Fork oil specs, 2007 fe650

I toped mine off fully compressed thinking I was going to keep removeing some till they feel good. They feel good.

anywhere from 110-150mm air gap.
150mm for least progression.110mm for max progression.
a good starting point would be half way in between.
..weed..

Or add some.

Check your owners manual under "Technical data-chassis, standard adjustment-fork".
The oil level is listed at 110mm down.
I ride mostly woods and have tried everything from 110~150mm, settled at 130mm. Plusher at low speeds, but feels kinda soft at higher speeds.

Standard on the 07 is 105 mm. In my 07 650 I'm on 95 mm with 5w, 0.46 springs and a full revalve. I've found that they are still OK at 90 mm. Plush and controlled at all times. I'm about 110-115 kg geared to go.

Steve

It usually takes just over a quart to fill both forks.
If you've never done it before, here's a vid..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glG3gUjxjEU

hey steve,have you ever had problems with blowing fork seals?
the reason i ask,is cause i use to use the same(around 90mm),but kept on blowing fork seals quite regularly.
could well be the conditions,i know,but i was still expecting more from them.
i rang up your mate frank pons to see what seals he uses ,as well as a bit of advise.
his words were, "if you are going under 110mm air gap to get the bottoming resisance you require,then you should be going up to the next spring rate".
don't get me wrong,i like the way my forks were at 90mm air gap, but it only make sense that if you are running greater air pressure because of that small air gap(relying more on the air spring) ,you are more likly to blow a half worn seal.maybe its alright for new seals,they should be able to handle the air pressure better.
no doubt,soon as you go up to the next spring rate ,changes to the valving needs to be made or it will be teeth chattering again.
..weed..

ive still got the original seals in, about 8 000 km i ran 90mm oil height for 6000km

sometimes one starts leaking and the feeler guage trick doesn't work so I go to change it but the seal lip looks fine so I just clean it real good and put it back.

sometimes on the rice burners I see a seal leaking that has a nick in the lip from a small rock passing through, I have spares now but i used to just sand the nick out so the lip was smooth, worked fine

don't know if i would go to the trouble to pull it down, clean the seal,assemble it again,then find it still leaks anyway.i see what you mean, but i'd be pi$$ed if it didn't work.
i think riding conditions have everything to do with it.
i try to go riding after rain,even though mud is harder on the gear than dust.
i've seen too many accidents happen in dusty conditions,bikes following other bikes in dust.
what about you blokes from the motherland (england) how long do you get out of seals.
be right up your alley wouldn't it? riding in mud all the time?
..weed..

Hi popup,

The seals in my 650 are still the originals, 6300 kms and 174 hrs right now. The 07 fork has a smaller rod internally and that creates a bit more air volume for a given depth than the earlier forks. They are also 48 mm, and yours might be smaller, so air volume is less for a given depth. Can't remember the specs, nor have I done the calcs. Frank uses generic, 'safe' numbers, and I'll rarely disagree with him because he's a bloody genius with suspension, but he also doesn't ride my bikes (very often). He has a road racing and enduro trophy collection as a rider as well as a tuner. I tend to be one of his fussier customers, but he likes that because I might not be all that fast, but I can feel and interpret what the suspension is doing and he uses that info to other's benefit. He's revalved my GTR forks a few times now, (they don't have externally adustable compression) and they are now better than the revalved and resprung Ohlins on the back. All he has done is play with the shims based on what I've asked for, still using the original valves.

The seals in my 98 501, 50 mm Extremes, running at 115 mm need changing all the time. 30hrs is about as good as it gets, and I've also rebushed them a few times too to try and improve the situation. Centre punched the bushes a bit to tighten them up as well, but no difference to seal life, and also tried Frank's recommended aftermarket and genuine seals. Being conventionals, The actual volume at 115 mm is the issue, as for all forks.

I guess the trick is to actually fill the fork, and then measure how much you remove to get the desired depth/volume when comparing different numbers. You've also played with you're travel too? If so, do they collapse further, or just extend more?

Rambling thoughts!
Steve