John Nutting returns with his Honda twin.
pumped the outer tube, again until I saw no bubbles. Ensuring the tube was fully compressed I had to look up and set the ‘air height’ of the fluid. The Hamamatsu lads dictate an air height of 107mm and suggest using Mr Suzuki’s special tool part no 09943-74111, which I have to say looks just the same as a universal fork oil level setting tool with the difference that it costs £198.78 getting towards 10 times the cost of one from Biker’s Toolbox! You simply set the distance from the bottom of the rigid on the gauge to the base of the tool body and tighten the screw. The base of the body sits on the top of the fork tube and you draw out the plunger of the syringe. If it sucks air more fluid must be added. Once the bottom of the rigid pipe is under the fork oil level the syringe will draw fluid up the pipe. When air starts to be drawn up, then the precise level has been found. I noticed from the manual that the spring has a reduced diameter at the top and this was now installed. The spacer tube, spacers and guides were added to the assembly. The next part of the job is very difficult on your own, without a special tool that is inessential if you have a second pair of hands. A spring compressor tool is a must as is a damper-rod holding plate, but again there is no need to buy factory tools as universal tools are available without a sphincter-rupturing price tag. The spring compressor tool is attached to the two holes in the spring spacer tube and one person compresses the spring by pulling down on the handles, while the other holds the damper tool up and slips the damper-rod holding plate between the top of the spring spacer guide and the underside of the damper rod locking nut. The rebound damping force adjuster screw was adjusted until it was 1.5mm proud of the top of the body. I removed the damper-rod tool from the top of the damper. The adjuster was then refitted into the fork cap and the whole unit gently screwed onto the top of the damper-rod by hand until the rebound damper adjuster touched down on the damper-rod. At this point I tightened the lock nut to 16lb-ft, as prescribed, using an open end crow’s foot attached to my torque wrench. When using a crow’s foot tool on a torque wrench remember that to get the same mechanical advantage it should be at 90° to the handle of the wrench. If you have it in line there will be extra mechanical advantage and so the fastener will be over tightened. You can go through all the maths by measuring the extra length and then reducing the torque setting, but I find it far easier to just wind it around on the ratchet to right angles with the wrench and use the supplied value. Always up for an easy life me. I removed the two remaining special tools and screwed the fork cap back into the upper fork leg and tightened it up using a plastic spanner so as not to ‘bruise’ the soft aluminium part. The three-legged spring adjusters were aligned with their corresponding holes in the fork top and then the adjuster bolt with new O-ring was fitted on top: so that was it for the forks, fully serviced and should perform as well as the day they left the Suzuki factory. Next month the build continues.