and did, 5 - 6 clicks as I recall. Before I opened them up it was a real filling shaker.

 

[HaulinAshe]

It's nearly impossible to replace seals on a Gen-II without doing some damage to the middle and lower bushings during disassembly.

Really? Please explain. Seals can easily be removed without touching the bushings.

My take on the three commonly-known methods for oil seal removal...

1. Remove the seals by separating the inner and outer fork tubes (as most people do), the bushings typically sustain some damage to the Teflon coating.

2. Use the Yamaha service manual procedure to "blow out" the oil seals (which most people don't), the bushings are not affected.

3. Pry out the oil seals using your favorite digging tool (which many people do not), there's a definite risk of damaging the inner fork tube or outer casting surfaces.

I'm all open for a #4.

 

[Good2Go]

It's nearly impossible to replace seals on a Gen-II without doing some damage to the middle and lower bushings during disassembly.

Really? Please explain. Seals can easily be removed without touching the bushings.

My take on the three commonly-known methods for oil seal removal...

1. Remove the seals by separating the inner and outer fork tubes (as most people do), the bushings typically sustain some damage to the Teflon coating.

2. Use the Yamaha service manual procedure to "blow out" the oil seals (which most people don't), the bushings are not affected.

3. Pry out the oil seals using your favorite digging tool (which many people do not), there's a definite risk of damaging the inner fork tube or outer casting surfaces.

I'm all open for a #4.

Gotcha...#2 is the method I was thinking of, and which seems much more civilized than slide hammering the seals/bushings out.

 

[Den in MA]

Just my two cents after going through a huge learning curve. I needed to do oil seals on my 2007 ABS, and chose to pull the forks completely apart. Im glad I did because after only ~23,000 miles, the bottom bushing on both forks showed enough wear that the front side lost all of the teflon. So I went with bushings and seals. I made a mistake when choosing a replacement fork oil and used an off the shelf 10w oil at my local shop. lets just say the comparison of a log wagon is dead on! I decided to order the proper oil (Yamaha M1 in my case) and changed it over the weekend. What an improvement! A little fiddling with the adjustments, and its like riding a new bike again!