Front Fork Dilemma! Help
Forum rules
Please can you post items for sale or wanted in the correct For Sale section. Items / bikes for sale here will be removed without warning. Reasons for this are in the FAQ. Thanks
Please can you post items for sale or wanted in the correct For Sale section. Items / bikes for sale here will be removed without warning. Reasons for this are in the FAQ. Thanks
- porndoguk
- Site Supporter
- Posts: 3293
- Joined: Wed Jun 16, 2010 11:17 pm
- Bike owned: NC30
- Location: Middle England
- Contact:
Front Fork Dilemma! Help
this month i planned on changing rear shock, doing a Rick O fork upgrade, and bandaging the headers on the exhausts! etc.
well its all gone to pot, i have my HMRC tax bill to pay, my two kids birthdays this month, plus my money supporting my wifes new business venture!
anyway
spent today tatting in the garage, changed rectifier, put bleepers on indicators, plus set pilot screws to 2.1/4 turns, did a jap to uk headlight relay thingy, refitted head lights lubbed chain etc and then
Fork oil dripping down the back of my left hand fork! when i plunge the bike down with front brake on, i get loads of oil clinging to the stanchion.
i simply cant afford the upgrade this month but i need to have my bike on the road its my only bit of freedom i have left and id be lost without her!
what can i do on a budget to sort this out i guess i need seals, dust seals and a quality fork fluid but i dont know what to get what weight oil etc, what can i get to make my forks stiffer until i do my overhaul maybe next month?
and i dont want crap seals as i want to reuse them when i upgrade.
please help me and my poorley bike
thanks Rick
well its all gone to pot, i have my HMRC tax bill to pay, my two kids birthdays this month, plus my money supporting my wifes new business venture!
anyway
spent today tatting in the garage, changed rectifier, put bleepers on indicators, plus set pilot screws to 2.1/4 turns, did a jap to uk headlight relay thingy, refitted head lights lubbed chain etc and then
Fork oil dripping down the back of my left hand fork! when i plunge the bike down with front brake on, i get loads of oil clinging to the stanchion.
i simply cant afford the upgrade this month but i need to have my bike on the road its my only bit of freedom i have left and id be lost without her!
what can i do on a budget to sort this out i guess i need seals, dust seals and a quality fork fluid but i dont know what to get what weight oil etc, what can i get to make my forks stiffer until i do my overhaul maybe next month?
and i dont want crap seals as i want to reuse them when i upgrade.
please help me and my poorley bike

thanks Rick
-
- Settled in member
- Posts: 146
- Joined: Thu Dec 03, 2009 5:35 am
- Bike owned: VFR400 (91) CB900 (2008)
- Location: Taupo, New Zealand
Re: Front Fork Dilemma! Help
OE Honda seals:
http://www.davidsilverspares.co.uk/VFR4 ... art_22812/
15 quid per fork (dust and oil) so 30 quid the pair.
Aftermarket are a bit cheaper at 11 quid.
I'd buy the oil you're going to use when you upgrade. Per litre a bigger bottle is cheaper and will do you for now and for when you upgrade.
http://www.davidsilverspares.co.uk/VFR4 ... art_22812/
15 quid per fork (dust and oil) so 30 quid the pair.
Aftermarket are a bit cheaper at 11 quid.
I'd buy the oil you're going to use when you upgrade. Per litre a bigger bottle is cheaper and will do you for now and for when you upgrade.
- porndoguk
- Site Supporter
- Posts: 3293
- Joined: Wed Jun 16, 2010 11:17 pm
- Bike owned: NC30
- Location: Middle England
- Contact:
Re: Front Fork Dilemma! Help
thats not a bad price £30 for the set, i was thinking it was going to be double that priceMananon wrote:OE Honda seals:
http://www.davidsilverspares.co.uk/VFR4 ... art_22812/
15 quid per fork (dust and oil) so 30 quid the pair.
Aftermarket are a bit cheaper at 11 quid.
I'd buy the oil you're going to use when you upgrade. Per litre a bigger bottle is cheaper and will do you for now and for when you upgrade.
just need to sort oil weight now and best price!
