setting fork oil level/gap

[richyrd5]

is it nessesary to check oil level in forks.ive rebuilt them.ive put the correct cc of oil in each leg.so why do i have to do/check oil level??plus how do u check air gap.sorry its silly questions,but need to know.cheers

[richyrd5]

anyone??

[NGneer]

Anytime I have rebuilt forks I have used one of Ricks kits. In there you get a sryinge with a pre cut length of tubing and the theory is that you put oil into the stanchions, rest the syringe on the lip and then suck out the excess oil. When you are sucking air - you are at the right level. Then just nail the rest of it back together and job done.

If you have filled with the correct amount of oil straight off, I would say it is job done. I don't have the Haynes to hand, but sem to remember it also shows a picture of checking the oil level inside the stanchions using a steel rule (which just has the same efect as one of Ricks pre-cut tubes).

[richyrd5]

cheers for reply mate.yeh i put the correct amount of oil in as per manual.was just wondering about setting the air gap? have heard about this altering the feel of the forks.but u say as long as the right amount of oil in there all good.cheers.

[Cammo]

ive rebuilt them.ive put the correct cc of oil in each leg.so why do i have to do/check oil level??plus how do u check air gap.sorry its silly questions,but need to know.

If you've stripped each fork and removed all traces of old oil then you are correct, it's quite simple to just fill them with the correct amount of oil.

But if you simply drain the old oil out the bottom drain hole it's impossible to get all oil out. After filling with new oil you'd need to use the oil level measurement (air gap) to make sure you have the correct quantity in there.

[richyrd5]

hey cammo.no all stripped and rebuilt mate.just was thinking was setting air gap important.

[Neosophist]

hey cammo.no all stripped and rebuilt mate.just was thinking was setting air gap important.

as Cammo has said.

The gap measurement is there becuase it can be difficult to remove all traces of old oil.

If you have old oil remaning it will need less than the dry amount specified in the manual.