HOWTO: ZX6R G1 Front fork refurbishment
Having spent some head scratching and loads of "Googling" to find the answers to removing the fork internals, I thought I'd share what I learnt for those attempting the same.
Please bear in mind that I'm not a mechanic by trade so some of the terminology used may not be correct but the process is correct as I've done it on my bike !
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Front fork refurbishment 1998 ZX6R G1
Removal:
*** In the age of modern camera phones, it is a good idea to photgraph everything before you remove / loosen it - it helps when reassembling !! ***
1) Use slings to lift and brace the front of the bike - remove the front wheel.
2) Back off the rebound and compression screws to fully out (Make sure you remember / make note of how many clicks / turns it took)
3) Before removing the forks, loosen the allen bolt that can be accessed from the cavity that normally holds the front axel. It's an allen bolt so TAKE CARE not to round it off !!!
4) Loosen, but do not undo the top fork cap (blue in my pictures on my bike) whilst the stanchion is still gripped by the bike. Use the spanner supplied with your bike.
5) Remove the forks from the bike (take photo / remember how far above the billet the botton of the fork caps sit - in case you've dropped the forks through the head for different geometry)
6) Now remove the (blue) fork cap - this screws into the stanchion so be careful not to damage the stanchion (unless of course its being replaced). Don't worry about parts pinging all over your garage - although this is under a little tension with the spring it is minor and can easily be contained with your hand.
7) Pour the old fork oil out into a container and tip it over your neighbours wall - if you like your neighbour, send it to me and I'll tip it over mine cos he's a dork.
8) With a spanner on the nut of the fork internals, you should now be able to remove the compression / preload cylinder (silver, at the top of the fork internals, just under the blue cap) with another spanner.
9) You should now be able to remove the washer, spacer, washer and spring and internal piston rod.
10) Remove the dust cap from the outside of the stanchion, and the retaining clip that holds the fork seal in.
11) Now the fun bit !!! The next step to remove the internals requires a special Kawasaki tool, or in my case a pice of "flat-bar", approx 1 metre long tapered to provide the required size of "screwdriver head". I have also read of a shower-curtain pole being reformed to create a "square end" in place of an expensive Kawasaki tool.
Look into the fork and you will see the rod protruding through the internal cartridge. You will need to brace the cartridge to prevent it spinning so you can remove the allen bolt from the botton of the fork.
I achieved this (not recommended) by jamming my flat-bar down inside between the rod and the cartridge. Once you can prevent the cartridge from moving the allen bolt should come out with ease.
12) Now the allen bolt from the fork base has been removed, sharp tugs (a-la a slidehammer) on the stanchion tube should pull the stanchion tube (with oil seal and bushings attached) from the fork base.
Refitting:
1) Give everything a good clean-up removing any traces of old oil / cabbages from inside the fork body and all removed parts.
2) Inspect the stanchions for pitting, the bushings for wear and any other inspections that may be needed - now would be a good time to replace anything if necessary !
3) Lubricate the new oil seals lightly on their insides so they go on the stanchion a bit easier, and refit in the correct order with the bushings (told you photos would help !!)
4) Reinsert the stanchions with bushings and seals attached into the fork base, carefully ensuring the lower circlip is correctly seated.
5) Reinsert the reassembled internals carefully inside, then nip up the allen bolt into the bottom of the cartridge.
6) With everything in place now tighten the cartridge to the fork base using your newly aquired expensive Kawasaki special tool.
7) Now seat the fork seal correctly using a fork seal punch, piece of scaffold tube, or in my case using a punch and rubber hammer to carefully reseat the fork seal - take care and take your time at this stage as it is REALLY EASY to damage the seal.
8) Replace the fork seal retaining clip.
9) Brace the fork vertically in a vice (or get a mate to hold it) and refill the fork oil.
For my model: 588ml +/- 4 ml (less in earlier models I believe but check with a workshop manual). I used 3 x 0.5L bottles, so I could easily pour the first 500ml in, then used a horse syringe (50ml) to do the topping up to 590ml - my eyesight is too poor at this age to get exactly 588!! Ensure you get EXACTLY the same in each fork !
10) Now slide the dust cap over the stanchion and replace the piston rod, spring, washer, spacer, washer in the correct order on the inside.
11) It's a bit fiddly, but now reattach the compression / preload cylinder (the silver bit) to the correct height onto the internal cartridge.
12) Slide the stanchion up to meet the fork cap (blue) and nip up as much as you can by hand. Seat the dust cap correctly, if not already done.
13) Clamp the fork back onto the bike to be able to tighten the blue fork cap.
14) Readjust compression / preload and rebound damping as required.
15) Do the other fork !!
I apologise now if there are any errors in the process (I hope not !) and wish you luck with yours !
