68 replies to this topic

[celticbiker]

I thought this would be a lengthy post and is a job I've been putting off for about 2 years now.
Although I've done it before I just couldn't be bothered, but as it turns out, it only to about 90 minutes start to finish.

You will need a minimum of:-


12mm socket (caliper mount bolts)
Allen keys
8mm + 10mm ring spanner
27mm ring spanner or deep socket
17mm socket.
Wheel spindle tool (I made my own)
1 litre of 10w fork oil or whatever your oil of choice may be.

First things first. The night before give all fasteners a good soaking in release oil of your choice (I prefer Duck oil).

First note position of the pre load adjusters then undo to their softest position.

Undo top clamp allan bolt.

Then loosen the cap (27 mm nut) by half a turn.



Loosen all brake hose clamps and remove caliper mounting bolts.



Slide calipers off the discs and tie up out of the way.
Undo wheel spindle pinch bolt.



and slacken wheel spindle.



Raise front wheel and remove spindle taking care not to lose the spacers, the wheel can now be set aside.
Remove mud guard mounts.
Front


and rear


and give to swmbo for a good cleaning.
Undo and completely remove bottom clamp pinch bolts.



If your forks haven't been removed for some time give the top and bottom clamps a spray with release oil and go and have some tea and .
The next part can be a bit tricky and an extra pair of hands can be useful too.
Grip fork tubes and pull down whilst twisting (easier said than done I know) until fork is clear of lower clamp.
Repeat for other leg.
Remove all traces of release oil from forks and clamps using a degreaser then dry thoroughly.
Now undo and remove cap, preload and damping adjuster assembly and set aside.



Don't worry, the cap doesn't pop off like some bikes' as it's not under tension because you wound off the pre load earlier.
Slowly compressing the fork tube, remove top washer



Tube,



and bottom washer (which I didn't get a picture of)
With a rag wrapped around the tube, slowly remove fork spring noting the tighter coils are at the top.



Invert and empty oil into a suitable container, pumping a few times to make sure it's all out.



Repeat with other fork then leave them upside down and go have some more .

Now there are two ways to refill.
1- Use the correct amount of oil by volume (507ml)
2- Use the correct oil level by measurement (133mm)

As the oil comes in 500ml containers I just put 500ml in each fork.
Pump slowly a few times to remove air bubbles then leave for 10 minutes to settle.
Re insert spring (tight coils up), bottom washer, tube and top washer.
Replacing the cap can be a bit tricky as the rod has to fit into the damper assembly in the bottom of the fork leg, if you have it right it will just drop in if not (don't force it) you will have to play around with it till it goes in.
One went in fine for me, the other took five minutes of manipulating.
It might be some what contracted but there is nothing notable about reassembly, just make sure the forks are on the correct side , all fasteners are tight and you remember to reset the pre load and damping.

Torque settings:-

Cap- 23Nm
Top clamp pinch bolt- 26Nm
Lower clamp pinch bolt-28Nm
Brake caliper mounting bolts- 40Nm
Wheel spindle- 72Nm
Spindle pinch bolt- 20Nm
Mud guard bolts- 6 and 10 Nm

Hope this helps anyone thinking of trying this.

CB

[Matlock]

Great pictorial tutorial CB . Did this myself a few weeks back and it really is as easy as it seems. I took the oppurtunity to go up to 15w oil and find it's an improvement.

[HonaTDM]

Excellant guide. After 24K I'm sure mine are about due but have been putting it off because of a bad experience on another bike (remove cap and, boing, oil & bits scattered all round the kitchen *).
Looks like a doddle on the TDM though.

* I lived alone at the time, if I tried that now swimbo would chop 'em off.

[Commando]

It's worth cleaning the dust from the brake pistons while you're at it (see JBX's website) :-)

[SteveOne]

I thought this would be a lengthy post and is a job I've been putting off for about 2 years now.
Although I've done it before I just couldn't be bothered, but as it turns out, it only to about 90 minutes start to finish.

Hope this helps anyone thinking of trying this.

CB

That's a great guide, thanks !
I'll remember the tips about eating the cake and print off this guide.

[TonyDevil]

excellent guide off to the KB it goes

[TimH]

Good tutorial - your workshop looks a bit like mine! one day I'll have a shed that fits my bike....

Did mine a few weeks back too so I'll add a bit - forks rely on pushing oil through some small orifices (yeah, yeah... cue 9er jokes, I know ) so it's a good idea to keep them clean. I washed mine out with a splash of kero a couple of times before allowing to drain, the first rinse was fairly grey, second was nice and clean...

Also, not sure if I'm just lucky, but my toolkit has a few tube spanners (plug spanner etc) - one of them fits inside the front axle perfectly - was this Yamaha's offering of a tool to remove the axle? Wondering if others have this item in their kit (I bought my TDM second hand)?

