Chuck

Once "in there" you just might not need much in the way of spares. Oh, I know the feeling. I like taking stuff apart, too.

Put *some* oil in. We're not trying to fill it yet.. maybe 400cc or so. Reach in, grab the rod and pull it up. You'll hear "That Great sucking sound.." of the piston filling. Exercise it several times. When all is full, there will be no more gurgling, etc. When you let go, it'll slowly go down, depending on your setting on the bottom of the fork. We haven't changed anything, so there will be no need of looking up settings, etc. Nice..smooth.. no gurgling. Gots it? 2017-02-13_11-29-04 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr Top up the fluid to an air gap of 105mm, according to "the book." This is with the fork fully collapsed, spring in, measured from the top of the fluid to the top of the outer tube. Because we may or may not have the same spring installed, your volume may be vary. Pull the tube up, and run the jam nut all the way on. 2017-02-13_11-30-14 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr Almost done. Hmmm, in my excitement or something, I forgot to take a couple of pictures. At any rate, you've seen how slowly the piston shaft drops once you let it go? There's time to let it go, install the spring spacer tube, and grab it again. Then, if you hold the spacer down against spring tension, the top is easily spun on. Run it down until it bottoms, then hold the jam nut with a 17mm wrench, and tighten the blue nut. Loosen the soft jaws and pull the outer tube up a few inches. This will let the top assembly settle on the outer tube where you can tighten it with your pin spanner. Run the preload nut in the number of turns you originally counted, and you are done. 2017-02-13_11-30-32 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr No suspension settings have been changed.. all you did was put in new seals and fresh oil. It's ready to go back in the bike. Now, *you* are an Ohlins suspension specialist.. Exercising the fork several times just left a very little residual oil. I *assume* it's just from the lube on the seals and (especially) scraper. 2017-02-13_11-30-51 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr Now for the bad news.. as I expected when I measured the used oil, it took a little over a half liter. 2017-02-13_11-31-23 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr I first thought, "Oh, I could top it up with some bel ray fork oil that I have up in the Guzzi Garage ™.. or top it up with just a little (ahem) used oil." No. I'll make the 50 mile round trip to the Duck dealer, and see if they'll sell me something smaller than a $30 liter. That's it. Hope you got as much info from this as I did.

Lube the seal some more and the end of the inner tube, making sure there isn't a burr or anything on it. Carefully slide it in, and when it gets into the bushing, you have it made. 2017-02-13_11-27-25 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr Pull the dust cover (Olhlins calls it a scraper) down, and push it home with your fingers. 2017-02-13_11-27-44 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr Loosen the soft jaws, turn the leg over and push the outer tube all the way down. Back into the soft jaws. Now is a good time send the spring, then the needle on their way to the bottom of the piston shaft. You can help them get there with the spacer tube. Once it's there, you'll feel the needle valve working with your finger on the end of the spacer tubing. 2017-02-13_11-28-18 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr Drop the spring in after noting the part number etched on the top coil for posterity. Then, the "gizmo" on top. It doesn't matter which way it goes, but it's easy to see this side went against the spring. 2017-02-13_11-28-40 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr

Well, in the spirit of "We're here, might as well.. that we all know so well :grin:" I thought I'd go ahead and document the reassembly. Lube up the leg and seal well, sit it squarely on the fork leg.. you *did* remember the flat washer that goes underneath it, right? ..and drive it home. It won't take much. 2017-02-13_11-26-43 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr It'll bottom out on the washer, and give room for the little snap ring. Install it with your fingers. Lube the dust cover and slide it down on the inner tube. 2017-02-13_11-27-04 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr Because the new dust cover and seal will be going beyond their normal travel, make sure all the bug guts, rock dings, etc. are cleaned up. 2017-02-13_11-29-28 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr Unfortunately, one of them wasn't bug guts. I looked at it with a 10x power glass, and it was a raised chip of metal or coating. Donned my old mold maker's hat, and carefully stoned it off with a hard fine stone. 2017-02-13_11-29-52 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr Now, we're ready to continue.

Speaking of range. I just heard this guy for the first time a couple of days ago..

I would really have liked to see that completed. I do understand the curse of projects... so ...I'm out I'm not so sure you completely understand the curse of projects.. Once, I casually said, "Kool, I'll build that for you.." Ahem.. 12 years later (!) it was done.

Hey, the arrows are pointing the other way, mate! Eh, typical BMW driver.. Pete, (of course) is right on the money.. and you've probably done a lot of work for nothing. But.. now you are in the "While you are there" scenario. If I had it down that far, I'd do the things Scud and Phil said to look at. You're there...

