vf700 fork oil change

Discussion in '1st & 2nd Generation 1983-1989' started by 1985700ceptor, Jan 8, 2009.

  1. 1985700ceptor

    1985700ceptor New Member

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    i decided to change the fork oil 2day. so i go out and drain the right fork and the oil that comes out is thick like 10w-40 and the same color. do you think someone put motoroil in the fork?:unsure:

    ok on to the left side take the plug out and..............it's cold here so i must need to pump the forks.so grab the brake, push and out comes..........................air?:rolleyes:

    yup you guessed it bone dry:mad:

    i guess that's why the T.R.A.C. did'nt seem to work on any setting.

    seems to work MUCH better now lol:cheersaf:
     
  2. JamieDaugherty

    JamieDaugherty New Member

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    I doubt it was motor oil, but maybe. Really old fluid looks like that sometimes and if it's cold the fluid will be pretty thick. Make sure to use 15wt fluid as the 7.5wt (ATF) is a little too light.

    What plug are you taking out? You have to remove the forks to properly change the fluid. You can remove the damping rod bolt but that's dangerous because you have to make sure the damping rod is in the correct position when you reinstall it.

    And by the way, the TRAC thing is a joke. #1 setting (least amount of anit-dvie) is the best setting. You are better off bypassing it altogether. That's what you do when installing Gold Valve Emulators, by the way.
     
  3. 1985700ceptor

    1985700ceptor New Member

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    the honda service manual said side bolt on r/s, rear bolt on l/s
    running amsoil 10w fork oil
     
  4. Sebspeed

    Sebspeed New Member

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    If all you got was sludge out of one fork, then I hate to tell you, but you just wasted that fancy Amsoil.

    You need to pull the forks off the bike and flush them with solvent before adding new oil to make sure they are clean, UNLESS this isn't your first time changing the oil yourself. Meaning that you've already cleaned them thoroughly once before and are now continuing an annual fork oil change schedule.

    I'm not kidding either.
     
  5. midias

    midias New Member

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    Yea my magna's were all sludged up with ugly old fork oil needed a full disassemble and cleaning to get them new again but it was worth it.
     
  6. JamieDaugherty

    JamieDaugherty New Member

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    My man Seb speaks the truth. I was kind of thinking the same thing myself. I guess some fluid, be it dirty, is better than no fluid at all!
     
  7. drewl

    drewl Insider

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    That's crazy about the dry tube. How long have you had the bike? I'm sure for it to go dry it would have had to be a crazy mess. Did you change the fork seals too? Might be a good idea to do a total over haul as suggested.
     
  8. 1985700ceptor

    1985700ceptor New Member

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    bought it at the end of oct 08. just did the change to see what it looked like.
    plan on doing a rebuild(or fork swap) in the spring.(it's 28 deg outside right now)
    i only ride it around 1 time every week or two.
     
  9. PrplHaze

    PrplHaze New Member

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    "And by the way, the TRAC thing is a joke. #1 setting (least amount of anit-dvie) is the best setting. You are better off bypassing it altogether. That's what you do when installing Gold Valve Emulators, by the way. "

    I gotta disagree here. When I took my bike up around 120 and got off the gas the first time I got my bike, my weight was thrown forward as the bike dived. Then I found the trac knob, set it to 2, went back to same spot, did same thing, and it made a drastic improvment on the #2 setting. The bike did'nt dive down nearly as much, making it easier to handle and less scary..:) I dont see how something that can drastically improve handling could be labeled as a joke?

    To be fair though, my left shock was/is leaking some fluid. But regardless, the trac knob makes a night and day difference in the front end diving.Im wondering why would anyone want to bypass it totally? Doing endos or something?..lol
     
  10. JamieDaugherty

    JamieDaugherty New Member

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    I've posted this on other forums before, but I don't think I've done it here.

    Try this test out:

    - Find a straight section of road that you familiar with. It can just be the street in front of your house.
    - Set a reference mark like a crack in the pavement or something else.
    - Put the TRAC on setting 4
    - Ride the bike up the road. You don't have to be going fast, just make sure it's a speed that you can replicate pretty closely.
    - Using only the front brakes (just to remove a variable) stop as hard as !!safely!! possible. Make a note of where you stopped.
    - Move the TRAC setting to 1 (or 3 then 2 then 1 if you have that much time) and repeat.

