I have an nc30 with bent front forks. It's at the mechanics at the moment with a list of work needed that could cost well over a grand. The question is how much of this stuff I could do myself? The front forks were what we agreed to takle first, but here is a full list of what work is needed, so far:

FRONT DISCS 3.3 + 3.35 (MIN 3.5MM)
CALIPERS NEED CLEAN
LOWER RAD CORRODED AND BLOCKED
EXHAUST FLANGES RUSTED OFF FRONT DOWN PIPES
SYSTEM BENT INWARDS AT CAN
O/S FOOTREST BOLT BENT (OE)
FBL BENT, CLUTCH LEVER SLIGHTLY
BOTH BARS SLIGHTLY BENT
FORKS TWISTED IN YOKES (BOTTOM YOKE??)
RH FORK SEAL SLIGHT WEEP
F TYRE BIT STEPPED
REAR CALIPER BINDING
RUBBERS MISSING FROM TOP RAD MOUNTS

So the bike needs a lot of work. What of this could I handle myself considering this is my first bike and I've only ever accomplished cleaning and balancing the carburettors?

cheers guys

bring it to me i'll do it for £500

Na seriously pretty much everything on that list can easily be done yourself, buy a haynes manual and spend a few hundred quid on some decent tools, have a good read and post here any questions. Job sorted and some mechanical knowledge learnt

if your not in a hurry and have a haynes manual and a half decent tool box you could tackle all of the above.
If and when you get stuck, post on here and some one will help out

Beat me to it DM. If u have the tools and a Heinz manual then its all doable.

wow, great response guys. thanks

Well then, if I'm going to do the forks, I'm going to need new ones (or more likely second hand). The problem is I didn't notice the original ones were bent in the first place, although I didn't inspect them. So does anyone have an idea of how much a decent set of forks should cost, new or used?

Also, what are the essential tools?

Put a wanted post up for all the parts you need. Good bunch here will sort you out. You might even want to look into other forks ie zxr, rvf. A set of forks you can get for about 100.
Essential tools I'd say include a good socket set and a bike stand. ABBA stands are the bees danglies.

the mechanic said there was a good chance I'd order a part that might not fit because of the different variations of nc30. is that just scare tactics? I would definitely check on here first anyway. Would other forks be difficult to fit though? If it's a case of nuts and bolts then sure, but if I have to modify I don't think i've got the tools or skill. Do you know which are the best handling forks though?

It sounds like a much better idea though. saving a few hundred quid, possibly several in total, and just doing it myself and learning. it's what i wanted to do anyway but just lacked a bit of guidance so went to the mech

ramonlv wrote:the mechanic said there was a good chance I'd order a part that might not fit because of the different variations of nc30. is that just scare tactics? I would definitely check on here first anyway.

Dodgy mechanic... there are 2 types of nc30 forks (early and late model), both fit exactly the same, the later model has more adjustability.

ramonlv wrote:Would other forks be difficult to fit though? If it's a case of nuts and bolts then sure, but if I have to modify I don't think i've got the tools or skill. Do you know which are the best handling forks though?

No other model forks are a straight bolt on without a fitting kit etc. As for handling, any forks with uprated springs will be very similar in performance.

Stick with 400gb for your advice - avoid your mechanic!

ha ha! love it!

thanks a lot for the advice guys. I truely appreciate it. I'm totally swayed and am definitely going to give this a crack myself. I love this site!