DL650 front suspension oddity

[AceRider01]

Originally Posted by MCRIDER007

At this point everything is just speculation but my guess is that the topper springs attached to the damper rod on the clutch side fork have either been removed or are no longer attached to the damper rod, allowing the tube to extend further up the lower fork leg. But, if that does turn out to be the case, I don't see why it would cause the problem you stated in the original thread since the tubes normally do not make contact with the topper springs unless the front wheel is off the ground.

Except his clutch side seem to have the correct travel- if the top out spring is left out, one would expect longer than usual stanchion travel....

He is pulling everything out to have a look...so let's see what shows up.

Top out spring stops slamming of stanchion against fork outer on extension... It happens often when going over the crest of a bump. Ever feel your steering going very light? I suppose it depends whether u go off pavement or rough roads or not.

[MCRIDER007]

Originally Posted by AceRider01

Except his clutch side seem to have the correct travel- if the top out spring is left out, one would expect longer than usual stanchion travel....

That's a good point on the correct travel (I hadn't read your comments when I was typing mine) although I have always come up short when trying to validate the claimed travel.....and you certainly raised a lot of other possibilities so at this point there is nothing to do but wait an see what he finds when he takes the forks apart.

[tweeder]

Anyone know off hand if I can get by with just an allen wrench to disassemble the forks, or will I need something with a longer reach?

Good thing NAPA is just around the corner...

Would the asylum recommend taking apart both forks, or just the throttle side (the side with the shorter and incorrect amount of travel)?

THANKS so much to everyone's suggestions. I'm glad that so far my previous assembly work wasn't the culprit...

[MPH]

You may need an extended-length Allen-bit impact socket. Turning it by hand will allow the cartridge to spin and you get nowhere, unless you have a means to apply hold-back to the cartridge (wooden dowel, special tool). I've had failure on some to loosen the bottom bolt by hand, but attach one of those long-bit Allen sockets to thy trusty Chicago Pneumatic and in 2 seconds you will be holding that bottom bolt in your hand and the cartridge will easily and happily slide out the top.

Subscribed.

Mark
'04DL1K

[tweeder]

Originally Posted by MPH

You may need an extended-length Allen-bit impact socket. Turning it by hand will allow the cartridge to spin and you get nowhere, unless you have a means to apply hold-back to the cartridge (wooden dowel, special tool). I've had failure on some to loosen the bottom bolt by hand, but attach one of those long-bit Allen sockets to thy trusty Chicago Pneumatic and in 2 seconds you will be holding that bottom bolt in your hand and the cartridge will easily and happily slide out the top.

Subscribed.

Mark
'04DL1K

Without access to air tools, am I going to be pissing in the wind here? I'm assuming to hold damper rod in place, that needs to be done through the stanchion down into the fork itself, with the "special tool" listed in the FSM. Any other ways to hold the damper rod in place?

PS-anyone want to do my job applications, etc for me while I do this? The weather is great...

[spode73]

Reassemble the forks with everything (springs, washers, spacers, etc.), compress fork as much as you can. This should keep the damper rod from turning so you can undo the bolt.

[El Gato]

Originally Posted by MPH

You may need an extended-length Allen-bit impact socket. Turning it by hand will allow the cartridge to spin and you get nowhere, unless you have a means to apply hold-back to the cartridge (wooden dowel, special tool). I've had failure on some to loosen the bottom bolt by hand, but attach one of those long-bit Allen sockets to thy trusty Chicago Pneumatic and in 2 seconds you will be holding that bottom bolt in your hand and the cartridge will easily and happily slide out the top.

Subscribed.

Mark
'04DL1K

Right. What you want is something like this:



I've heard of people shoving a broom handle down the fork tube to hold the damper rod from spinning, but the easiest way is to reassemble the fork (don't need to add fork oil) and let the spring pressure hold the damper rod from spinning. If you're lucky you won't need an impact wrench for this.

[Süsser Tod]

Originally Posted by El Gato

I've heard of people shoving a broom handle down the fork tube to hold the damper rod from spinning, but the easiest way is to reassemble the fork (don't need to add fork oil) and let the spring pressure hold the damper rod from spinning. If you're lucky you won't need an impact wrench for this.

