Fork Drain Catch Container

Cut the tops off of  two empty 2-Liter plastic soda bottles, making sure that one of them will stand upright under the fork drain bolt.  This is bottle "A" below.  Cut the other bottle as shown in figure "B", being sure to leave the bottom intact as shown.  Now invert bottle "B" into bottle "A" as shown in figure "C".  This is the completed fork drain catch container.

Put bike on centerstand and place something in front of the front tire to prevent the bike from coming off the centerstand.  Start fork fluid draining by releasing all the air from the forks.  Now hold bottle "A" horizontally as you remove the drain bolt from the right fork leg (no anti-dive).  Fork fluid will gush out horizontally for a second or two and then subside to a slow dribble.  At this point place bottle "A" under the fork to catch the dribble and place bottle "B" into bottle "A" as shown to catch horizontal flow of fluid in the next step.   Now push down on the handlebars to compress the forks and expel the nasty fork oil.  It will fly out horizonally, hitting bottle "B" and falling into bottle "A".  No mess !!!  When all the fluid has been expelled, wait a few more minutes and try again.  More will come out.  When completed, install drain bolt.  Turn bottle "B" rightside up again and excess fluid will drain back into the bottom that we left on when cutting.

The fork with the anti-dive has the drain bolt in a different place, so the apparatus above will not fit.  Follow the initial steps above for the beginning draining since we only use bottle "A" for this.  Then place bottle "A" under the drain bolt and fit the half-cylindrical scrap (left over when cutting bottle "B") into bottle "A" as a splatter guard (like we did with bottle "B" originally).  Now, drain as above, but use less force in compressing the forks to avoid spilling fork oil all over the place.  When done, install drain bolt.

Now before jacking up the bike, crack loose the fork tube caps.  Once they have been broken loose, jack the bike up so that  the front tire is off the ground.  You don't need to go too far off the ground, but just enough to let the forks uncompress.  Now, remove fork tube caps carefully.  Remember, there is still pressure on the caps from the fork springs!  Next, fill each fork tube with the correct amount of fork oil.  Install the caps by hand at first, being sure not to cross thread.  Tighten a bit more with your socket wrench before taking bike off the jack.  Once the bike is off the jack, complete the tightening.

Put your preferred amount of air in the forks.  Push down on the handlebars a bit and check for leaks.  Be sure to clean any spills off of the front tire!

I used this catch collector to do my fork oil changed and didn't spill more than a drop or two (from the initial release of fluid).

Now get out there and test that baby out!

-Zaphod
 
 


Counter