XJ11 Forks and Gaiters

[3Phase]

I have been putting off the front end work on my XJ11 until after I got it up and running.

It looks like the front end has never been serviced at all for 60,000 miles. The steering head bearings were loose, dry, and dirty.

Ready for handlebar removal to service the steering head bearings.



Handlebars removed and laid back on the frame.



McMaster-Carr Hook Spanner Wrenches for slots on the side with a 1 37/64" to 1 21/32" (40-42 mm) circle diameter | Part# 6975A16 | ~$20 each.



Upper steering head bearing is filthy and dry.



Upper steering head bearing race is filthy and dry.



Lower steering head bearing is has less dirt than the upper race but it's dry too.



Lower steering head bearing race has less dirt than the upper race but it's dry too.



Upper steering head bearing cleaned and ready for fresh grease.
The bearing will have to be repaced.



Upper steering head bearing race cleaned up nicely with no rust but the bearing will have to be replaced.



Lower steering head bearing cleaned and ready for fresh grease.
The tree has all of the rust removed and it's been painted black but the bearing will have to be replaced.



Lower steering head bearing race cleaned up nicely with no rust but the bearing will have to be replaced.



Rust around one of the front fork damper metering holes.
Keep the forks at least slightly pressurized with dry air to prevent moisture from entering the forks.
No moisture, no condensation, no rust, no oil contamination.



Left-hand front fork assembled, then filled with oil and the gaiter slipped in place.
Oil Capacity: 8.45 US oz (250 cm3, 8.82 Imperial oz)
Oil Level: 8.27" (210 mm) from the top of the inner tube when it is fully compressed without the spring.
Oil: 10wt

[soccer4m]

Yu the Man Scott

All your beautiful cleanup and restorations of your Xj reminds me of all those things I have put off to keep my Xj purring as good as yours. Love the pictorials, the analysis,,,,etc...see ya, Mike in SUn Diego

[motoman]

Nice!.......there again is that RED carpet.

[3Phase]

Thanks, Mike, Brant! It's been a busy, tedious, day cleaning and prepping parts and it's not over yet.

Ignition switch soaked overnight in Metal Rescue along with some metal parts.
The parts were stirred periodically to keep fresh solution on them.
The Metal Rescue was brand new clear last night.



The ignition switch has a set of balls. Don't lose your balls.



I marked the inside of the ignition switch housing with a black marker to help align the parts, the switch will only go back together one way.



The ignition switch is clean, greased, and ready to go!



The other metal parts soaked overnight in Metal Rescue are the upper steering head bearing shield, the chrome fork rings for the headlight ears and the bolts for the headlight bucket.



Now that the ignition switch is clean, it's time to put on the clean spare instrument cluster.
The one on the bike now is filthy and it has a bad spot in the diagnostic LCD that looks like the Nike trademark swoosh


Brant, I'm ditching the rug when I finish the XJ, it's getting oily and dirty.

[motoman]

Well, imagine that handy washing machine right there in the 'man-cave' will work fine.

[3Phase]

Well, imagine that handy washing machine right there in the 'man-cave' will work fine.

No way Hose A, it's starting to disintegrate. I have a better, more comfortable carpet remnant that's ready to go.

I got the bike back together and it runs, no fork leaks yet so I'm a happy bunny.


Ready for grease.



Packed.



Forks on, electrical connected, off the jack and the engine starts!



New instrument cluster works but only has 12.8K on the clock.
[/B]

That's it, I'm done for the day.

[3Phase]

Rear Air Shocks

I drained the rear shocks today and I'm letting them hang out overnight to get the last drops of gunk out of them before I put them back on the bike and refill them.

What shock oil was still in the shocks was really bad. The right-hand shock had almost no oil in it at all and was making a 'springing' sound.

I held the oil up to the sun and no light at all came through it


The oil didn't look any better spread out on the drain pan


I changed out the old red the carpet just for motoman and the dogs seem to like it too

[motoman]

........a couple of smart dogs right there.

[3Phase]

........a couple of smart dogs right there.

Yeah, they just hang out and watch, snag snacks and snooze.

[DiverRay]

Yeah, they just hang out and watch, snag snacks and snooze.

They're dogs, that's what they do best!!
Oh, and good work on the XJ, may try and catch you on the way to CO, but I'm probably starting way too late to do that.

[3Phase]

They're good dogs and they're getting me trained. I take a break sometimes and give them all some attention when they come over and try to help because you can't pay attention to just one dog, then I have them lay down somewhere not under my feet. I'm beginning to suspect that they don't really want to help.

Mike was asking about all of us riding up the 15 instead of the northern route to break the Utah jinx. For you, it's kind of a toss-up if you go north to the 80 east, then south to Kremmling or if you go south to 58 east, then north on the 15.

Oh, yeah, I just remembered -- it's June!

[DiverRay]

Yeah, it's about 1/2 hour faster to go South, but easier for me to go 80. I can't leave until Thursday morning, EARLY, so I won't be in Kremmling until Friday evening, my guess.

[3Phase]

I put the fork oil in a mustard bottle so I could close it with one hand and it wouldn't spill when I set it down.
The mustard bottle nozzle also adjusted to pour the oil in a small enough stream to go into the hole for the air line fitting without making a mess.

Unused 5wt oil from an old, opened, bottle of clear Maxima for flushing the shocks.



It took four fills and working/pumping the shocks before the oil came out clean and clear.



The new PJ1 5wt oil.


What is it? It's green.

[skids]

So, did you shake the mustard bottle like the bottle says? Did it make farting noises while it squirted fork oil? OK, just kidding!

[3Phase]

I didn't shake the bottle, no, I took the labels off but it still farted fork oil when it got low just like mustard.