im noticing drops or oil on the floor where i park my bike getting more and more every day ... upon inspection it seems its coming from the front shocks ... also im noticing that the front is getting slightly softer than it used to be ...

i asked a mechanic he said the seals need changing ... im new to bikes but have extensive experience with cars and when a car has leaky shock i'd just replace them - can a bike shock be repaired reliably? do you think i should replace the seals or replace the shocks? how much are they? how much would the seals be? are they just the rubber rings that are visible or is there more inside?

many thanks

Yeah changing the Seals will sort that little prob, you could also just check to see if there is any pitting on the shock traveling area, if its badly pitted that could cause damage to the seals, if there is no damage, its probably just wear and tear on the seals.

Dont take my advice souly, i reckon that someone else will be around soon, with abit more experience than me, but i hope this will help.

well thanks a lot anyhow ...

Are they up-side downies or regular type forks?

If they're normal ones it's not a bad job to do at home, or you could just drop the fork legs out and take them into a shop to be done. Shouldn't take more than an hour's labour and £20 - £30 quid for new seals and oil.

If you fancy having a go yourself get back here and we'll run through it in detail.

heres a pic of the front-end ...

i dont mind getting my hands greasy so if it isn't asking too much, i would appreciate a walk-through cuz it will be a lot easier if i take off the faulty part, go to the Suzuki dealer here and ask for a replacement, and fit it myself ...

Oakaley dokaley, here we go ........

You'll need the bike on it's centre stand, or paddock stand if it hasn't got one, and the front wheel off the deck. I use an old beer crate slid under the exhaust pipes where they pass under the sump. you only need an inch or so clearance from the ground.

Undo the caliper mounting bolts and pull them off the discs - tie them back out of the way.

Undo the speedo cable where it fits to the drive gearbox on the wheel spindle.

Slacken but do not remove the fork cap nuts - number 20 in the pic. Use the correct size socket/ring spanner and don't heave on them - I've seen them shear off flush. Tap the spanner round with the palm of your hand.

Remove wheel spindle and drop the wheel out.

Remove mudguard

Loosen top and bottom yoke pinch bolts and slide the fork legs out.

Now the messy bit ...........

there's a school of thought that says you can get the old seals out using hydraulic pressure - remove the top nut #20 (there will be a bit of spring pressure but not much) and fill the fork leg with oil. Replace top nut. Pull up the dust cover #7 and remove circlip # 6. Now push down hard on the leg and the seal will pop out. It will be very messy! I've never tried it this way.

Less messy way ........

You need to split the inner leg #9 from the slider tube #2. They are held together by the piston rod #11 which passes through bush # 8, and bolt # 14 up through the bottom of the slider.

Sometimes the pressure of the spring will stop the piston rod turning while you undo the bolt. If you've got access to air tools they can sometimes jar it loose without turning the piston rod. If it won't you need to remove the top nut, spacers and spring and stop the piston rod turning while you undo the bolt. There's a special tool with a hexagon head that goes down the leg and fits into the recess in the top of the piston rod to hold it. If you don't have that (who does?) use a broom handle and ram it in. It will work.

Once you've got it started tip the leg upside down and let all the oil drain.


When the bolt's out you can pull the inner leg from the slider tube. It'll feel like it won't come out but that's just hydraulic stiction.

Now you're left with just the slider and the seals. Remove the dust cover and circlip and carefully remove the old seal. I use a very thin screwdriver to tap behind the rim of the seal and bend it inwards. Don't break the shoulder that the seal sits in! You could dremmel it through from the inside.

Once it's out, clean up the seat area and fit the new seal - use a socket that fits the outer rim of the seal to drift it in. A squirt of WD will help. I put the seals in the freezer the night before to shrink them a little.

Once the seal's in and seated re-fit the circlip. Carefull push the inner tube back into the slider, fit the piston through it's bush and replace the fixing bolt. Fit the dust cover, spring and any spacers. Fill the leg with the required amount of oil and fit top nut.

Re-assemble into bike in reverse order.

Doddle

Don't use pattern seals, they leak in a couple of weeks.

This pic is from a 600 Bandit - your forks may be slightly different.

