SR500 front forks

Hi,

Interesting...not sure on that one. Maybe they are different for sure;

You never know what the previous owners may have done to it.

Not sure what difference this would make in length, but perhaps the small rebound spring may have been left out of one leg?

Can you pull the longer leg out of the fork slider for any distance or does it seem to be solidly against a stop?

SR

The '77-on XS650 uses the same tubes and sliders, so there's a cheap used source for you.

miker

Hi,

Sounds like someone may have either left the topout spring out or mispositioned it somehow.

Remove the dust cover and circlip from above the fork seal. Loosen off the top cap with the allen key tool, but don't remove the cap to retain the spring pressure in the fork.

If you've already pulled the spring out, put it back in again and put the cap on temporarily.

Carefully clamp up the fork slider disc mount bosses in a leather or rag protection in a vise (not too tight, but it should be imobilised) and pull the fork slider in toward you as you use an allen key and a short extension on the end to undo the bolt. It's easier if you get someone to push the fork staunchion in as you concentrate on undoing the bolt.

Once you've undone it pull the whole thing apart and hopefully the seal will come with the chrome leg.

Should be OK. It's been a while since I pulled an SR one apart but I recall it's like the others and the seal will come out with the leg.

SR

I've just done XS650 forks and I had to use a heat gun to warm up the top of the sliders before I could pry the seals out. Once heated it was pretty easy - just to the point where it was slightly uncomfortable to hold.

Removing the bottom bolt - you need to immobilize the top end of the damper to break the bottom allen bolt loose; make yourself a tool from a threaded rod and a pair of bolts (17mm? can't remember) tightened together on each end, this will click into the top of the damper and let you hold it steady. (At least, this is how it works on the XS650 and they are quite similar.)

Actually, let me elaborate - do it in two stages. Clamp the lower leg in a vise as suggested above and use a long allen bit to break the lower bolt (and internal damper) loose so you can rotate them together inside the leg. Then use the rod/bolts tool to immobilize the damper and break the allen bolt loose from it. I found the force needed to do both steps at once was too much for my rod/bolts tool.

miker