Front fork questions.

[Speedy Gonzales]

Hi !
Next project is a overhaul of front forks, dismantling things today and now ready to order parts. Was planning to change all bushings marked with blue, the dust and oil seal will be changed to. Is there any other things that is necessary to change at the same time ?
When I see picture of the fork/ assembly it does`t look like mine, the spring have not a spacer but a small spring on the top with a washer between the springs. Is this the original setup or have someone changed out parts earlier ?
I`m planning to put in progressive springs to improve the suspension.
Any one know if there is a place to get the sticker on the forks ? I`m planning to sand down the bottom part and give they a new and shiny look because the are corroded and have some scratches.

Bike is a 87 mod 600 Tenere 1vj.

[jjrider]

There is some models that had those 2 stage springs, so that normal . We didn't have them over here so no idea if a single spring is better than the dual springs or maybe a set of progressive springs would be better . Nothing else to buy other than bushings and seals/wipers on these forks .


.

[turboguzzi]

you need to change the two bushings on the fork tube indeed


the alu piece left of the damping tube doesnt wear out, no need to change, it's just the hydraulic bottoming stop


on the right side would change the plastic open ring seal only if it shows wear/scratches.

[Speedy Gonzales]

Hi !
Thanks for tips, I have start ordering the 2 bushings in the bottom of fork tube but only the metal one is available when i look in different sites. Is there any place anyone can give me i tip where I can order it would be fine.
I have same problem wit cap on top of fork tube, someone have not put it on correctly so the winding are gone and there is no way it can be used again.

Is there any parts from newer XT that can be used instead of the original one, this is about the cap and the lower bushing.

[jjrider]

I think most of the caps may work in the model years close to your. I don't know what the newer models were though.

[turboguzzi]

write the exact year of your bike and maybe itll be easier to point you in the right direction for the bushings



measure the diameter and thread of your current cap and search in ebay, it's not a critical part so no issue in buying cheap chinese replicas


like this guy has



https://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_ssn...k+cap&_sacat=0

[Speedy Gonzales]

Hi !
I did buy one cap on E-Bay that a guy in Switzerland had, he say it`s a new one so I`cross my fingers and hope it is and it fits.

The bike is a XT 600 Tenere 1VJ from 86/87, hopefully there is a bushing somewhere to be found that I can use.

[turboguzzi]

from a quick check online, looks like both bushings are available, you need number 10 and 32 on the list


https://www.ronayers.com/oemparts/a/...e37/front-fork

[xtrock]

Originally Posted by turboguzzi

from a quick check online, looks like both bushings are available, you need number 10 and 32 on the list


https://www.ronayers.com/oemparts/a/...e37/front-fork

Its the same part.

[turboguzzi]

true!
bottom slide seems to be JD–23171–L0-00 from my notes, but doesnt show on the fiches.... odd

[Speedy Gonzales]

Hi and thanks for tip but, the part list you show is not the same as I have, see picture.
As I can see there is different part numbers in the 2 part list, looks mine have some others parts compare to other XT models.

This is the one I need, number 15 :
https://images.cmsnl.com/img/product...00-01_986f.jpg

It`s not made of steel but some kind of fiber and it sits all in the bottom of the fork tube.

[Speedy Gonzales]

Hi again !
Finally got home from work and can start putting the fork back together again.
I ended up buy a set of used forklegs on E-bay just to get the cap on top that is not possible to get anywhere, on the good side the bottom part of the outer tubes was looking better then mine but the inner tubes had more pittings and scratches then mine so I will use the old inner tubes and the "new" outer tubes.
I will reuse the bottom piston (nr 15 on the drawings) on the top I put in new ones.
I have also bought progressive springs and have a question about the oil level. The new springs are thicker so I think that if I fill up the amount of oil that the workshop manual say it will be to much oil due to less space in the fork.
Do anyone know how much oil there should be in the fork with progressive springs ?
I have see some people just fill in oil and then measure from top of fork and down to the oil instead of use a measuring cup, is that a way do make it correct ? If so what is the distance from the top to the oil ?

[Jens Eskildsen]

Yes, you need to meassure the oilheight with a rulor or simular, with the forklegs fully compressed, with no spring installed. It doesnt take many mililiters to change the height, so a meassuring cup is too inaccurate.
If the aftermarked springs doesnt specify another oillevel, then go by the factory.

I added a bit less oil on mine, and used a lighter viscosity, it seemed to make the bike more plush, and added some rebound.

[Speedy Gonzales]

Thanks for the the tip, I did go with factory set up. Forks are now back on the bike but have not been abel to test it yet due to snow and slippery roads, I have no studds in my tires.
Thanks for all the tips the member of this forum gives :-)