[saturn 5]

Things seem to happen a little slowly here at chez Saturn 5 but all will come to those who wait, or so they say!....No clever smutty jokes Ok?..you there Bob?
After a year of procrastination and reading up on the subject, a little green box arrived and out popped my long awaited progressive fork springs at .9kg/mm or so I ordered, no markings anywhere. I ordered progressive wind, as I wanted a little plushness as well as firmer front end. And it works just great with my 80kgs in the saddle.
There has been a little luck too as the oil, being the other half of the equation, is a bit of a shandy. I planned at a later date a full strip and polish up (careful Bob) of all the assembly, so as for now, the oil was made up with what was at hand. A little bit from here and some from there and the last 40cc withDexron 111, to end up with about a 10 wt plus or minus a bit. Hardly scientific I agree but lets say an educated guess..Ahem.
So all is good, YSS emulators ( RT Gold look-a-likes) .9kg/mm progressive springs 10wt oil (sort of) and 80kg me on the seat!
Now to fix those wooden boat anchors!

Saturn 5 (google it and be amazed) those yanks are clever!

WARDY

 

[mudrat]

Good to see it all coming together Wardy, now about that 7.5" inches of travel mod

 

[saturn 5]

7.5" Travel

I haven't had a real serious look for the damper rods as yet Muddy, I thought that I would get the spring/oil issue working to my satisfaction first. I'm very pleased the changes so far seem to be spot-on but as yet I haven't had a ride on dirt which will be the real test.
My next change will be to upgrade the wooden brakes. I have braided SS lines on order and they should be here next week. I'm fairly sure I'll be tempted to add Gixxer calipers at a near future date as I have been riding a GSA 1200 this last week and i would dearly love to have something like those brakes. Only a one finger gentle pull for seriously good stopping and with really good feel all the way.
What are your current projects Glen?

Saturn 5...363 feet tall,whew!!

WARDY

 

[mudrat]

looking at pannier option atm Wardy, Andy Strapz, home made jerry can type, Pelican cases etc etc, so many choices

 

[AceRider]

dont know whether they changed the design or not but on the YSS PD valve, the sleeve/bearing (?) on the cap where the by-pass orifices are used to be thin and short - they get worn off premanturely. Keep an eye on them

 

[dhally]

...as the oil... is a bit of a shandy...

WARDY

Can you enlighten us yanks on what is a shandy? I have mixed beer and lemonade, is that it? I'm pretty sure it isn't oil.

 

[jokermtb]

Can you enlighten us yanks on what is a shandy? I have mixed beer and lemonade, is that it? I'm pretty sure it isn't oil.

It IS - - it's a metaphor for a mix of oils......he's making a shandy, but with oil!

 

[CHINOTAKER]

did you did it yourself?

Things seem to happen a little slowly here at chez Saturn 5 but all will come to those who wait, or so they say!....No clever smutty jokes Ok?..you there Bob?
After a year of procrastination and reading up on the subject, a little green box arrived and out popped my long awaited progressive fork springs at .9kg/mm or so I ordered, no markings anywhere. I ordered progressive wind, as I wanted a little plushness as well as firmer front end. And it works just great with my 80kgs in the saddle.
There has been a little luck too as the oil, being the other half of the equation, is a bit of a shandy. I planned at a later date a full strip and polish up (careful Bob) of all the assembly, so as for now, the oil was made up with what was at hand. A little bit from here and some from there and the last 40cc withDexron 111, to end up with about a 10 wt plus or minus a bit. Hardly scientific I agree but lets say an educated guess..Ahem.
So all is good, YSS emulators ( RT Gold look-a-likes) .9kg/mm progressive springs 10wt oil (sort of) and 80kg me on the seat!
Now to fix those wooden boat anchors!

Saturn 5 (google it and be amazed) those yanks are clever!

WARDY

I am also waiting for the springs, in my case sonic .9 kg springs not progressive and I will be putting 10wt oil too.

DID YOU DO IT YOURSELF?
WAS IT HARD?

so far all I have done myself are the handlebars and the brake/clutch levers. did n't have any issues with either beside having to do it parking on the street cause I don't have a garage.

AM I QUALIFY FOR THE TASK? :headbang:

we should go ridding man I am in Sydney too with my friend the Ock if he can, just firetrails and such. twisty roads too. I will save the double backflips for later :yesnod:

 

[AceRider]

for damper rod type fork - easy to change the oil /springs/.

get a workshop manual first though - not necessary but nice to have something to refer to.

essentially take off the wheel, unbolt the calipers, a few trim screws and bolts holding the rod in place. open the top of forks. tip out the oil and other items. pump a few times to get rid of oil.

put everything back with new springs - if u have change engine oil and brake pads, all the skills necessary are there.

