KZ750E air fork

I just rebuilt the forks on this 750E. How am i supposed to check the air pressure in the fork without letting any air out? I have been using a tire pressure gauge but since there is such a small amount of air in the fork it lets it out when i put the gauge on and it changes the pressure. There is a special tool they use in the manual. any suggestions?

Edit... crap put this in the engine category. Mods if you see this can you please move it to chassis?

Moved to chasisis.

Interested in the answer also as I need to check mine....

I never found a good solution. I just over pressured them a little bit to compensate for the little loss as I removed the gauge. I also had to shop quite a bit to find a low pressure gauge. In short, I used the S.W.A.G. system. Scientific Wild Azz Guess!

TexasKZ wrote: I never found a good solution. I just over pressured them a little bit to compensate for the little loss as I removed the gauge. I also had to shop quite a bit to find a low pressure gauge. In short, I used the S.W.A.G. system. Scientific Wild Azz Guess!

This is the answer. Each time you test there will be some pressure loss. Account for the loss when checking and go.

BTW, better yet ditch the air/springs and get some Progressive Suspension or Sonic springs. No monkeying with air ever again.

You can plumb up a small air tank. I was planning on that but bought the progressive springs instead.
Steve

Hmmmm, an on board compressor with a pressure-activated switch that could adjust automatically for a passenger, or luggage, or trashed pavement.
Anybody need a spare project?

Thanks for the responses guys. I went for the SWAG system... lol, seems OK. I am about to sell this bike to a buddy so i don't want to put any more money into it, so the progressive springs are not happening.

What psi did you end up at pre/post check?

I filled them up using a scuba tank because there is zero moisture in the air, the tank is filled to 2900 psi so i just blipped the fork for half a second. I did longer before and checked and it was at about 25psi so i think its down around 10psi. the forks seems firm but not too stiff.

As I recall, mine was supposed to be 7 or 8 psi max. Be very careful about overfilling them.

The useable range is typically 7-14.5 psi. My neighbor rigged up a neat crossover connection between the two forks using plumbing fittings & copper tubing, and he plumbed in a small pressure gauge. It's really nifty & doesn't look bad either.

martin_csr wrote: The useable range is typically 7-14.5 psi. My neighbor rigged up a neat crossover connection between the two forks using plumbing fittings & copper tubing, and he plumbed in a small pressure gauge. It's really nifty & doesn't look bad either.

Can you get a pic of that? Sounds pretty cool!