TOPIC:

I have an 82 kz750 LTD . This is my first Bike . I got her running and almost on the road but it has air forks . The shop manual tells me 5 to 70 psi . That is a large range . Where should I start ? At 5 psi the forks are bottomed out . I have them at 25 psi and it seems to have some sag and bounce when I am on it . I am 6 ft. at 240 pounds if this helps . I know I will have to fine toon I am gust looking for a starting point .

Mike

Another question is would it hurt to put an air line that connects both sides into one shatter valve so the forks will be even on both sides . It is a pain to have to go from side to side to get them where you wont them .


Mike

id start with changing out the old fork oil and possibly the fork oil seals if theyre bad,the air in the forks leaked out someplace so id deal with the maintenance first before riding it too much.
maybe pump around 50 ps1 in the forks and take some soapy water and start looking for the leak before tearing the forks down.

I used my shop manual and went step by step and changed the oil on them and checked for leaks like you stated and luck had it that they do not leak air . Thank God . These are the only thing that I did not need to rebuild . I had it sitting for the last 6 months while I was working on the motor and what not and they are still holding where I aired them up at 25 psi . Would this be a good starting point or should I add more ?

Mike

i spent more years in the hvac/plumbing trades then id like to remember before retiring,and im here to tell ya that air doesnt just disapear!
did you remove the rubber boots from lower fork legs?
if you dont see a leak around the fork seals or the bolts in bottem of forks that hold dampner rods in,id bet the shrader valves on top of the fork legs themselves are leaking

I am sorry I forgot that I did replace the shrader valves after I got the bike back in September the old ones leaked . I am thinking about making it just one shrader valve with tubing so I do not have to fill both forks . It is not that they are leaking but with the way they are set up it is difficult to get the right angle to fill . I am wondering If I can gust add the proper fittings and air lines and pit a shrader valve under the head light just to make it easier to fill and adjust ? There is not any leaks around the rubber boots or bolts . The last owner changed the forks after the bike was hit and the forks where bent . I stated these where rebuilt with savage yard tubes . He never aired them up . He ran out of cash and sold it before he was able to get it ready for the road and it sat for 4 to 5 years out side in the weather before I bought it . I hope this helps . Like I said it is not loosing air . I just do not know at what psi to start at { I do not wont to hurt anything buy having to much or not inof air in them and the mod will just be there if I need to adjust them . Thanks for your patients .

Mike

ah hah,the rest of the story as paul harvey would say! disregard what i said,most people do anyway!
anyway if you can find the right fittings i dont see why you couldnt connect the tubes together

Thanks and is it OK to start at 25 psi for my size ? Like I said I am not a small person . The manual say between 5 and 70 psi and that does not help with that wide of a range .

you can just keep going up maybe 10 psi at a time till it gets close then fine tune it from there

Thanks I was just worried about taking out my fork seals buy doing something dumb .

Mike

depending on how old they are the fork seals are always gonna be a crap shoot

Where did you find new schraeder valves that fit? Also, I'd be curious to see your solution to putting a tube between them. I looked into doing something similar but I was either asking the wrong questions or have some bad shops around here.