[dablik]

I will be replacing my oem front fork springs with the recently purchased Wilbers springs,, as the Wilbers are longer than stock i need to omit the spacer per instructions,, however in CB's pictorial you can see there are 2 washers, an upper and a lower ( either end of the spacer) do i assume correctly i now will only use the upper washer,, seems to me the lower will become redundant !!!!! actually this would be just like the 850 set up me thinks..

[TDMTAM]

I will be doing this in the next few weeks as part of a major service. One thing I did notice on my 9'er as the fork dust seals have corroded so I will need to change them ASAP the seals them self looked fine with no visible leaks going to replace the cir-clip to as its a bit corroded as well.

BTW what is the standard weight of oil for the 900? IIRC the 850mkI was 5w
TAM

Edited by TDMTAM, 17 June 2012 - 10:01 am.

[dablik]

I will be doing this in the next few weeks as part of a major service. One thing I did notice on my 9'er as the fork dust seals have corroded so I will need to change them ASAP the seals them self looked fine with no visible leaks going to replace the cir-clip to as its a bit corroded as well.

BTW what is the standard weight of oil for the 900? IIRC the 850mkI was 5w
TAM

Standard weight for the 9r is 10w Tam,,

I changed mine to 15w previously as i'm a big fattie and found it better,, will now revert back to 10w with the Wilbers and hope i wont need 15w again down the road.
When you replace the fork dust seals a little vaseline before you put on the new ones will keep rust at bay ( circlips ) and although you may see a little of it on the forks after riding you can differentiate between that and any oil loss.

Edit,,,, BTW Tam according to the manual you will need just over a litre of oil which means buying two,, i just went with 500ml in each leg without any issues whatsoever, as did CB i believe.

Edited by dablik, 17 June 2012 - 10:20 am.

[TDMTAM]

Edit,,,, BTW Tam according to the manual you will need just over a litre of oil which means buying two,, i just went with 500ml in each leg without any issues whatsoever, as did CB i believe.

I seen that I might go for one 10w and 1 15w and mix them to give 12.5w as I think 15w is too heavy
TAM

[dablik]

Bollocks Got started on this as the rain is off at the mo, stripped the front end apart and now one of me bolts in the lower clamp is getting bloody chewed up,, dont know how i gonna get this fooker out now suggestions anyone,, not got the next size Alan bit to try that,, space is at a premium as well,, fook.

[Studley Ramrod]

Try tightening the bolt first, just enough to break the thread grip, you might hear it crack. Nothing lost in trying anyhoos Cliff.

Other than that, maybe a torx bit would tap in ? Main thing though, be patient, deep breaths and........... Ahummmmmmmmmmmm ! Relax !

[muddy]

Nice guide Celtic. And I also like seeing pics of your bike as it has the well used look like mine (even though you've done 70k miles more than me)

[dablik]

Cheers boy's sorted now,, popped up to Daves and got hold of his wobbly drive bit (fnar fnar) with extension, got me neighbour to hold the handle bars an jobs a carrot

Seems a quality tool does the job eh,, onwards,,, will also replace dust seals as there a bit goosed after 10 years...

[dandywarhol]

Great write up - one bit I would add to it is to flush out the remainder of the lower fork leg with paraffin or petrol and leave overnight to drain upside down - a lot of muck is trapped at the bottom in the damper tubes.

[dablik]

Great write up - one bit I would add to it is to flush out the remainder of the lower fork leg with paraffin or petrol and leave overnight to drain upside down - a lot of muck is trapped at the bottom in the damper tubes.

Did this last time Dandy using diesel but when i enquired at Revs racing about flushing ( where i bought the fork springs ) they said not to bother only to drain,, hm dont like the idea of all that shite in the bottom though,, how much is enough to flush, although i dont suppose that matters really !!!!

Edited by dablik, 17 June 2012 - 05:14 pm.

[Studley Ramrod]

Cheers boy's sorted now,, popped up to Daves and got hold of his wobbly drive bit (fnar fnar) with extension, got me neighbour to hold the handle bars an jobs a carrot

Seems a quality tool does the job eh,, onwards,,, will also replace dust seals as there a bit goosed after 10 years...

Carpe can help you with most things in life, but for everything else, there's Dave !

Glad ya sorted matey.

[dandywarhol]

Did this last time Dandy using diesel but when i enquired at Revs racing about flushing ( where i bought the fork springs ) they said not to bother only to drain,, hm dont like the idea of all that shite in the bottom though,, how much is enough to flush, although i dont suppose that matters really !!!!

Until the flushing oil looks clear?

[dablik]

Until the flushing oil looks clear?

Did just that and left to drain overnight plus a bit,, sorted today jobs a carrot.....