-
- Settled in member
- Posts: 211
- Joined: Mon Jun 28, 2010 7:10 pm
Re: Front Fork Dilemma! Help
i just did a fork seal and dust seal change on my rvf 400.
one word of advice dont buy aftermarket.
not sure about the david silver spares aftermarket ones but i bought a set from ebay and they didnt want to go in even the the driver i made for it. so i bought some honda fork seals from david silver spares and both seals went in no problem with the homemade driver
one word of advice dont buy aftermarket.
not sure about the david silver spares aftermarket ones but i bought a set from ebay and they didnt want to go in even the the driver i made for it. so i bought some honda fork seals from david silver spares and both seals went in no problem with the homemade driver

- porndoguk
- Site Supporter
- Posts: 3293
- Joined: Wed Jun 16, 2010 11:17 pm
- Bike owned: NC30
- Location: Middle England
- Contact:
Re: Front Fork Dilemma! Help
what do you use for your driver? i don t have one yet,code2006 wrote:i just did a fork seal and dust seal change on my rvf 400.
one word of advice dont buy aftermarket.
not sure about the david silver spares aftermarket ones but i bought a set from ebay and they didnt want to go in even the the driver i made for it. so i bought some honda fork seals from david silver spares and both seals went in no problem with the homemade driver
just ordering from dave silver only using genuine stuff for forks not worth it in the long run for the sake of a few quid, had a chat with RickO this afternoon what a helpful chap,
going to use the credit card so at least i have a month to pay.
RickO said to use quality 10w oil but i forgot to ask him how much i need it seemed like a fair old bit that came out of my forks earlier, do i need more than a litre?
- CMSMJ1
- Moderators
- Posts: 7161
- Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 9:42 am
- Bike owned: NC30-No9
- Location: Chesterfield, United Kingdom
Re: Front Fork Dilemma! Help
I use old seals and carefully drive them using plastic piping..
1 litre of a good oil would be spot on - you use a touch more than 400ml per leg
1 litre of a good oil would be spot on - you use a touch more than 400ml per leg
IMPERATOR REX ANGLORUM
The V4 is the law..
NC30 - No9 - my old mate
The V4 is the law..
NC30 - No9 - my old mate
- porndoguk
- Site Supporter
- Posts: 3293
- Joined: Wed Jun 16, 2010 11:17 pm
- Bike owned: NC30
- Location: Middle England
- Contact:
Re: Front Fork Dilemma! Help
just put the old oil into a measureing jug and its just under 800ml so yes a litre would be adequate!CMSMJ1 wrote:I use old seals and carefully drive them using plastic piping..
1 litre of a good oil would be spot on - you use a touch more than 400ml per leg
-
- Moderators
- Posts: 8172
- Joined: Fri Jul 04, 2008 1:01 pm
- Bike owned: CBR954
Re: Front Fork Dilemma! Help
You got them apart in the end?
Did you get my text? Was driving when you phoned and didn't hear back so I figured you'd done it?
390cc in the old style
404cc in the M model
Did you get my text? Was driving when you phoned and didn't hear back so I figured you'd done it?
390cc in the old style
404cc in the M model
xivlia wrote:i dont go fast on this bike so really do not need a rear brake.. /
vic-vtrvfr wrote:Ask xivlia for help, he's tackled just about every problem u could think of...
- porndoguk
- Site Supporter
- Posts: 3293
- Joined: Wed Jun 16, 2010 11:17 pm
- Bike owned: NC30
- Location: Middle England
- Contact:
Re: Front Fork Dilemma! Help
yeah sorry dude didnt wanna mash my new phone up with oilly digits,Neosophist wrote:You got them apart in the end?
Did you get my text? Was driving when you phoned and didn't hear back so I figured you'd done it?
390cc in the old style
404cc in the M model
it turned out the problem was the bottom bush had mad its way into the upper, and i also had to remove the fork seal with screw drivers by bashing them in, i took your advice on being brutal and it worked,
once the seal was out i noticed the upper bush was never going to budge so got the bush mega hot and out she popped.
so £75 of goodies ordered on my credit card at DSS so fingers crossed ill be up and running again come the weekend. phew!
- porndoguk
- Site Supporter
- Posts: 3293
- Joined: Wed Jun 16, 2010 11:17 pm
- Bike owned: NC30
- Location: Middle England
- Contact:
Re: Front Fork Dilemma! Help
WANTED!
Old style forks - first type
1 x damper rod SEAT
1 x fork washer
recomendation on where i can get new:
4 x copper washers, (drain bolts, damper bolt)
2 x circlips to go under the handle bars,
need them sending ASAP too!
to arrive tuesday :)
Old style forks - first type
1 x damper rod SEAT
1 x fork washer
recomendation on where i can get new:
4 x copper washers, (drain bolts, damper bolt)
2 x circlips to go under the handle bars,
need them sending ASAP too!
to arrive tuesday :)