head stem angle

Re: RE: Re: RE: Re: head stem angle

Taffy said:

i've heard this before ausberg but when checked things aren't that clear....i found once when i tried measuring the spring that according to the scale of wire size i should have 20LB springs in.

regards

Taffy

Click to expand...

Dunno Taff.

Its pretty clear to me- its how I tell my springs apart when I mix n match or just get em mixed up.....

I've purchased brand new genuine WP .42s, .44s and .48s

.42s are 5.0mm
.44s are 5.1mm
.48s are 5.2mm.

As measured by vernier.

.40s are also 5.0mm apparently (never measured one though), and not sure about the 46s.

What their actual measured rate is ?? well who knows.

Azza,

Go the 5 W, or you could try some 2.5 to get some more compliance, but you wouldn't want thicker than 5w.

Steve

Okay, fork oil and some other stuff ordered today, will have a go at the pulldown in a couple of weeks, probably try to get the last ride in on Australia Day and then get the front wheel off, new tyre on and forks off.

I know this will be relatively simple, but allways get nervous on these things knowing that a stuff-up can cause big delays getting back on the trails.

Azza.

awilksch said:

Okay, fork oil and some other stuff ordered today, will have a go at the pulldown in a couple of weeks, probably try to get the last ride in on Australia Day and then get the front wheel off, new tyre on and forks off.

I know this will be relatively simple, but allways get nervous on these things knowing that a stuff-up can cause big delays getting back on the trails.

Azza.

Click to expand...

Azza,

If I were you I'd log into KTM talk- go straight to the pinned section in the suspension section- "Front Forks". It explains all the problems (there are a few for the unwary) and fixes for all the problems people typically encounter.

Azza

the best thing about the WP forks is that they come apart like butter, no fancy tricks to get the rod out of the cartridge and the open cartridge makes them nice and easy to bleed and fill with oil, even adjusting the oil is nice. each jap Twin chamber fork is arguably more complicated than a shock

I think WP made it easy to work on the forks because they often have to come apart a lot............ :

I don't know if the 05 fork stacks are the same as 06 but the 06 stock stuff was supposedly pretty good. mabey check the stacks at least while your in there so to speak.

regards
Bushie

RE: Re: head stem angle

okay guys, been doing some homework here, and there, checking out ADV rider and KTM talk, regarding the WP fork service, it appears that there are 2 distinct trains of thought on the oil draining process that i woild like your imputs on:

1 you must remove the base valve arrangement to fully bleed the oil from the bottom of the lower leg.

2. you can leave the BV in place and hang the forks upside down (or is that downside up with a USD?) and the oil from below the BV will drain.

if 2 is correct, i can hang the fors upside down for a few days with a rag rubber banded over the top to avoid any contaminants or dust getting in, and once they're drained continue with the re-fill and setting oil level?

if not, is the BV as simple as removing the 19mm bolt at the bottom of the fork leg? my biggest worry is re-assembly because I have read that improper re-assembly can damage the internals and render the adjusters useless?

it also appears that there is s strong view that the internals of the WP's since about 2000 are hard anodised, and contamination is next to nill, so we must really be talking about oil breakdown.

Thanks in appreciation for all help so far!

Azza.

RE: Re: head stem angle

hey Azza welcome to finding out owt about forks on the net ..

the forks fill up with dirt exchanged on the lower legs each time they go in and there will be a lot of black gunk that flakes off the springs where they rub on the inside of the lowers.

the shims slam into the valve bodies all the time and wear lil bit of metal off em and the lil bits of sharp spring steel get embedded in the plastic DU bushings on teh rod and on the telescoping tubes. also get stuck in the piston band on the midvalve body.

so to do it 100% you need to pull out the cartridges by undoing the BV and remove the seals and pull apart the telescoping tubes to clean the DU bushings and clean up the chromed surface of the fork lower legs

but that might mean you need new seals. you can just drain it out over night and refil it won't hurt anything really just that there will be junk in there thats not helping. be like leaving the oil filter in instead of changing it.

maybe at the very least pull the cartridges out and clean up the piston band, its not hard to remove the BV and then you get to see how rediculously simple the innards are in concept at least.

I would also swap the MV face shim (one on the valve body) for a fresher one like rotating tyres on a car.

and yes the oil breaks down ...... about 15 hours in my bike and its crap. say 30 hrs max for trail riding.

HTH

regards
Bushie

RE: Re: head stem angle

the best way to drain the forks is to undo the BV in the way up they are in day-to-day. everything will drain out there. basically it's a drain bung! when you re-tighten you are re-tightening onto the inner tube which can spin with the BV. so we try to compress the fork which creates friction and is usually enough to tighten.

personally
i undo the top cap and pull the spring, turn USD and drop half the oil that way, then do the above and you have it all and it's done in 10 - minutes. not 10 hours.

regards

Taffy

Re: RE: Re: head stem angle

awilksch said:

okay guys, been doing some homework here, and there, checking out ADV rider and KTM talk, regarding the WP fork service, it appears that there are 2 distinct trains of thought on the oil draining process that i woild like your imputs on:

1 you must remove the base valve arrangement to fully bleed the oil from the bottom of the lower leg.

2. you can leave the BV in place and hang the forks upside down (or is that downside up with a USD?) and the oil from below the BV will drain.

if 2 is correct, i can hang the fors upside down for a few days with a rag rubber banded over the top to avoid any contaminants or dust getting in, and once they're drained continue with the re-fill and setting oil level?

if not, is the BV as simple as removing the 19mm bolt at the bottom of the fork leg? my biggest worry is re-assembly because I have read that improper re-assembly can damage the internals and render the adjusters useless?

it also appears that there is s strong view that the internals of the WP's since about 2000 are hard anodised, and contamination is next to nill, so we must really be talking about oil breakdown.

Thanks in appreciation for all help so far!

Azza.

Click to expand...

Hmmm, on Jan 16th, I replied that the base valve needs to come out to properly drain the oil and service the forks, but you still have to do research all over the net to figure out what to do?

For a basic fork service? It's fundamental mechanics on a design that hasn't changed in forever. I wouldn't reply if I didn't know what I was talking about.

RE: Re: RE: Re: head stem angle

I appreciate your help John, and mean no offence by looking into different ways to do things.

the consensus here is to remove the BV, so thats the way i'll do it, but i'm still worried about the re installation and getting the adjusters back in correctly.

like most, pulling things apart is easy, putting them back together and getting it dead right is hard, and sometimes there are a few tricks to doing this, and i'm still unsure if a) the BV is just the 19mm at the bottom of the fork leg, and b) what the process is for re assembling the BV so the compression adjuster will work, as this part of my many questions has been overlooked.

I am quite competent, its just that I like to be dead sure when I start a job, cos theres no bike shop or suspension tuner 'round the corner, its literally a $200 - $300 affair to get to the mainland to get spares and consumables, or to get a job done, but that's living in a remote area for you.

Azza.

RE: Re: RE: Re: head stem angle

http://www.husaberg.org/modules/gallery ... V_unit.jpg

well this item is what you're on about azza. the cartridge tube will drop to the bottom and locate in it's right place inside a shelf. you'll see it sat there. then stick the BV in and screw it up. the 19mm is what you tighten it in with. you can't touch the clickers or the stack.

hard to see where you can go wrong really?

regards

Taffy

RE: Re: RE: Re: head stem angle

righto, i think there is an definite way to do this on the static stand, without the forks coming out the triples, thanks Taff and Bushie, and it achieves the same result.

jesus i wish someone else had done there forks on Kangaroo Island in the last 20 years to get some guidance!

report back soon.

Azza.