    My experiences with doing this was that setting 1 was by far the shortest stopping distance. Setting 4 was almost twice as far! This was a long time ago, and your test might reveal something different. My conclusion was that the higher settings did not allow enough weight transfer to the front tire. My bikes have all been on 1 and never changed since.

    I think your situation was something else altogether. A feeling of the front end being out of control under braking is more likely due to a bad tire or steering stem bearings. You mentioned that it dove when you "got off the gas". The TRAC system doesn't work that way, it only activates when the brakes are engaged.

    Anyway, do the test for yourself. I think you'll find the results to be pretty eye opening.

    To do an endo you need the forks to stay as long as possible to maintain a high CG, otherwise it's really difficult to get the rear off the ground. Just like a lowered bike has a more difficult time doing a wheelie.

    Lastly - have you ever noticed that Honda didn't put the TRAC on anything else? If it was so great, why did they stop using it? Also, racers WANT the front to dive as much as possible without bottoming. Ponder those things while you are setting up for your test runs.
     
  11. PrplHaze

    PrplHaze New Member

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    Hey Jamie, yea it will be a few month's yet before I can test it. It's super cold in northern Michigan right now..:(

    T.R.A.C. stand's for Torque reactive Anti-dive control. To me that means that the unit works whenever it senses torque change. Not just when you press the brakes.?

    Towards the end of the riding year last year, I noticed that the handlebars would shake more when I let go off them. I also noticed my front tires are starting to "cup". My back tire is showing the threads, so I wont be riding it till I at least replace the back. Can you suggest any places to order tires from.? After looking over 10-15 sites so far, I thought they were all horribly setup untill I found bikebandit.com Also should I stick with the same size tires.? I know the back has 120/90/18 on it. Thanks for the help
     
  12. 1985700ceptor

    1985700ceptor New Member

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  13. JamieDaugherty

    JamieDaugherty New Member

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    As noted, the caliper bracket on that side pushes against a plunger. It's that plunger that activates the damping circuit on that fork. The knob adjusts the restriction in that circuit.




    That's pretty common with these bikes. I think some of it has to do with the bias-ply tires used on them. I've found that much of it comes from a combination of worn slider bushings in the forks and old steering stem bearings. A full fork rebuild and a set of tapered roller steering stem bearings. Replacing the front wheel with one that uses a radial tire, like what I do with the CBR600F2 conversions, is the last piece needed to fully eliminate this oscillation.
     
  14. PrplHaze

    PrplHaze New Member

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    I plan on redoing my forks, or at least the one that is leaking soon. I will check on the steering stem bearings also. Is there a way to shake the handlebars to check for slop in that? If Im thinking of the right thing.

    "Replacing the front wheel with one that uses a radial tire, like what I do with the CBR600F2 conversions, is the last piece needed to fully eliminate this oscillation."

    Is this just using a cbr600f2 rim and tire? Thanks again
     
  15. woody77

    woody77 New Member

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    Jamie, I'm also getting curious about the F2 swap vs. going with the pirelli sport demon tires this winter.

    What's the usual cost these days for going that route? and what are the good matching rear wheels (I can only assume radial front, bias back is a bad thing)?

    I live in the mtns, so curves are a daily part of riding. Produced some really odd wear patterns on the dunlop GT501s in about 2K miles. Going to be doing steering bearings (likely tapered at that), as well. Forks were rebuilt by Lindeman recently (world of difference).
     
  16. JamieDaugherty

    JamieDaugherty New Member

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    Check out my site for details. I make a kit that makes the F2 wheel a bolt-on replacement for your original wheel.



    I've helped out some guys with 86-87 swaps, but not a whole lot. Mostly just rear wheel spacers. It seems like not many people have swapped just the front wheel (most do a whole F2 or F3 front end). Since I don't have a VFR700 or VFR750 at my disposal I can't sort out the parts needed to make it work. I'd love to work with someone to make this happen. PM me if you are interested.
     
  17. risoto

    risoto New Member

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    Jamie - Is there a way to bypass the anti dive during a normal fork service without installing emulators?
     
  18. JamieDaugherty

    JamieDaugherty New Member

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    Yes, it's possible to disable this function. You have to make the changes inside the TRAC valve itself. Basically you make it so that it won't seal when the brakes are applied.
     
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