Fork service/rebuild

[swiftb]

Ive had my ZX6R for a while now and plan to keep it a while longer so decided it was time to put some of the niggles right.
My main concern was the suspension - or lack of it. Its a very harsh ride so something I needed to sort as its had me out of the seat and into a full on lock to lock tankslapper on one too many occasion.
I had tried every combination of settings possible with little improvement. Also the LH fork compression adjuster was seized solid which meant no adjustments there.
After several failed attempts to free it off, I decided to get the forks out, strip them down and replace the adjuster.
However, after a bit of investigation I found that Kawasaki don't sell this adjuster seperately. It comes complete as part of the lower fork leg _ £199.99+vat
So after considering some 2nd hand forks (couldn't source a 2nd hand lower leg) I decided id be better to stick with my own forks which were straight as a die and in good nick. Forks from a knackers yard are a bit of a gamble so I looked into the possibility of some aftermarket adjusters. Wasn't sure if these existed but I came across some at K-tech.
They have a wider range of adjustment for more precise ‘dialling in’
https://i441.photobucket.com/albums/qq135/photobucca/adjusters.jpg
Not cheap at £75 but this meant I could keep my own forks and should make the whole job a lot easier.
So I got some ordered and cracked on with stripping the bike.

Bike in position and ready to fix/fuk up
https://i441.photobucket.com/albums/qq135/photobucca/CIMG2232.jpg

First job was to remove the nosecone to get access to the front headstock/forks:
https://i441.photobucket.com/albums/qq135/photobucca/CIMG22332.jpg

https://i441.photobucket.com/albums/qq135/photobucca/CIMG2236.jpg

https://i441.photobucket.com/albums/qq135/photobucca/CIMG2240.jpg

Next up was to support the bike with my new biketek headstand and whip off the air intake and front wheel/fender
https://i441.photobucket.com/albums/qq135/photobucca/CIMG2241.jpg

Next I released the forks from the triple clamps – The screws holding the front fork fenders to the forks were seized ‘like a basterd’ so they remained attached to the forks for now
https://i441.photobucket.com/albums/qq135/photobucca/CIMG2249.jpg

I managed to remove the screws with some mole grips once I had the forks on the bench.
So heres where the fun starts. The original compression adjusters are held in place by a small metal cap. So I drilled these out to be greeted by a tiny spring and ball bearing. No worries put those to one side for later!
Now im left with a hole – not a problem though, a quick call to Chris at K-tech who assures me this is irrelevant now (so are the tiny springs and ballbearings - phew) and just fill it with some silicone or similar. (see centre of pic)
https://i441.photobucket.com/albums/qq135/photobucca/CIMG2260.jpg
With this metal cap drilled out I expected the adjuster to come out a lot easier but it still wouldn’t budge. SO after much swearing and smashing with hammers, chisels impact driver etc I had to drill the adjuster out.
Bit of a setback but nothing major. Heres the offending item
https://i441.photobucket.com/albums/qq135/photobucca/CIMG2279.jpg
So now im left with this ready to screw the new adjusters into
https://i441.photobucket.com/albums/qq135/photobucca/CIMG2297b.jpg

So I ordered up some other goodies and waited for my new K-tech adjusters to turn up.

[mattsprattuk]

thats all well and good, but you can get the forks off without taking off the front fairings.
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Blue_SV650S wrote: it was a sh1te wheelie, but it proves that he can get it up in 3rd and can do angles. In summery, mattsprattuk is a gobby little sh1tebag, dopehead tw4t, but sadly for all of us, he probably isn't THAT full of sh1te!!
Kickstart wrote: Hi I tend to agree with Matt. All the best Keith

[Thom]

however its far easier with the fairing off
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Current Bike: 1996 Yamaha TRX850 (The Japanese-Ducati One).
Previous Bikes: 1990 Honda NSR125 'Rothmans' (The smoking one), 1990 Suzuki GS500e 'Caf? fighter' (The loud one), 1987 Kawasaki GPX400r (The quick one), 1997 XJ600s Diversion (The reliable one), 2000 Kawasaki ER-5 (The spontaneously combustive one)

[mattsprattuk]

i disagree. you're slackening 8 bolts to slide the forks out.
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Blue_SV650S wrote: it was a sh1te wheelie, but it proves that he can get it up in 3rd and can do angles. In summery, mattsprattuk is a gobby little sh1tebag, dopehead tw4t, but sadly for all of us, he probably isn't THAT full of sh1te!!
Kickstart wrote: Hi I tend to agree with Matt. All the best Keith

[swiftb]

[400bandit]

Ha, I have a set of them sitting in my garage which have got better internals ect.

Joe
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Current Bikes 650 Honda Bros, VTR1000 Firestorm // Past Bikes: Sachs Madass 50/110cc - Bandit 400 - FZR750
(+ a XS650 in lots of pieces in my garage and other places...)