Make sure u have either a centre stand or race stand AND a jack to support the bike underneath the engine so both wheels are in the air.

an average home mechanic would probably take one to one and half hour, taking his/her time. So first time, less than 1/2 day for sure. Make sure you collect all the bolts and pieces in a container so they dont go missing on the road.

 

[saturn 5]

dont know whether they changed the design or not but on the YSS PD valve, the sleeve/bearing (?) on the cap where the by-pass orifices are used to be thin and short - they get worn off premanturely. Keep an eye on them

I'm not to sure just what it is you are referring to Ace but checking them after six months of service, they look brand new. Thanks for the advice anyway, I will keep a look out for wear in all future strip downs.

Saturn 5 ....The big daddy of them all.

 

[saturn 5]

Spring installation

CHINOTAKER
+1 on Aceriders advice.

Some tips: Ensure you have all tools, oil threadlocker ( BLUE ) and springs before you start. As Ace stated, have a few little containers eg. tops off of jars to hold nuts and bolts. After withdrawing the axle you will see up under the bottom of each fork, a bolt head that holds the damper rod, which is inside and at the bottom of the fork. This bolt if DIFFICULT to undo. Use a rattle gun ( an air gun) if you can access the use of one. It needs some hard pressure and then a sharp smack with a hammer if doing this manually. You will need to stop the forks from twisting so don't undo the little fork clamp bolts untill after the damper rod bolts are loosened. Undoing these lower two bolts is the only difficult part in the whole process. When tightening again you are well advised to add BLUE thread locker.
The whole job is not difficult if you take your time and have a mate to help. I'm sure that if you trawl through Stromtrooper or Adventure rider you will find detailed advice maybe pics too.

Enjoy the learning

Saturn 5 ....the load carrier now retired.

 

[AceRider]

if u are not doing damper rod mod for emulator or intiminator, then it's not necessary to take the bottom bolt out to disengage the damper rod. Saturn 5's procedure is desirable but not necessary for only oil and spring change.

probably safer to do this at someones drive way rather than on the road - there's a lot idiots on the road, last thing u want is getting hit by one.

 

[PeteW]

IF it's just springs and oil you don't need to undo the damper rod or remove the forks.

Just loosen the top clamp, back off the preload adjuster remove the caps and pull the old springs and pump the oil out the top. Supercheap has a few hand pumps that will do that easily.

A LOT faster, if you have doubts, pump the forks a few times or go for a ride and repeat which will have changed most of the oil - no - it's not perfect, but it's 10 minutes instead of an hour and no fighting with those stubborn bolts.

Adding emulators, yes, you do need the damper rods out.

Pete

 

[saturn 5]

fork springs

The above two replys are correct for oil and springs. I was talking of the emulator proceedure. Gave you a bum steer. You may still find more detail if you search, the job is easy.

Saturn 5

 

[mudrat]

a little light reading

http://www.stromtrooper.com/maintenance-how/22896-dl650-front-springs-50-ways-renew-your-lover.html

Guide for install of gold valve emulators in a DL650


yes there doing the emulators aswell, but gives a good description of the rest of the process too.

 

[CHINOTAKER]

I am Scared

This mod can kill me. I am seriously thinking about to do it myself, but the consequences for saving $100 bucks can be terrible. I think I will wait to my next service and let the mechanic do it himself. I am still waiting for the sonic springs from america and the brace too.

Is that make me a chicken?

:thumbdown:

 

[mudrat]

Is that make me a chicken?

:thumbdown:

only if you feel like one, do what your comfortable with

 

[AceRider]

i find it often, i am doing my own mod/servicing not because i want to save a few bucks, but i want to ensure it's done right. I am sure with 99% of case, it cost me more to do it myself after opportunity cost is taken into account. No one will look after your bike as well as you do.

When i first starting doing anything mechanical (didnt have a father who's into tinkering), everything look daunting, so you start with things that are relatively simple and you spend a lot of time looking at things before tackling the task - it's all part of the process.

yes read the links, get the service manual and read it, but after all that, if u are still not comfortable, take it to a mechanic, better still take it to a mechanic where you are within observation range, so you will know how to do it next time. Fork oil should be changed every 15,000km is not sooner, so u have to do this later on anyway.

have fun either way.

 

[windinhair]

How do you blokes afford these Gold emulators at $1800 an ounce :mrgreen:

 

[PeteW]

How do you blokes afford these Gold emulators at $1800 an ounce :mrgreen:

By comparing it with $X/arse ?



If you ride hard, they do make a difference.

Pete