Has anyone rebuilt their forks?

[Jeremy Mitchell]

I would like to know if anyone has rebuilt their forks on a C14.  I am leaning towards going with Ohlins but would like to avoid mailing out my forks for a rebuild if I could buy everything necessary and rebuild them myself.  I have never worked on forks before, would it be doable for me without any special tools.  Or could I buy everything and possibly take my forks to a local shop and trust them to do the job right?  The cost for Ohlins to rebuild my forks is around $600 not including shipping to and from North Carolina.  Matt from Ohlins said I could buy everything to do the job from them for around $300-$400 depending on what I end up needing.  Thoughts?

[B.D.F.]

You will need a few specialized tools to take inverted forks apart- they can be purchased from Traxxion for something like $90 or so. They are not professional grade tools and the system does not contain a spring compressor but the tools do work. You will need someone else to help compress the springs to get the retaining nut off the top of the cartridges. The better tools come with long screw driven spring compressors and are easier to use but cost considerably more as well.

http://www.traxxion.com/sporttouringservicetools.aspx 

You may also need bushing drivers if you want to change the fork bushings (Kawasaki says there are no bushings in the forks but there is a set, both top and bottom and they can be replaced).

You can also substitute ZX 14 forks in a C-14. The spring may be different between a ZX and a Concours but the only difference is that ZX forks have compression damping as well as rebound damping. The advantage might be that you could buy the ZX forks and send them out to be rebuilt so there is no waiting. You might be able to sell the C-14 forks after the ZX forks come back. Just a thought.

Having someone local do the work is fine too if you can find someone with the knowledge. Suspension knowledge seems to be fairly rare.

Brian

I would like to know if anyone has rebuilt their forks on a C14.  I am leaning towards going with Ohlins but would like to avoid mailing out my forks for a rebuild if I could buy everything necessary and rebuild them myself.  I have never worked on forks before, would it be doable for me without any special tools.  Or could I buy everything and possibly take my forks to a local shop and trust them to do the job right?  The cost for Ohlins to rebuild my forks is around $600 not including shipping to and from North Carolina.  Matt from Ohlins said I could buy everything to do the job from them for around $300-$400 depending on what I end up needing.  Thoughts?

[Jeremy Mitchell]

I have looked into the ZX-14 forks since they are more adjustable, but the cheapest I have found was $300 from a salvage yard that says they are "straight".  I will check locally and see if I can find someone that is knowledgeable, otherwise I will just have to deal with the extra down time and shipping expense.

[Loren]

Jeremy, that is a huge bummer on the slow side. 

I have overhauled the forks on my Firebolt a couple of times.  It is not a real tough job, if you have the knack.  Here is a couple of pretty good videos showing the steps and guts.  The C14 forks are not much different from looking through the FSM.  I would replace the bushing while doing the upgrades.  On the Buell they are not expensive parts and when completely disassembling the fork tubes the teflon coating on the bushings gets trashed. 

Check out www.kyleusa.com to see if they can do a little better on price than Ohlins directly.

Race tech www.racetech.com also has servicing tools and will do rebuilds...etc like Traxxion.

Part 1 of 2: Amy Does a Re-Valve 20mm Öhlins Piston Kit

the last hopefully edit of Amy no part 2

[att2008vn]

Hi,

I dont know how others get theirs done, it wasn't that easy for me at the beginning.

I spent great amount of time searching around for something to improve my front forks of my C14-2010.  After a few discussions, i got great help from Mike of Traxxion and got their AK-20 Kit shipped to me, i didn't bought their Service Tool Kit though.  I have worked on a few sport-bike forks before and it didn't require any special tools so i expected it would be the same.  Indeed it wasn't.  The spring of the C14 forks is so strong that even with a friend's help to compress the spring down, i still couldn't be able to pull up the top part up so i could touch to the retaining nut, from my personal point of view, even with the Traxxion Tool Kit, it will not work.  Luckily i bought a printed service manual and i asked my friend to make me a tool set similar to the one in the manual and voila it was so easy .... I have got so far about 1K miles on the Traxxion AK-20 Kit front and Penske rear and so far it s worth the spending money.  I m changing my stock tires to Pirelly Angels this weekend and expecting even more enjoyable ride in my next trips.

at

[Jeremy Mitchell]

Hi,

I dont know how others get theirs done, it wasn't that easy for me at the beginning.

I spent great amount of time searching around for something to improve my front forks of my C14-2010.  After a few discussions, i got great help from Mike of Traxxion and got their AK-20 Kit shipped to me, i didn't bought their Service Tool Kit though.  I have worked on a few sport-bike forks before and it didn't require any special tools so i expected it would be the same.  Indeed it wasn't.  The spring of the C14 forks is so strong that even with a friend's help to compress the spring down, i still couldn't be able to pull up the top part up so i could touch to the retaining nut, from my personal point of view, even with the Traxxion Tool Kit, it will not work.  Luckily i bought a printed service manual and i asked my friend to make me a tool set similar to the one in the manual and voila it was so easy .... I have got so far about 1K miles on the Traxxion AK-20 Kit front and Penske rear and so far it s worth the spending money.  I m changing my stock tires to Pirelly Angels this weekend and expecting even more enjoyable ride in my next trips.

at

Any chance of you posting a pic of this tool?  Did you replace everything else when you installed the AK-20 (shim stacks, pistons, and seals)?  I talked to traxxion and they seemed very knowledgeable and willing to work with me but I don't have much knowledge about the internals of shock design.  If you don't mind me asking what was the total, for your fork overhaul?

