For non-adjustable fork oil change, please click
THIS LINK.
I got S2R1000 adjustable Showas a while back and after rebuilding once, I just noticed I had a leaky fork oil seal. I thought I would document the rebuild process this time…
We have both front and rear stands for maintenance like this, and it’s definitely the way to go. Very worry free and stable. But if you don’t have a front stand, you can suspend the front end by hanging from the triple clamp to something sturdy (like a load bearing I-beam). I would still recommend putting it on a rear stand when hanging the front. It keeps the bike from wiggling around and possibly working its way over. We have T-Rex stands – inexpensive and excellent quality.
First, loosen your fork cap before taking the fork off the bike. They are torqued down pretty good, and you will most likely end up clamping it back on the bike if you forget to do this step. (If you have vice jaws for your fork, you can wait to do this.) Next break down what is needed – remove front calipers (if necessary, I have to do this to remove the wheel), front axle, and wheel.
Next, loosen the pinch bolts on the top and bottom triple trees securing the fork to the bike. DO ONE FORK AT A TIME! You can put your knee below the fork to keep it from sliding out if you are by yourself, or have a second person hold the fork while you loosen the bolts. Carefully slide the fork down and out of the triple trees and take to nice open workspace. We spread a blanket on the ground and sit on stools. There are also special vice jaws you can buy to hold your fork while you work on it (available from Racetech).
Completely unscrew the fork cap and pull it up. You now need a fork compressor tool to push the spring down to expose the two nuts. You can get some pretty sweet spring compressor tools at Racetech, but we just made our own out of some metal stock. I’ve read that others have just forced the spring down enough to get to the nuts, and we have done that in the past, but our ghetto spring compressor takes almost no effort. Once the nuts are exposed, use two wrenches to loosen them and then you can completely remove the fork cap - carefully pull the rod straight up and out to avoid damaging it. Before completely removing the fork cap, we loosely wrap a bit of safety wire around the bottom nut. That way you don’t “lose” the rod inside the fork.
Overturn the fork over an oil drain pan. The spacers and spring will come out, so be careful. Pump the rod by pulling the length of safety wire to remove all oil.
If all you are doing is changing your springs and/or your oil, skip down to the arrow. To change the fork oil seal, keep reading. For the next steps, we used LT Snyder’s Maintenance and Modification Guide available from DesmoTimes.
To change your fork oil seal, gently pry out the dust seal with a small screwdriver. Be careful not to nick your fork tube. Remove the circlip that holds the seal in place. Now, using the fork itself as a slide hammer, pull out the fork seal. LT recommends removing the cartridge because it can bounce around during this step, but we never have and haven’t had any bouncing issues. Once the seal is removed, the inner and outer fork tube will separate. Keep track of the order of the bushings and rings on your fork.
Carefully spread apart the outer flat bushing, unseat it from its slot, and push it off the fork leg. Push the fork seal off the fork leg noting the orientation – the spring usually faces down. Next remove the inner bushing. Inspect your bushings for wear. The outer bushing has a Teflon coating on the inner surface and the inner bushing has a Teflon coating on the outer surface. LT recommends replacing them if any of the Teflon is worn off. Inspect your fork tube for pitting (a rusty or pitted fork tube will quickly destroy a new seal), and look for debris inside the outer tube. If needed, rinse with non-residue solvent (not water) and coat inside with fork oil before reassembling. If you can reuse the dust seal, just leave it on the fork. Install inner bushing. LT recommends putting saran wrap over the top of the fork leg and coating lightly with oil to reinstall the fork oil seal. It helps avoid nicking the seal. Reinstall the remaining components and slide the fork seal into the outer tube. You can get a seal driver from Racetech, or a piece of PVC split down the center works well. We also use the old seal as an intermediate between the new seal and seal driver to avoid any damage to the new seal. Carefully seat the seal and then install the retaining circlip. Reinstall the dust seal.
--> Refill the fork oil with the fork fully compressed and the spring and spacers removed. The manual says to put in 0.465 L per fork leg, but Ive read that going by oil height is more reliable. Traxxion recommends the oil height to be 110mm from the top of the fork tube for the S2R1000. If you have a different model, this measurement may be different. If you are installing new springs/spacers, reference their instructions for spacer length and oil height. Slowly pump the rod by pulling on the length of safety wire until clear bubble-less oil comes out of the top and adjust the oil height as needed. Slowly extend the fork and reinstall the fork spacers and spring.
Get out your spring compressor tool and compress the spring until the nut on the rod is visible. Begin threading the fork cap on a few turns and remove the safety wire. The position of the bottom jam nut is extremely important for correct rebound adjustability. Here are some great instructions on Traxxion’s website on how to set your rebound screw and install the fork cap. (
link)
You must preset the rebound adjuster before you reinstall the fork cap. This will prevent you from having different adjustment ranges on each fork. Back the rebound screw all of the way out. If it does not stop on a "click" turn it back in until it is in one. Turn the screw in three full turns. Pull the damping rod up out of the fork (conventional forks) and install compressor tool kit (inverted forks). Back the jam nut as far down the damping rod as it will go. This will allow you to fully thread the fork cap onto the damping rod. Thread the cap on until it stops turning. Then thread the jam nut up to meet the fork cap and tighten securely. At this point, check to see that the rebound adjuster is "seated". Do this by trying to turn the rebound screw in further. DO NOT FORCE THE REBOUND ADJUSTER INTO A CLICK!!! IT IS A SMALL WEAK NEEDLE AND SEAT ASSEMBLY, AND YOU WILL DAMAGE IT!!! LIGHT FINGERTIP PRESSURE ON THE SCREWDRIVER IS ALL THAT IS REQUIRED. It should not move clockwise when tested from this point. It should back out if turned counterclockwise. If it will not fall into the last click easily, then loosen the cap and try again. If you back it up one click and turn it back in, it should stop in the last click. NOTE: Not all forks have adjusters that click. If yours do not, then a "click" is considered 1/4 of a turn. Most revalved racing forks should work properly at about 4-6 clicks from full hard, but consult your owner's manual for your specific application if you have stock fork valving.
WARNING!!!:Failure to back the rebound screw out from "full in" or "full hard" position can cause the fork to respond slowly and seem to "lock up". The motorcycle will be dangerous to ride and a crash can occur!!!
Thread the fork cap back onto the fork leg until it is finger tight. Reinstall the fork on the motorcycle and torque down the fork cap pinch bolts to the recommended specifications. Then follow these instructions for the other fork leg.
Before reinstalling the wheel, make sure to properly line up your forks. If you recorded the length of fork sticking out above your top triple before beginning the fork rebuild, install one fork to this length. Put the other fork at this ballpark and slide the axle through the forks without the wheel. Adjust the fork position until the axle spins freely. To do this aligns the forks with the wheel - it is not uncommon for the length sticking out above the triple to differ slightly left to right.
Reassemble motorcycle and torque all fasteners down to Ducati specifications.
