[JOHN BOULTON]

i have done my fork seals on both forks and put in .365mls of new fork oil in each fork , but now i am finding the dampening is now not that great and im not sure why , i am finding the suspention is bottoming and topping out when riding on rough roads and due to the fact i live in Christchurch NZ (Recently hit by Major Earthquakes:sadguy where all roads are rough i am having this problem alot, any one able to help ?:?

 

[WingMan71]

John,

Welcome to the forum, and congrats on your new ride!

According to the GL1200 Owner's Manual, you should be running 6 psi (40 kPa) air pressure in the front forks and 57 psi (400 kPa) in the rear shocks for "rough road riding".

What are you running for air pressure on your bike? Also, do the forks and shocks seem to be holding air pressure, or do they leak down over time?

Also, how many miles on your bike? It might be time for some new springs on both ends. I put Progressive Suspension springs in my front forks AND rebuilt my rear shocks with Progressive springs and new hydraulic dampners. I kept the OEM housings on the shocks so that the air fittings would all still hook up right. Made a world of difference.

In your case, I would start with the springs in the front forks first and see how that does for you.

Good luck with it!

 

[JOHN BOULTON]

HEY THANKS FOR THAT WINGMAN
I am running the recommended pressure in both front and rear according to the gauge on the dash , i just didnt notice it bottoming out before i did the seals , possibly due to the water and oil sludge that was in there in place of the oil, maybe :?

 

[WingMan71]

... and put in .365mls of new fork oil in each fork...

John,

I'm also a bit concerned about this statement.

Does this mean you just "added" .365 mls of fork oil to what was already in the fork tube? One, that's a tiny amount. Two, if you did this without first draining the forks, there's no way to determine exactly how much oil you have in the forks.

Question: Did you drain all of the existing fork oil out of the tubes first? That's what you should have done. If not, then you need to do that. Then after draining add the specified amount of fork oil to each fork.

The GL1200 Factory Service manual gives the following specs:

After Draining:
323 cubic cm, or 10.92 US oz., or 11.34 IMP oz, or 323 milliliters

If you completely disassembled the forks, then the volume to fill is about 3/4 oz more.

Please let us know what you actually did, so we can help you solve your problem.

 

[JOHN BOULTON]

sorry should have been a little clearer , forks were disassembled and cleaned out new seals fitted and 350 mls of new oil added to each fork.

what i would also like to know is with the dampners at the base of the fork what is the best setting for that or does it not really matter ?

 

[WingMan71]

what i would also like to know is with the dampners at the base of the fork what is the best setting for that or does it not really matter ?

John,

Those are your anti-dive settings. Just make sure that you set both to the same number.

The settings determine how much resistance to front end nose dive the forks will have when braking, and ONLY when braking. The settings have NO effect on fork compliance during all other regular riding when you are not braking.

Settings are:
1 - Light anti-dive
2 - Medium anti-dive
3 - Hard anti-dive
4 - Maximum anti-dive

John, do you NOT have an owner's manual for your bike? All this stuff is in there...

 

[neoracer]

possible you may need to up the pressure to 10-12 lbs in front,might also be that your fork springs are wornout and may need replacement

what weight fork oil did you use? maybe changing to 15 or 20 might help some

dampener adj change to 4 to start but actually that supposedly only makes a difference in frontend dive when braking

 

[JOHN BOULTON]

Thats great guys thanks for the advise ,

havent got a manual for it as yet it is on the to get list , have only got bits of info off the internet as and when needed ,

just signed up with ebay and looking at all the manuals and bits there, but first things first i need to buy a starter as it is cheaper to get one from the states as they are like hens teeth over here

 

[glhonda]

Since it didn't start until after you replaced the seals, Neoracer is probably correct. It is quite possible you have progressive springs, in which case, I would never recommend the original viscosity fluid. Jump the fluid specs to @15. Did you have just one piece spring per side?

 

[oldishwinger]

HI John,

here is a web forum, specific to the 1200 that may help in the future

http://www.gl1200goldwings.com/gl1200/

 

[neoracer]

since i cant tell from your profile what year 1200 you have,i hope its an 85-87 because even here the starters are very hard to find if u have an 84

 

[glhonda]

since i cant tell from your profile what year 1200 you have,i hope its an 85-87 because even here the starters are very hard to find if u have an 84

I think our senior member had a senior moment.......

 

[JOHN BOULTON]

the spring was a 2 piece on each side
will go to a heavier oil and see if that helps , thanks for all the help guys