The Penske shock looks like a pretty good deal compared to the Ohlins unit since there is almost a $500 difference.

[Loren]

Jeremy, do you have a dealer for the Penske? 

[Jeremy Mitchell]

Jeremy, do you have a dealer for the Penske?

I am going through Traxxion, I have been talking to Dan and already ordered a rear shock.  He said it takes about 10 days to build since they don't stock one that will bolt on to a C14.  Something that I was pleasantly surprised about is the fact that they list MSRP on their website then they take 10% off of that.  Total for me was $817 and that includes a shock sock and shipping (they also have a military discount which I really appreciate.)

I am still doing research on the fork issue.  I just can't bring myself to spend $1000 on the AK-20 cartridge kit when I probably wouldn't notice the difference between it and the $500-$600 setup. I am shopping for ZX-14 forks and may end up having whoever I buy them from ship them directly to Traxxion so they can do their magic.  Lots of choices.............

[jamiemac]

Can the lower tubes from the C14 be used in the ZX forks so the antilock brakes sensor will still bolt up?

[Tactical_Mik]

Looking at the fiche, the part numbers are not the same.  The pictures in the fiche show the same castings on the right fork lowers but that doesn't really mean anything.  They could have just used the same illustration for both.  Or that could mean that the castings are the same but the sensor part isn't finished.  I can't call it.

I think you would need to see them in person.  Or maybe someone here has actual experience.

[att2008vn]

Hello Jeremy,

I paid alittle bit above $1K for the AK-20 but i ordered extra fluid (just in case) and a set of seals.  The AK-20 includes everything inside but not the top part (where you have the knob to adjust compression).

I will take some pix of the tools we made and try to post it here [sigh ...dont know how though, but i will try].  The Traxxion fluid seems has lower viscosity index compare to the stock one, the spring sure longer and harder to compress.

I didnt change the seal even it was recommended by Mike [Traxxion] since the stock seals still looks good after 8K miles and with the tools it s now so easy to play around with it.

The price you got for the Penske seems better than mine, i paid alittle bit above $1K for the 8987.  I didnt go for Ohlins because Ohlins is only double adjustable, not rebuildable and all my friends having it on their bikes so i go with Penske for my C14 and Elka for my Gixxer.  An advise from a forum member just to change the stock fork spring with Ohlins one and it would made lots of difference in case you are tight on the budget.  Also Ohlins people, even trying but cannot confirm that their shock would fit C14 '10.  The Penske was able to put in easily, just use a car jack to push up the tetra link, remove the 2 bolts that hold the shock in place, un-tight the bolt of the link, pull out the stock shock from below, same way to get new shock in, find a good place for the reservoir and tight it in.

at

[att2008vn]

Hi Jeremy,

This is the tool i got made to compress the fork spring so i can access to the nut that hold the upper part of the fork, where you have the know to adjust rebound damping.

i also took pictures of some pages in the service manual where the Kawasaki fork service tools are described, pass me your email address if you want me to send it to you

at

[att2008vn]

2 more pics of the upper and lower part

at

[Jeremy Mitchell]

I got the double adjustable 8983 shock so that is probably the difference in price that you are talking about.

Now I am searching for a "frugal" alternative for my forks.  I would like to do an overhaul with stiffer spring rates, new seals, and possibly new pistons but would like to keep costs in check since I really never felt that the front was as bad as the rear.  I really don't want to spend $675 when I don't think that I would see the benefits of such a nice fork setup on the street.  Dan from Traxxion keeps pushing the AK-20 cartridge saying that I would be able to see a night and day difference, even on the street.  Don't get me wrong Dan is a great guy and a pleasure to work with, I just would like to avoid sinking money into my bike when it might not be completely neccasary.  I felt that the shock was the weak link in the suspension so I didn't mind dropping $800 on a sweet setup.  Any advice for getting a little more out of the forks without dumping a large amount of cash?

My dealer said that they would install any new parts into my forks for two hours labor ($130) so I guess that will probably be the route that I go if I can find a retailer to buy new springs and pistons from.

[att2008vn]

Hi Jeremy,

As i told you, i got advise from a member here (i think it was Fred Hammond) that he got Ohlins spring replaced stock spring + service dealer re-condition his forks and he likes it alot.  You might consider checking on Racetech fork valves + Ohlins spring as a value solution.

In my case, i paid high for my C14 and the labor is not that expensive, the tool kit my friend made it for me and charge me less than $100  , also it s almost impossible for me to ship out the forks for re-condition so i went with AK-20

at

[Jeremy Mitchell]

I have checked on the Ohlins fork springs and they seem to be reasonably priced, I haven't talked to racetech yet.  I will give them a call.  Thanks for the info.

[crashdb]

Jeremy,

I used Traxxion for my FZ-1 and it was like night and day.  I bought a Penske shock from them and their cartridge kit.  I had no clue that a motorcycle could be like that on the road.  A little pricey for all the options, but one of the best things you can do for a bike. 

[Jeremy Mitchell]

Ohlins is running a sale, $499 for a complete rebuild.  After doing lots of research I don't think I can beat this deal anywhere else.  That price even includes shipping back to me, so I will be sending my forks out this week. 

[B.D.F.]

Will they do one fork for $250?

 

Brian

Ohlins is running a sale, $499 for a complete rebuild. 

<snip>

[redbarber]

Jeremy,
Do all of these upgrades you are talking about mean that you feel your "stock" bike was to blame for your accident?  Is there some deficiency you're trying to resolve?  Don't misunderstand, I'm all about the farkle, improvement, customize and personalize if you can afford it.  But if you found something the hard way, I want to learn from it too.