Just want to check my fork oil level. Can i just put the bike on the rear paddock stand and leave the front wheel on the ground?

Just worried that when i undo the fork caps the front end will nose dive, put all it's weight on the seals and break something...?

Any advice aprecaited as i've just tried to do it with the front end on a head stock stand and i've made a right mess, oil everywhere and becase its on the headstock stand the forks can't compress fully (which is necessary for setting the fork oil)

Any help appreciated.

You fill the fork fully extended not compressed so the front wheel needs to be off the floor

Strange, that's not what the book says...

"fully compress the fork tube into the slider and measure the fork oil level from the top of the tube"

Never done my forks that way, head stock stand or under engine support,

Undo caps carefully, witj springs in situe and the forks fully extended measure the oil level from the top of the fork stansion to the fluid,

I use a syringe and hose, i cut the hose about 15cm from the base of the syringe and draw any excess out.

Ive never compressed a fork, youd have next to no oil in them?

Is the text you quote from the haynes?

Yeah, from haynes and a few other sites i've just been looking at all say fully compressed...
eg http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73718

Ignore me i did my fork seals 2 years ago and i think i did my oil levels with them off the bike without springs in? So what i wrote was probally total ballony!

Fork oil height is measured with forks fully compressed.

Rear stand is all you need but best to support the front end while the fork caps are undone otherwise the caps will be hard to turn and you might damage the thread when the front drops. You should have an assistant to help you pull up on the bars to take the front end weight as you undo the fork caps. It would be a challenge to do it by oneself.

If you let the front drop there will be no damage to seals etc., maybe some oil splashed about, the forks cannot compress any further that they would if they bottomed out while riding on the road and that does not damage them.

You will need am assistant again to get the front end up to put everything back together. Lifting the dead weight of the front end while trying to fit the fork caps IMO is well beyond mere mortals.

Just take the forks out, far easier, just dont forget to slacken the caps off.

jetblack wrote:Just want to check my fork oil level. Can i just put the bike on the rear paddock stand and leave the front wheel on the ground?

Just worried that when i undo the fork caps the front end will nose dive, put all it's weight on the seals and break something...?

Any advice aprecaited as i've just tried to do it with the front end on a head stock stand and i've made a right mess, oil everywhere and becase its on the headstock stand the forks can't compress fully (which is necessary for setting the fork oil)

Any help appreciated.

The caps will go flying off if you un-do it when it's got weight on the front.

If you've got the back on a paddock stand then use a trolly jack, or a car jack under the engine to take the weight... get the wheel off and remove the forks, much easier that way.

porndoguk wrote:Just take the forks out, far easier, just dont forget to slacken the caps off.

And change the fork oil its not expensive setting the air gap as described above . If it's not been changed would wager its a watery grey froth that smells like cat piss by now .