Regards,
Warrington.
Having spent some head scratching and loads of "Googling" to find the answers to removing the fork internals, I thought I'd share what I learnt for those attempting the same.
Please bear in mind that I'm not a mechanic by trade so some of the terminology used may not be correct but the process is correct as I've done it on my bike !
Front fork refurbishment 1998 ZX6R G1
Removal:
*** In the age of modern camera phones, it is a good idea to photgraph everything before you remove / loosen it - it helps when reassembling !! ***
1) Use slings to lift and brace the front of the bike - remove the front wheel.
2) Back off the rebound and compression screws to fully out (Make sure you remember / make note of how many clicks / turns it took)
3) Before removing the forks, loosen the allen bolt that can be accessed from the cavity that normally holds the front axel. It's an allen bolt so TAKE CARE not to round it off !!!
4) Loosen, but do not undo the top fork cap (blue in my pictures on my bike) whilst the stanchion is still gripped by the bike. Use the spanner supplied with your bike.
5) Remove the forks from the bike (take photo / remember how far above the billet the botton of the fork caps sit - in case you've dropped the forks through the head for different geometry)
6) Now remove the (blue) fork cap - this screws into the stanchion so be careful not to damage the stanchion (unless of course its being replaced). Don't worry about parts pinging all over your garage - although this is under a little tension with the spring it is minor and can easily be contained with your hand.
7) Pour the old fork oil out into a container and tip it over your neighbours wall - if you like your neighbour, send it to me and I'll tip it over mine cos he's a dork.
8) With a spanner on the nut of the fork internals, you should now be able to remove the compression / preload cylinder (silver, at the top of the fork internals, just under the blue cap) with another spanner.
9) You should now be able to remove the washer, spacer, washer and spring and internal piston rod.
10) Remove the dust cap from the outside of the stanchion, and the retaining clip that holds the fork seal in.
11) Now the fun bit !!! The next step to remove the internals requires a special Kawasaki tool, or in my case a pice of "flat-bar", approx 1 metre long tapered to provide the required size of "screwdriver head". I have also read of a shower-curtain pole being reformed to create a "square end" in place of an expensive Kawasaki tool.
Look into the fork and you will see the rod protruding through the internal cartridge. You will need to brace the cartridge to prevent it spinning so you can remove the allen bolt from the botton of the fork.
I achieved this (not recommended) by jamming my flat-bar down inside between the rod and the cartridge. Once you can prevent the cartridge from moving the allen bolt should come out with ease.
12) Now the allen bolt from the fork base has been removed, sharp tugs (a-la a slidehammer) on the stanchion tube should pull the stanchion tube (with oil seal and bushings attached) from the fork base.
Refitting:
1) Give everything a good clean-up removing any traces of old oil / cabbages from inside the fork body and all removed parts.
2) Inspect the stanchions for pitting, the bushings for wear and any other inspections that may be needed - now would be a good time to replace anything if necessary !
3) Lubricate the new oil seals lightly on their insides so they go on the stanchion a bit easier, and refit in the correct order with the bushings (told you photos would help !!)
4) Reinsert the stanchions with bushings and seals attached into the fork base, carefully ensuring the lower circlip is correctly seated.
5) Reinsert the reassembled internals carefully inside, then nip up the allen bolt into the bottom of the cartridge.
6) With everything in place now tighten the cartridge to the fork base using your newly aquired expensive Kawasaki special tool.
7) Now seat the fork seal correctly using a fork seal punch, piece of scaffold tube, or in my case using a punch and rubber hammer to carefully reseat the fork seal - take care and take your time at this stage as it is REALLY EASY to damage the seal.
8) Replace the fork seal retaining clip.
9) Brace the fork vertically in a vice (or get a mate to hold it) and refill the fork oil.
For my model: 588ml +/- 4 ml (less in earlier models I believe but check with a workshop manual). I used 3 x 0.5L bottles, so I could easily pour the first 500ml in, then used a horse syringe (50ml) to do the topping up to 590ml - my eyesight is too poor at this age to get exactly 588!! Ensure you get EXACTLY the same in each fork !
10) Now slide the dust cap over the stanchion and replace the piston rod, spring, washer, spacer, washer in the correct order on the inside.
11) It's a bit fiddly, but now reattach the compression / preload cylinder (the silver bit) to the correct height onto the internal cartridge.
12) Slide the stanchion up to meet the fork cap (blue) and nip up as much as you can by hand. Seat the dust cap correctly, if not already done.
13) Clamp the fork back onto the bike to be able to tighten the blue fork cap.
14) Readjust compression / preload and rebound damping as required.
15) Do the other fork !!
I apologise now if there are any errors in the process (I hope not !) and wish you luck with yours !
Regards,
Warrington.
