Nobody likes this job because frankly it's a pain in the rear. I imagine that's why a lot of bike shops charge so much for it, because they don't want to do it either. With that said it's not an overly complicated job if you do it right, a bit time consuming though. 1. To start, make sure you get some decent gloves - I buy heavy duty disposable/chemical resistance ones from coles. Fork oil particularly stinks so it's not nice to get on your hands... 2. Crack open the top nut that is on the top of the triple clamp, you don't need to remove it completely. Mine is a 22mm spanner and is aluminium so be careful not to strip it! Do this before loosening any bolts anywhere as trust me you'll have a bugger of a time loosening this top cap once the fork is removed from the bike and will risk damage to the tubes etc. It is clamped well when it is mounted to the bike so take advantage of that and don't think you can just go throw it into a vice! 2. Remove the offending fork(s) from the bike, this isn't a job you can really do without the forks removed. You'll need to jack up the front of your bike somehow, I use an engine crane and a ratchet strap to suspend it from overhead. Each bike is different but basically you'll need to pull of the front wheel and axle, front calipers (from the forks only, not from the hoses), loosen a couple of bolts holding the forks to the triple clamp etc. You should then be able to push down (use a rubber mallet if necessary) and pull the forks through. 3. Crack the dampener nut. I do this before removing the spring as it keeps some pressure on the dampener. Some people talk about removing the spring and shoving a broom handle in there and all sorts of stuff, never needed to do that for removal as I have a 100% success rate doing it this way. I basically clamp the fork in a vice using the two caliper mounts, with a rag wrapped around them to prevent any damage. Once it is in securely, grab an allen key and put it in the bottom of the fork in the dampener nut. Grab a lever arm of some sort (I used the handle from my hydraulic jack), attach it to the allen key and "snap" it quickly anti-clockwise (ie pushing down). Each time I have heard a "ping" and I know it will come out when I want it to now. 4. Drain your existing fork oil. You can either take off the top cap or remove the dampener nut. The top cap is heaps faster, so I recommend doing that. One thing you have to remember is that the top cap is kept under pressure by the spring and spacer. If you just unscrew it, it is highly likely to spring off and hit you in the face so be careful. I loosen it until it's almost completely off, then put a rag over the top and hold it with my hand, unscrewing the last bit carefully. Then when it springs off it catches in the rag and you're all good. Pull out the spacer cylinder, washer and spring, turn the thing upside-down into a bucket and let it all come out. Then wipe it down etc. 5. Next part is to disassemble the forks. Grab a flat head and remove the dust cover. The dust cover isn't a sealing part so I wouldn't worry too much about how you remove it. I pry it off carefully trying not to damage it (you can reuse it) and pull it up off the cylinder. 6. Remove the holding clip. Under the dust cover in the groove will be a little clip that holds the fork seal in place. I normally poke a flat head in there (there is a spot to pull it out of the groove) and pull it out. It's not hard to remove, you can see the place to pull the clip below: Pulling off the clip: 7. Now the fun part, removing the old fork seal. Make sure you have COMPLETELY REMOVED the allen key bolt that holds the dampener in at the bottom of the fork, I have not attempted this method with it still in, for fear of breaking something. There are probably a few theories as to how to get the fork seal out, I don't want to poke/grab anything because you can scratch up the cylinder. I find this method works best for me, so next step is to grasp the cylinder with one hand and the painted holding tube with the other, pushing and pulling them quickly to "hammer" the seal out. Use the momentum and after 3 or 4 hits the seal should "pop" out and be completely dislodged. Works a charm When you pull the fork seal off, mark the "top" by taking a chunk out with a knife for something - you don't want to put the new seal in upside-down. The names below I don't know if they're accurate so I just named them whatever so you can tell the difference. 8. Once you're got everything cleaned up (I hope you took some photos so you can see how things go back together) reassemble. Each fork is different, but for the FZR: a) Put the small dampener spring onto the dampener. b) Feed the dampener into the tube and poke it out the end. c) Put the plastic cap on the end of the dampener. d) Feed the tube carefully into the outer housing. Note: I never remove the "tube retaining clip". I just leave it there and wipe it clean. 9. The next step is to re-join the tube and the outer housing. This is when you need the "tube holder clip". Normally, mechanics use "seal drivers" to do this job but thanks to some internet folk (credits below) there is a way to do this very cheaply with PVC and pipe clamps. All my materials I got from bunnings, I'll let you figure out sizes but the gist of it is to cut some slots and have one size feed over the other size then clamp onto the tube to hold it in place. To affix the tube holder clip, thread it over the end of the tube and push it down if your fingers can get it in a little. Put your home made seal driver onto the tube and tighten, ensuring the smaller sized pipe protruding slightly. Once on, use the momentum of the tube to "hammer" the clip in. It should go nicely into its groove and you'll hear it when it is fully seated. Grab a torch and check the top of it is flush with where the seal goes and all is well. Be careful after this point to NOT try and pull the tube and housing apart again. Here it is seated correctly: 9. Next you'll need to remove your seal driver and put the fork seal on. This part is ridiculously difficult to photograph and do at the same time as I needed two hands. In short: a) Grab a milk carton and cut a piece out of it that will wrap around the tube. This is to protect the soft inner lining of the seal when you drag it over the nasty pitted part of your tube (normally the top section that never touches the seals) because if you drag it over it's likely to tear and or get damaged and you'll have to do it all over again. b) Coat this in rubber lubricant c) Make a cone on the end of the tube and thread the seal over it (remembering which is the top of the seal!!) d) Slide the milk carton piece all the way down to near where it will go into the outer housing. I extend the tube at this point as again you're going to use the tube's momentum to get it in. e) Coat the base of the tube with some rubber lubricant and slide the seal onto the tube. Push it in as far as you can get it with your fingers. f) Re-attach your seal driver. This time you need the OUTSIDE piece of PVC to be protruding as you want to hit around the outside of the seal, not the inner sealing components. Tighten it up and "hammer" the seal back in with the tube until it is seated. You can tell it has seated correctly when you look in you should see the groove for the clip completely exposed around the whole seal. You should also feel it. 10. Slide the clip over and push into the groove. 11. Reinstall the dust seal. 12. Reinstall the dampener bolt at the base of the fork. For this you may need a broom handle to tighten, I turned my fork upside-down onto a broom handle and tightened up the bolt applying a little downward pressure as I did it. Tightened up fine. 13. For oil. For this I clamped the fork into my vice and ensured it was straight up because you need to ensure an accurate reading. The oil level is as important as the amount of air in the fork (as this acts as a cushion) so be sure to get this right. 14. Know what your fork oil level is. The level is measured from the top of the cylinder when the cylinder is collapsed with NO spring/spacer cylinder/washer inserted. Obviously the dampener will be in there as it is an internal part. For this fork I hung a tent peg on the outside of the cylinder and measured my reference level. I then hang it internal to the cylinder so when I fill with oil I can pull it out to check similar to how a dipstick in a car engine works. I also have a small syringe on hand in case of overfilling it. 15. Once you're done, insert the spring, washer, spacer cylinder and tighten the top cap and you're all done. Put the base on a rag on the floor and pump it up and down a few times to check for leaks. Happy days! CREDIT: Have to give this guy credit for most of the techniques used here. If you're unsure of any part due to lack of photos etc watch the video below as it is very well explained. Have done this a few times now and despite being time consuming and hence a bit of a pain I've had good success with it.
