81 Honda CB650 Custom front forks

 Any secrets to rebuilding these? The manual I have said to have the dealer
do it (air assist type). None of the dealers here will touch a bike this old
so it looks like I am going to do the job myself.

Tom

 What do you mean rebuilding them? New seals and slider bushings?

I just finished rebuilding the forks on my 86 Honda VF700C Magna, and
it was fairly easy. I dont know if the forks on your bike are the
same, but there might be some helpful tips in here...

First off, get your parts in advance, and USE FORK OIL!!! Dont use
tranny fluid like the book says. 5w or 10w were the weights of choice
when the bike was built. I used 15w in mine, but I am a bit bigger
(250lbs). Also invest in a couple of cans of brake cleaner. Works well
for cleaning up fork oil, and it dries quickly. I bought two cans, but
could have easily used 4+ cans. (I had bad oil seals in my forks, so
it got oil EVERYWHERE.)

On mine, I have a leading axle fork set, meaning the axle is AHEAD of
the forks.  I dont know if yours has that or not, but either way there
should be a bolt in the bottom of the fork that holds the piston in
place. These can sometimes be a REAL BITCH to get out.  The ones in my
Magna came out relativley easy, but the ones in my 83 Nighthawk are
going to have to be taken to a shop.  Either way, try to LOOSEN them
while they forks are on the bike.. Makes it easier.

Also, LOOSEN the top caps while the forks are on the bike, also easier
here too.

Once you have everything removed from the forks, loosen them from the
tripleclamps and pull them out. MAKE SURE you mark where the fork
meets the tripleclamps, so you can get the setting right. You can
remove the FORK BRIDGE if you wish to do the forks one at a time, but
I left mine on, and did both forks at the same time.

You will need a good set of SNAP RING pliers, as I broke two sets of
fingers on my pliers before I made a set of my own to fit the holes in
the snap rings.  The snap rings are under the wiper seals. Go ahead
and REMOVE the top caps, springs, and spacers from the forks. Pour out
the oil. You will have to pump the forks to help drain them. There is
a screw in the bottom you can remove to drain the oil, this helps as
well. Once this is done, remove the snap rings.

Make sure your bolts are now out of the bottom that hold the piston(s)
in place. Now for the fun part.. grab the top slider and pull up
sharply. The oil seal and slider bushings should just pop out.

From this point on, just disassemble the forks, making sure you KEEP
PARTS IN ORDER for which fork they belong to. Clean everything, and
keep everything clean.

Upon reassembly, coat all seals, pistons, and bushings in fork oil.
The manual says to use a special fork seal driver to install the
slider bushing and seal. I used a length of PVC pipe to drive the
bushing and seal in place. Make sure the seal is WELL COATED in oil,
or it will be destroyed the first time you slide it down the fork
tube. If you have the the top clamp groove in your forks (mine
didn't), take some scotch tape and cover this groove so it does not
cut the seal when you put it on. Make sure the bolt in the bottom of
the fork is tight. The book says to put some loctite on it, but I did
not when I put mine back together, but I am keeping eye on the bolt
for now. It is shows a trend to loosen, I am going to put loctite on
it.

From here, everything is the reverse of what you did. I was able to
reassemble the forks off the bike, but it might be easier for you to
do it on the bike.

Make sure all your bolts are tight and torqued to spec. You dont want
to risk the front wheel coming off while riding!!

Hope this helps you out. If you need any other help, please feel free
to email me or post here. Remove WHEELS to email.

NeonHomer
Florida Magna Rider

86 Honda VF700C Magna
83 Honda CB650SC Nighthawk
81 Kawasaki KZ750H2


On Fri, 20 May 2005 18:53:10 -0700, "SC_Tom" <tomkimatoco.net> wrote:

 Thanks. I have rebuilt front forks before but was taken aback when the
manual I have said to have the dealer do it. From your description it seems
it will be no more difficult than doing the ones on a CZ 400MX.

Tom

 SC_Tom wrote:

Some early 80s Honda forks have something called a 'backup ring' below the
fork seal, and it can be a bugger to deal with.  It's a sort of conical
section washer that is a tight fit in the slider, and has a smaller I.D.
than the bushings, so it has to be put in after the fork tube... Or, you
can get your Dremel out and enlarge the I.D. slightly, which is what I
did.  I helped a friend with an '80 GL1100, and it was a bit difficult
but we managed.  

To further confuse the issue, Honda also calls the plain flat washer below
the fork seal on my GL1200 a backup ring, but it's a completely different
item, which falls right out with no persuasion needed.

It always helps to have an air impact wrench to remove the allen bolt in
the bottom of the fork slider that holds the damper rod in.  If you've
got one, you won't need it, if you haven't, you will...

--
Mark  '01 SV650S  '86 GL1200A  '81 CM400T  '99 EX250-F13