'03 for sale

[Blake Sobiloff]

On May 24, 2005, at 3:55 AM, Dooden wrote:

>> Anyway, I highly recommend the Motion Pro fork oil level gauge >> (thanks, > > Is that a Long zip tie on a stick ?

Nah, its a ridiculously overpriced syringe attached to a graded straw (see http://www.motionpro.com/Docs/suspensiontools.html> for a picture about half-way down the page). Sure makes getting the level a quick, easy and error-free process, though! If you still have some change left over from Uncle Sam's robbery last year, treat yourself. -- Blake Sobiloff San Mateo, CA (USA)

[Blake Sobiloff]

OK, so it sounds like I need to get a mitre box or a pipe cutter to help me cut more even spacers, and I should probably try some 10-weight fork oil to soften up the front compression damping a bit. (FYI, Race Tech also recommends 10-weight fork oil for our KLRs, I discovered.) Thanks for the advice, folks! I'll probably ride with the current setup for a few months just to get some value out of the oil I have in there now, but change it (along with the engine oil) when I hit 12,000 miles. I'll let y'all know the results. -- Blake Sobiloff San Mateo, CA (USA)

[wannabsmooth1]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Blake Sobiloff wrote:

> On May 23, 2005, at 6:46 PM, wannabsmooth1 wrote: > > IIRC, Silkolene is rated a little differently than some of the other > > fork oils - just going by memeory, what I read on the FJR list > > (Wilbers recommended 7.5 for the FJR). > > Hmmm, I hadn't heard that! Do you mean that their 15-weight is not > really a 15-weight, but some other viscosity? >

SNIP

> Blake Sobiloff > San Mateo, CA (USA)

Blake, That is what some of the experiments on another forum "seemed" to indicate. I have a bunch of 7 1/2 on the way, and will put that in one of my KLR's, and post results. For sure, though, 15 wt is why the front end seems too harsh. With your weight 10 wt would be more than heavy enough. For a plusher ride, go to 7 1/2 at 170 mm. All the best, Mike

[Spot ON]

Hi guys- I've just quickly gone through some of this thread and think I might need to fix my suspension. Did about 200miles between San Diego, TJ, Santa Veronica and Tecate on Sunday, 100 offroad, and I thought at one point I may have blown out the fork seals. THere were so many times the bike just bottomed out that I was getting frustrated. I've been thinking of getting hte progressive springs to start and change the fork oil. Is there anything else I can do to the suspension front or back to make it more trail friendly? Erik in San Diego --- wannabsmooth1 wrote:

> --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Blake Sobiloff > wrote: > > On May 23, 2005, at 6:34 PM, JRC wrote: > > > PVC pipe sands well. Use 140 grit on a flat > surface, and move the > > > pipe, not the sandpaper. > > > > Thanks for the tip! > > > > > When you say poor high speed damping, is it too > much or too little? > > > > The front is too stiff when it hits a sharp bump > quickly. This is > > because the fork fluid can't flow quickly enough > through the orifices > > in the rods, so the front acts almost solid in > this situation. The > > gold valve emulators are designed to greatly > increase the flow during > > extreme pressure, allowing the forks to quickly > compress and absorb the > > sharp bump. > > > > It really is an amazing difference. My favorite > test is to ride over > > the reflectors that are embedded in the lane > markings on the highway > > here in CA. They're probably 1" high. With gold > valve emulators you > > hear the forks thunking and working, but you > barely feel it. Without > > the emulators you get a sharp jolt over each and > every reflector and > > quickly tire of it. > > -- > > Blake Sobiloff > > San Mateo, CA (USA) > > If it's too harsh, you might want to try 10 weight. > Most of the time 7 > 1/2 for the dirt, and 10 wt for the street works > pretty good. 15 is > pretty heavy. > > all the best, > > Mike > > > > > Archive Quicksearch at: >

http://www.angelfire.com/ut/moab/klr650_data_search.html

> List sponsored by Dual Sport News at: > www.dualsportnews.com > List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: > www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > DSN_KLR650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > > >

__________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new Resources site http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/resources/

[John Kokola]

Have you cranked up the preload on the shock? I'm not saying that that's the ultimate fix, but it's a workingman's solution if you don't see a better shock in your immediate future. Also crank up the rebound damping if you crank up the preload (you want to have from about a 3/4 second to a full second of "rebound time" if you push down hard on the rear end and "count" the time it takes for the rear to rise). --John Kokola -----Original Message----- From: Spot ON I've been thinking of getting hte progressive springs to start and change the fork oil. Is there anything else I can do to the suspension front or back to make it more trail friendly?

[dooden]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Blake Sobiloff wrote:

> On May 24, 2005, at 3:55 AM, Dooden wrote: > >> Anyway, I highly recommend the Motion Pro fork oil level gauge > >> (thanks, > > > > Is that a Long zip tie on a stick ? > > Nah, its a ridiculously overpriced syringe attached to a graded straw > (see http://www.motionpro.com/Docs/suspensiontools.html> for a picture > about half-way down the page). Sure makes getting the level a quick, > easy and error-free process, though! If you still have some change > left over from Uncle Sam's robbery last year, treat yourself. > -- > Blake Sobiloff > San Mateo, CA (USA)

But I already have a bag of zip ties hanging on the wall and a couple stubby pencils laying around. But I am wondering what folks are using to flush the forks with, that can be mixed with new fork oil, say if all somebody wanted to do was to drain and refill with say a bit thicker fork oil. Dooden A15 Green Ape

[Blake Sobiloff]

On 5/25/05, Dooden wrote:

> But I am wondering what folks are using to flush the forks with, that > can be mixed with new fork oil, say if all somebody wanted to do was > to drain and refill with say a bit thicker fork oil.

Do you really have to flush? I just removed the drain screw at the bottom of each fork, pumped the fork until no more fluid came out, drank a beer, pumped the fork some more to get a little more fluid out, then put the screw back in and filled the fork to the correct level. Yeah, there was probably some crud in the very bottom of the fork that didn't come out, but I didn't have to hassle with removing the front wheel, loosening the triple clamps, etc. I'll just change the oil again in another 3,000 miles anyway. I know it's not perfect, but it's convenient as hell and I'm all about convenience these days. -- Blake Sobiloff San Mateo, CA (USA)

[John Kokola]

Flush with kerosene. --John Kokola -----Original Message----- From: Blake Sobiloff

On 5/25/05, Dooden wrote: > But I am wondering what folks are using to flush the forks with, that > can be mixed with new fork oil, say if all somebody wanted to do was > to drain and refill with say a bit thicker fork oil. Do you really have to flush?

[Matt]

The first couple times I changed the fork oil I did as Blake. Seems to work OK. The trick is to just do one side at a time. Makes it much easier to pump. But after installing cartridge emulators I learned how easy it was to remove the forks. It doesn't take much more effort and does a far better job. If your go this route you can flush with kerosene and get all the crud out. But if you choose to leave the forks installed while performing this maintenance I suggest flushing with fork oil. Matt

> On 5/25/05, Dooden wrote: > > But I am wondering what folks are using to flush the forks with, that > > can be mixed with new fork oil, say if all somebody wanted to do was > > to drain and refill with say a bit thicker fork oil. > --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Blake Sobiloff wrote: > Do you really have to flush? I just removed the drain screw at the > bottom of each fork, pumped the fork until no more fluid came out, > drank a beer, snip

[JRC]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Blake Sobiloff wrote:

> Do you really have to flush?

I did pretty much what you did (except for the beer), but I put some new fork oil, maybe 4 oz, in after the old stuff had drained out. I left the screw out and let that drain, then put the screw back in.