KZ550 Fork Seals

 
Hi folks,

I've been reading through some other threads, and I've found a lot of helpful info on this process, but I'm a little stuck.

I removed the front wheel and fender, released the air pressure (the 550A3 has pressurized forks), and unscrewed the valve, and now I am having difficulty removing the circlip and top plug. The circlip doesn't have holes for snap ring pliers, so I don't see any easy way to get it out of there. Anyone have any tips? 


 

Man these forks are annoying - mine are the same way. I stack a bunch of ratchet extensions and press down on the center of the fork cap with my body weight, then I use a small flathead driver to pry the circlip out of the groove. Careful at this point, the cap can pop out expectedly. 

Might be a good idea to let them soak in a little Liquid Wrench or Kano Kroil before trying to get the clips out.

I ended up spraying it with some PB blaster and I managed to finagle the clip out with a couple flatheads.

One thing that shocked me was that I was able to break loose the Allen bolt on the bottom and unscrew it by hand. From what I've read in some other threads, it sounds like the damper rod usually spins around with the bolt unless its held in place from the top with a special tool. But hey, I'm not complaining.

Thanks for the help so far, I'm sure I'll have more questions tomorrow once I pick up where I left off.

Don't forget to loosen the top yoke clamps before you take the clip out. This will make the plug come out and go in easier. My Z500 does not have air forks so drilled and taped 4mm down into the plug so 10mm bolt goes in so i can push down easier to get clip in and out. 

wrote:

Don't forget to loosen the top yoke clamps before you take the clip out. This will make the plug come out and go in easier. My Z500 does not have air forks so drilled and taped 4mm down into the plug so 10mm bolt goes in so i can push down easier to get clip in and out. 

Not only the C-clip and the plug came out easier. Have seen a lot of top aluminum (adjustable) hex end caps get mangled if you not loosen the top yoke bolt!!!

HY   TO HELP YOU FOR TAKE OFF THE CIRCLIP   SWING YOU FRONT ARM
TAKE THE HANDLE AND PUSH DOWN MAKE A PRESSURE    AND THE SPRING INSIDER HELP TO PUSH UP THE CAP

 

The second plug ended up being far more stubborn than the first. It was pretty stuck, and I was having trouble pushing it in to access the circlip. After a good amount of time and frustration, I came up with a novel solution that made the job much easier. First, I sprayed some PB Blaster and let it soak for a bit, then placed a small socket on the plug, over the air valve. I then grabbed a couple of clamps, flipped the smaller clamp so that it would exert an outward force against the socket, and braced the larger clamp against the underside of the handlebar. This gave me a hands-free way to keep the plug pushed in while I pried out the clip with a couple tiny flatheads.





 

Novel!
 

Just started on the "spare" Z500's forks that I have had for 38 years in the back of the shed with the rest of the bike and found on fork must have had water stood in it and rusted up.
So soaked in wd40 for a few days drilled and tapped it 4mm down and threaded it M10 x.1.5 screwed a bolt in and "bounced it free with a nylon hammer. it worked because i would have had to get the blow torch out and damage the rubber otherwise. Fork oil was like milk in that legs just yuky brown in the other.
 

I got the new oil seals in using a 1-1/2in PVC pipe then reassembled the forks. I tried to pressurize them using a standard bicycle pump, but it doesn't seem to make a proper seal with the air valves. Is there another fitting I can get to make it work? Or will I need a new type of pump altogether? 

I would forget the air assist and use some spacers to get your static sag to around 1/3 max of the fork travel. you will have a different fork spring to the non air assist forks so not sure on the spacer dimentions to start from.