fork caps

[dbwill]

Has any one remove the fork caps and find no o-rings? I had to heat mine up and wrecked the caps taking them out. The caps looked like some sealer was used on threads. Also has anyone used standard caps to replace the air fork set-up? What am I losing by going with oil only? Thanks Den

[bikerphil]

You can run no air if you want to. Most replace their factory springs with Progressive ones if they run no air. Beware of switching caps from different models, they have different threads.

[wa407mpp]

You may have to experiment with the oil weight to get the results you are looking for.

[mason79]

air is old school, progressive spring and iirc 15 wt well be the new suspension!

[petejw]

The progressive fork springs take more fork oil
than the stock springs, which is why air isnt
required in them, from memory its 5 3/4 inches from the top
of the fork tube.

[Crazcnuk]

"air is old school"

But offers near infinite adjustability.

If you want to go 'new school' use nitrogen in your forks, instead of air.

[CatatonicBug]

If you want to go 'new school' use nitrogen in your forks, instead of air.

Or use Helium! That would lighten up the suspension though, wouldn't it?

[Crazcnuk]

Nitogen is used because it is inert (doesn't promote oil foaming) and has a larger avg molecule size than air, so it leaks out less.

Not sure what helium would do.

Lot of mfgs make N2 shocks, and many people now use it in their tires.

[BigDick]

FWIW i did the progressive spring thing, I used 225 cc of 10 wt fork oil IIRC and my girl rides just as smooth as you can please.

[CatatonicBug]

Nitogen is used because it is inert (doesn't promote oil foaming) and has a larger avg molecule size than air, so it leaks out less.

Not sure what helium would do.

Lot of mfgs make N2 shocks, and many people now use it in their tires.

Sorry, I thought you were being sarcastic. I had never heard of using Nitrogen for that. I was just making more sarcasm with the Helium thing...

[Crazcnuk]

Heh, np. I am amazed you've never heard of nitrogen charged shocks!

They've been standard in most off-road or racing vehicles since the early 80s, and are now on many production cars and trucks.

Putting it in tires is only about 10 years old, I think.

[CatatonicBug]

Well, I've never raced, and never done any off-roading of anything. My motorcycle experience began just over 1 year ago. I've done automotive stuff since I was a kid though, but never touched shocks.

However, I only heard of using Nitrogen in tires less than a year ago, at a Saturn dealership.

[Crazcnuk]

Yes, the use in tires is relatively new, and not very prevalent. People would rather fill thier tires with 'free' air, than pay for something that is just going to leak out.

There are benefits to using nitrogen in tires, though. Nitrogen has a lorger molecule so it will leak out less, requiring less checking of the tires, and it runs a cooler, making the tires last longer, and more pressure stable. Air, in tires, heats up over a larger range making them more difficult to keep at an optimum pressure.

Chances are the shocks on your car or truck are nitrogen charged.