So if you feel like redoing your forks - that stiction can be improved a good bit. I just did mine and there's a marked improvement. With the OEM stuff the slider tube would not move from the upper under gravity's pull alone - cap off, spring out. The static friction over the seals would just hold it in place. I got to work and replaced the seals with the SKF ones from slavensracing as well as a new bushing set, inner and outer. While it was all apart I had at the sliders with some polish. Their surface was not as slick as one might hope for in pretty new forks.
So after all that - the sliders move much more freely and will go to full extension (no cap/spring) under gravity alone.
Mines getting to be a bike again! Dropped in my new valve shims last night, buttoned it up to a safe to run state and fired it up. Fired right up - yay! Then drooled oil all over from the valve cover - boo! I'd mis-seated the gasket
. So the airbox etc came off and got the gasket seated properly on the 2nd pass. Lesson learned.
So since I pulled it into the garage the last time I've
- Serviced the forks
- Installed adjustable preload caps on said forks
- Put some better rebound adjustment knobs on said caps
- Had someone service the shock
- Replaced the radiator
- Sent the injector for service - DTM you might want to do this before your big trip
- Replaced the fuel filter - DTM you might want to do this too before your big trip
- Replaced the stock radiator hoses with some SAMCO silicon ones, cuz I wanted to.
- Replaced skid plate that cracked - Kudos to Flatlands racing - they replaced it for free, no questions asked. Also the new one had a different design that looks like it'll address the cracking
- Fancied up the front rotor with a 'KTM' wave rotor that had been on back order since late sept.