Best of luck

alrighty then ... a couple of questions though;

1. are these upside down or normal shocks? (just out of curiosity)
2. how do i know how much oil is the "required amount"? and what is the oil called so i can buy some, and how much will i need to re-fill both shocks? 500ml? 1000ml?
3. im not gonna get pattern seals, ill get new OE seals from the Suzuki dealer, but what are "pattern" seals - just to know?

ill let you know how it goes - how about if I take pics of the entire process and we could compile a PDF tutorial on replacing shock seals? (just an idea)

oh and another thing, can I get repair manuals for my bike in English? as far as I know the GSXF is a japan-specific model so would there be anything available for it in English? where would I look? what do you recommend?

Last but not least,

T H A N K__Y O U__V E R Y__M U C H!!

much appreciated mate ...

oh oh i just realised, my speedo doesnt work as well, so while im at it what should i look at? (ill check the wire but i suspect the previous owner messed up the instrument panel when he replaced the factory horn - the inside of the front fairing is a mess of wires ...

and the front windshield (is that what its called on a bike?) is connected by 4 hex-head screws, three of which are stripped - the heads are round so what do you advise i do to get them off without causing damage? i can buy new screws from the parts shop but the prob is getting the messed up ones off ...

thanks again!

Yours are conventional, normal, recently tagged 'right way up' forks

here's some upside-downies ........



as you can see they are well-named. They're slightly more exotic, supposed to be a bit stiffer and possibly less un-sprung weight.


I'll ask on the SOC boards about the oil quantity, can I have the exact model of your bike please? Frame number might help.

Pattern seals are cheaper but often not as well made - crap tolerances and materials so they wear out fast.

Good plan on the pictures - I've been meaning to do it myself but not needed to strip my forks down for ages.

Is your speedo a mechanical cable or electric? If mechanical (thick cable with an inner that spins off the gearbox) it might be broken or just loose.

Screen screws - you'll need another pair of hands I reckon.

If I get a rounded off cross head screw I use a blunt drift and lightly tap it round the edges of the hole to sort of force the metal back into the hole, then tap the screwdriver into the hole to make it's own crosshead if you see what I mean.

On a fairing or screen you'll need to support behind while you're doing it.

my bike is a Suzuki GSXF 400cc ,, frame number GK74A102187 ...

and yes the speedo is mechanical ... and i had a look i think it might be loose from behind the actual gauge as there is some electric tape around it ... ill take off the tape later and have a closer look ...

anyways fastfitter thanks again your help is really appreciated

oh and its a 1999 model

Question posed mate.

Manual available here - got to be worth a punt at a fiver

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...ssPageName=WDVW

Reply from Tech Officer of the Suzi Owbers Club ............

"The GSX400F used the same rolling chassis as the GSX600F with the GK73 engine.

470ML of 10wt oil should be close.

Change your engine oil frequently with the best oil you can, as it`s not unknown for this model to chuck a rod."

well ive changed my oil last week - the forst thing i did after buying the bike ... but what is "chucking a rod"?

and yeah it is well worth a fiver ill c what i can do - he says he'll deliver in UK only, and im in Saudi Arabia ... maybe ill have it posted to my Gran's house

problem solved ... i found the PDF file thats on that CD available for download ... should be done in 10 mins or so (~ 40 MB) ...

ill keep you posted

BUGGER

the service manual is for a 1982/1983 GSX400F

mine is a 1999 model - the '82 is a twin engine and mines a 4-pot so i suppose everything else must be completely different too .....

anyways mine is up for sale now .... ill probably get about 900 pounds for it ....

I feel the bike is too heavy for the engine ... sure its fast, but i dunno... when i first bought it i hoped for more ... i think that "more" can only be found in the GSXR or something like that ... i mean ... a twist of the wrist just makes the back end slide all over the place ... and maybe its just the shocks but the front end seems veeeery soft ... the slightest application of the front brake sends the handlebars into the floor ...

anyways any recommendations on the replacement?? GSX-R 750? In Saudi theres no Yamaha or Kawasaki dealer so if u need parts u have to order them from Dubai ... so its either Suzuki or Honda ....

the only thing in common between a 82 gsx and a 99 one is they have wheels at each end! even then they will be different sizes lol

don't think you'll go far wrong with a gsx-r 750 m8

yeah maybe ill look for a gixxer ive always liked them i rode a 1300 the other day (busa) it was scary