Diving fork
 

1:I just changed the fork oil on my 1991 xt600 k. the old oil was grey/black. i drained 1 liter. I added 540 ml to eatch fork. SAE 10 oil

i just went for a ride and there is no big change. i expected less diving during braking. i use my bike for city riding only. what can i do. in a post in the forum i read that i should fill 580 ml in each fork. what is right?

2: my front brake is a bit hard to press and doesnt operate smootly when i squuese it. is there any trics besides opening the caliper? what should i check on the main sylinder/hand leveler?

2: i have changed the brade fluids without any changes...

Perhaps you must change the springs too.

On the XT, unless you change the springs or put some spacers inside of it or even, the complete front forks from another off-road bike the suspension is always going to feel spongy....

You can always get new progressive springs, that will surely help alot!


Vando beer

I´ve put progressive springs and SAE 15 oil (180 mm. to the top of the bottle/bar elonged and with the springs in) in my 90 XT forks and it looks like another.

Hello Bikereurope,

It kind of depends on what you are used to for performance and budget.

I had the progressive springs and steel braided lines on stock components for the longest time. It was an improvement.

But..... Riding modern bikes had spoiled me a bit so I sourced a complete front end from a Suzuki DRZ (wheel/brakes/forks w. heavy springs) and made it all fit.

Big improvement.

If you are looking for big gains in Braking/suspension performance swapping parts is the answer. If you are happy with a mild improvement, work with what you have.

Is you're brake disk true? Is the rubber hose original?

You describe the brakes as being hard to press/not smooth. By this do you mean, lacking feeling(wooden) in application? Or lacking power? or both?

Good luck,

Pawlie

the power is there in the brakes, but they lack feeling as you say. they might be a bit wooden if i understand you right. they might be a bit difficult to portion, they are only some power or full power.

they are all original.

i have ordered a o ring set for the caliper, and understand that i should change to braided brake lines.

what about the main cylinder/the hand brake leveler. is there a special type i should get. or a place i should order from (cheap?). i have checked ebay but the cheapest type there didnt have the adustment for freeplay on the leveler.

any experiences with this set?

YAMAHA XT 600 FRONT BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER REPAIR SET | eBay

Loss of feeling in brakes ~woodenness~ is often caused by old pads. Put in a new set of pads to restore the original feeling.

For onroad use, just use some spaccers to put on the springs int he forks. It will stiffen up the suspension.

Bikereurope,

My xt had the single piston caliper. I believe yours (later model) has a dual piston set up so your results may vary.

Checking the piston operation, changing seals,fluid , piston and pads as needed are great( and inexpensive) places to start. After many years,I think replacing the hose with a fresh one will help.

I gained quite a bit of power by sorting out the above on my 1986 bike. The wooden feeling did not go away until the braking system was modernized.

All the best,

Pawlie

Spring spacers as said and then a common trick is putting in heavier oil. Say SAE 15 will increase damping effects but not necessarily slow compression dive. The two should really be done in tandem for best effect. Some people go the whole hog and start closing off the diameter of the damping rod holes but that is for experts and not DIY recommended.

SAE 10 does seem a bit thin for road use even though it may be manufacturers recommendation. It all depends on your riding style and terrain tbh.

I had similar brake problems on my 86 bike. No real feel to them, and really had to squeeze hard to get it to stop. After a full service kit, both caliper and master cylinder, plus a new ( second hand) braided hose, there was a bit of an improvement, but its still not quite how I would like it. Marginally less wooden, and with a bit of an increase in stopping power. No 2 finger braking for me.To be fair, they do work, and if you give them a proper squeeze they stop the bike OK. I'd prefer a nicer feel, and will try some new pads soon to see if it helps. Considering the amount of fork dive, I'm not sure I'd want them too much better.

Which brings me to my question. People have mentioned fitting spacers above the fork springs to firm up the front suspension. What sort of thickness would people recommend? Obviously too thick and the caps wont go back on without a fight. Can any one advise? I'm too mean to buy progressive springs without trying this first. I only ride this bike on the road - got a KTM for the mucky stuff.

i have now ordered a repair kit for the main cylinder. the one that i linked to above. i have altso ordered a set of steel braided brake lines from HEL. I have a set of new brake pads laying home, but the ones on the bikes has many miles left on them....
is there big wariations on the brakepads? i would easely prefer a "sticky" pad that brakes well over one that brakes bad, but lasts longer

i just got a cancel note on my order of the brake lines. the company didnt do international orders. can anyone link me a cheap site for the brakelines? i cant find anyone with 1991 models.

Just get some on ebay:)

im searching ebay but cant find for my year. 1991 3TB. is the hoses simular on this and the 1995 and forward bikes?

can i use any of these on my 1991 3tb?


HEL Performance

If you can't find the hose you are looking for at a retailer.....

Machinery with hydraulic controls are everywhere. Where you are standing right now I bet you can see one. These machines require servicing.

So:

Go to your local hydraulic shop and have them build a line for you. Very simple job for them. If they can see the line they can reproduce it. I didn't even need to remove my old one from the bike, they just eyeballed it and got out the tape measure.

It will very likely cost less than one off the shelf!

Cheers,

Pawlie

Alternativly try David Lambeth @

I would gues 1990-1995 would have the same brakelines, cnat see what should have changed :)

i have sendt him a mail.

i cant get a hydraulic shop to fix. it wont be street legal and they know it and refuses to do brake lines...

i have sendt mails to 4-5 different online shops, none have answered...

i cant get a hydraulic shop to fix. it wont be street legal and they know it and refuses to do brake lines...



Ahhhhh, the not so sweet smell of government bureaucracy at work. How would we ever get through life without their guiding hand.

I hope something else works out for you.

Pawlie

Here: Wezmoto Braided Brake Line Kit Yamaha XT600 - eBay (item 130503085038 end time Jun-27-11 16:02:46 PDT)

Seems cheap aswell bier

They are all the same since 1988 or 1989 up until 2003!
just a few milimeters difference.

Unless your forks are bottoming I would be inclined to leave them alone. They are meant to move and if heavily damped cant follow the road contours.
I, like many others have installed thinner oil in the forks of my originally overdamped Enfield.
Diving could be caused by sudden application of brakes instead of smooth, also use of front brake only and not using the rear brake to stabilise/settle * the bike before the front kicks it. Your brakes may be grabbing or binding??

* using a bit of rear brake first will lower both front and rear suspensions so when the front brake comes on it wont dip much as both the front and rear the suspension is already partly stiffened. Using the front brake only will dip the front suspension and RAISE the rear making the dip, or dive very pronounced.