Fork oil Question

[HiGuy]

that last post about the brakes caught my eye. Still pretty new to this but I under went the cahllenge to replace the fron fork seal, what an adventure! My brake pads are wearing diagonally. and didn't quite seem to perfectly lined up with the grooves in the forks? What is the correction for this? On a side note, I didn't take the pressure off of the fork that I wasn't replacing the seal on and when I went to replace the oil in that one I just pulled off the bolt (I had it up on a jack so there was no weight but there was pressure) I was glad that I have glasses but I found out what fork oil tastes like

[AlanB]

Hi HiGuy,

Well done with the forks; The oil tastes bad, but it is the smell of aged fork oil which I hate.....

The front brake pads on the Specials (SF,SG,etc...) ARE handed and angled; all four are different to one another and are a strange, tapered shape.

If you have a good look at the swinging design of the calipers, you will figure out that they need to be that way......... "Cure" not needed.

AlanB

[bikerphil]

pad wear

That diagonal wear you are referring to is normal for the Special calipers. That is how they look brand new right out of the package. These are swivel type calipers.

[lakecountrydave]

Thanks Ken for the instructions I will probably not get to put her back together until Saturday night (unless I win the Powerball on Wed ) One more question though. I have the top loose and of coarse the bottom is completely taken apart. I do not have a fork brace. Do I need to loosen or remove the fender before I "pry" (that part kind of worries me) the fork?

[Ken Talbot]

Get the top all tightened up first, making sure the fork legs are aligned. It might not hurt to have the fender loose, but I don't think it will matter much. When you go to 'pry' the second fork leg into alignment with the caliper, it really won't have to move that much. There's quite a bit of flex in the lower legs, and you'll find that they move pretty easy. That's why a good forkbrace makes such a difference!

[lakecountrydave]

Ken,

Thank you again for the walk through! I will use your advice Saturday afternoon after work, and I will post my (hopefully) successful results It is expected to be a great weekend weather wise here. I only put about a mile on her after I figured out that the forks were way overfilled (50 psi) with air. Now having changed the fork oil and adding new shocks last month I cannot wait to see how she rides.

[tarzan]

50psi

Wow I thought that much air would blow the seals out.lol
Bet she rode like a mac truck.

[lakecountrydave]

I would have thought that as well. I swear that the day I brought her home I released all of the air. As my last bike (Honda V45) is known to have problems even running the 8 psi. After meeting the some of the members here at the "XSively Lost in Illinios" rally, and being assured that 12 psi would make her ride better without cauing her to self destruct I went to add air I decided to fill them. I could hardly believe my eyes when the guage read 50 psi on each fork. I have put several thousand miles on her that way. She did seem to ride better with the air properly adjusted, but I only put about 1 mile on them berfore putting her to bed. Then I had a rain day at work so I decided to change the fork oil. Now almost a week later I still haven't had the time to put her back together. Let's just say that I am more than a little anxious to test her out. I did spend about 20 seconds in the garage last night just to see how easy the forks are to pry into position, and I was not able to move them with just my hands. Tomorrow I will follow Ken's advice and tighten the top, and I will hopefully have much better luck.

[lakecountrydave]

Thank you

Thanks to everyone that talked me through this. I appriciate all of the help The operation was a success, and she sure does ride better. It is like a different bike. I did have to cut my test ride very short, but that is a story for another post.