I've never been able to do it without an impact gun. I've tried the assembled fork method and the broom, but neither one worked.

[El Gato]

Originally Posted by Süsser Tod

I've never been able to do it without an impact gun. I've tried the assembled fork method and the broom, but neither one worked.

I guess I got lucky with mine. Came right off with just the wrench. It's a newer bike (only a year old) - they may get crusty and tougher to remove over time. I did have an impact wrench on standby, but didn't need it.

[AceRider01]

i always used a cheap cordless impact wrench (=USD$70) myself for all sort of odd jobs on bike.

the following link provides another method by a fellow aussie to crack open the damper rod bolt without impact wrench.:
http://www.vstrom.info/Smf/index.php/topic,7285.0.html

FYI, not in view from the above link is the Oil lock piece and top out spring
there was a thread on fork disassembly posted by black lab on the stromtrooper site with lots of pictures - a quick search came up with nothing - the thread seem to have disappeared - those with better search skills might be able to help

[DrDale]

once you get the allen bolt out and the forks apart - I used a long allen socket and 1/2 drive air gun - be sure you clean the threads on the bolt and damper rod and use some blue loctite on the bolt. Definately one bolt you don't want to come loose.

[tweeder]

Originally Posted by AceRider01

i always used a cheap cordless impact wrench (=USD$70) myself for all sort of odd jobs on bike.

the following link provides another method by a fellow aussie to crack open the damper rod bolt without impact wrench.:
http://www.vstrom.info/Smf/index.php/topic,7285.0.html

FYI, not in view from the above link is the Oil lock piece and top out spring
there was a thread on fork disassembly posted by black lab on the stromtrooper site with lots of pictures - a quick search came up with nothing - the thread seem to have disappeared - those with better search skills might be able to help

Thanks for the link to the write up. Will be helpful later.

I was able to hold the fork lower in one hand and use a T-handle allen wrench to break the damper rod bolt free. It was surprisingly easy. I then took out the dust seal and spring pin. This is the contents of each fork:

Throttle side (side with limited travel/shorter overall height). Notice the extra spacer, farthest away from the camera? That doesn't belong in there. It fell out after the damping rod came out, before I pulled the fork inner out of the fork leg.


Picture of extra spacer next to oil lock for reference; it's about 1" tall. I would have to guess that somehow this spacer was in between the damping rod and the lower damping road assembly somehow.


Picture of the clutch side (full travel/full overall height) assembly:


Either tonight or tomorrow I'll reassemble (with the old oil seal for now) without fluid to see if the heights and travel match up. Good times...

[AceRider01]

you are right, the extra spacer doesnt belong there- my guess is that it sitting between the top out spring/ damper rod assembly area, in affect lengthening your top out spring.

it's intriguing- why is it there in the first place- i cant see it serving any purpose - what was the previous owner trying to accomplish?

well at least the mystery is solved for you

[tweeder]

Originally Posted by AceRider01

you are right, the extra spacer doesnt belong there- my guess is that it sitting between the top out spring/ damper rod assembly area, in affect lengthening your top out spring.

it's intriguing- why is it there in the first place- i cant see it serving any purpose - what was the previous owner trying to accomplish?

well at least the mystery is solved for you

No idea what the previous owner was trying to do. It was a really odd discovery.

However, he may have been more of a hack than me...when I installed the crash bars on the bike, one of the engine mount bolts was essentially doing nothing-the bolt was supposed to be bolted into a captive nut, but it was stripped/drilled out. I installed a nut behind a new, longer bolt and was able to torque it down to spec.

Thanks again for everyone's advice. I'll be stuck waiting for a few days for the new dust and oil seals, but at least I know how to take these things apart now

[AceRider01]

since you are there - inspect carefully for Teflon slider rings - get them replaced if they shows signs of damage and they will be good for at least 60,000kms. Dust seals generally can be re-used. Apply lots of silicon grease when reinstalling the seals, including leaving a good blob in between the 2 seals - silicon does wonder to lower friction.