Fork seals
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@declan Progressive springs are springs that get stiffer as they progress down towards bottoming out. The stock springs can just bottom out quite easily.
Thicker oil will be used to make it stiffer, the progressive springs just help with the dampening.
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You need to add stiffer springs if youre bottoming out, using thicker oil just masks the real problem.
Thicker oil slows the damping, which then gives the springs more time to work. Often resulting in the fork not working through the complete stroke, so you use less of the suspension available. Thats fine for street riding, where the brake-dive is reduced, and theres plenty of suspensiontravel compared to streetbikes.I've always felt that thicker oil makes the ride harsh, in lack of better words. So I use lighter oil (5w-7,5w on theese types of forks.)
At my peak, I was above 110kg in riding-gear, and the bike still didnt bottom out on my stock bike. Make the front end lighter when riding over holes, by using throttle and moving your weight around. Learn how to use small bumps in the terrain as kickers, to get the front end up and over obstacles, wheather it beeing small potholes, or big rocks, logs ect.
Stiffer springs and heavier weight oil wont compensate for drivingskills, no offence ment.
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@Jens-Eskildsen I didn't have any issues on my DTRE, but my mates DTR was like a pogo stick. Great fun but definitely would have benefitted from stiffer suspension.
USD's I run are just surreal. Massive difference. My riding would be complete noob as I just commuted. So sitying comfortably etc.
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I think his shock was in a bad state, perhaps its lost some of the oil or gas, thus lacking much of the damping. Or it could just be old and worn out. A new stock one would probably be a big upgrade. Setting the sag should tell if the shock is bad or not.
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What would you go for in terms of seals and oil if the forks are abused by wheelies often?
Thicker oil? -
Would you buy OEM seals and buy oil separately?
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@irongamer727 I went for Athena oil seals on my RS.
Really you want to ensure that none of the bushes are excessively worn.
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@irongamer727 there's guide bushes inside the forks. The Yamaha workshop manual says to replace them every time you do the seals. No need, but you definitely need to check them. If they're worn your fork stanchions will have too much lateral movement and it will knacker your new seals real fast.
Current bikes:
DT125X '07
Street Triple R '11
Aprilia ETV1000 '02Previous:
DR650RSE '96
FJ1200 '92 -
@finnerz89 alright. Does that mean stiffer forks will prolong the life of the seals?
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@irongamer727 no, but having good guide bushes will
lol.
It's not about the up and down movement it's whether there's any free play from side to sideCurrent bikes:
DT125X '07
Street Triple R '11
Aprilia ETV1000 '02Previous:
DR650RSE '96
FJ1200 '92 -
@finnerz89 alright. Do you know if the Wr125x and the Dt125x share the same forks?
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@irongamer727 not a clue, they look very similar. Maybe check fowlers, they might have the same part number?
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@irongamer727 That looks like them
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@calum where would you buy seals and oil?
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@irongamer727 Try PJME
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Opinions? So cheap it seems worth to try