I kept "Darth Quota" for a couple of years. It was the Guzzitech commuter before the ugly divorce between Todd and Ed, and was very well tuned. A much better handling road bike than you would think by looking at them, and a *really* good touring bike. That long travel suspension soaked up those nasty interstate expansion joints and rough roads like Yerba Buena with ease. It was a big sucker for off road, though. Oh, I'm sure it would do it, but I'd hate to have to pick it up much..

Any Harley dealer. Wear your doo wrap. *If* it is the same TPS as the Jackal, it's Harley Part # 27271-95.

My pleasure. If I find anything notable when I put them together, I'll post it. It looks to be straightforward.

Yeah, I did it, too.. many years ago. The price was $42 then.

Meeses *really* like wiring. You're a lucky guy.

Whew! It took longer to tell about it than to do it. I suppose that is why I couldn't find anything like this on the net. A pro doesn't have time to waste documenting this stuff. It's play for me. I hope it helps the next guy (or girl) that finds this with a search.

This is a seal hook. It's pretty obvious how it works.. 2017-02-12_11-18-32 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr You can see where I've pulled the seal a little of the way up on one side. Going around and levering it against the fork leg will pull it right out. Try not to beat up the end of the fork tube like the last guy that was here did. I know who it was, and I'm not surprised, honestly. 2017-02-12_11-18-48 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr There is a simple stamped flat washer under the seal. The smooth side faces the seal, naturally. 2017-02-12_11-19-04 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr Clean everything up in the solvent tank, and we're ready to reassemble with the new seals. But first. We need a seal driver. If you plan to do this, and don't have a lathe, just buy the proper tool. That way you can put the new seal on the inner tube and drive it in to the outer. It'll be doweled together. I decided to do it the quick and dirty way. Went into my "In my lifetime" area, and found some pvc pipe. 2017-02-12_11-19-23 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr Sawed it off, cleaned it up, chucked it up, and made a seal driver. 1.830" ID and 2.155" OD. 2017-02-12_11-19-39 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr Added a little chamfer 2017-02-12_11-19-52 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr So it won't mark the seal lip. Now, we're ready to install the seal. Don't forget that flat washer that goes underneath it. Ohlin's sez "9 Remove the outer tube, clean the seals and check for damage, if the seals are damaged remove and replace. If the seals are OK, then apply Ohlins grease" To me it sounds ok to just install the seal and assemble the forks. After all, you have to take the forks apart to service them.. why would you have to use the 2 piece seal driver to install the seals in assembly? I'm betting a hundred dollars (seals and oil) that you don't.

Then, you can remove the spring.. you can grab it with your new coat hanger "special tool" 2017-02-12_11-15-33 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr When you remove the fork from the soft jaws, remember the fork is now ready to come apart. Don't let it do that.. Now, you can empty the oil, keeping your finger over part of the piston shaft where the needle valve and spring will eventually find their way out. You can see them here. When they come out, some more oil will come, so be ready to catch it in your "graduated cylinder." 2017-02-12_11-16-01 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr Here's what they look like.. 2017-02-12_11-16-21 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr Looks like it'll take a half liter.. or a little more if you include all if it that I didn't get into the measuring cup. Some more oil will come out when you remove the inner tube from the outer. Do that now. 2017-02-12_11-17-01 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr Put the outer tube back in the soft jaws.. Remove the dust cap. A small screwdriver tapped in around the edge will bring it up a little, then a larger screwdriver will lever it up. Be gentle. 2017-02-12_11-17-22 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr Once that is out, you'll see a snap ring. Fortunately, it's not the "Snap Ring From Hell" that I found on the Aero engine conversion. 2017-02-12_11-17-45 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr It's round, so I just used a small scriber to work in behind it and lever it out. About anything sharp should do it. 2017-02-12_11-18-01 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr

Pull everything up 2017-02-12_11-12-50 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr and "remove the preload tube." To do that, pull the preload tube down against spring pressure and slide a 17mm open end wrench on the jam nut. 2017-02-12_11-13-14 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr Turning the ratchet will unlock the jam nut, and you can spin off the assembly. 2017-02-12_11-14-07 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr Now, you can remove the preload tube. You'll notice the damper rod has slowly sunk into the bowels of the shock. Not to worry. Grab the top and slowly pull it up. 2017-02-12_11-14-28 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr If you don't pull it up slowly, it'll shoot oil out. Remove the nut and the long tube inside the piston shaft. 2017-02-12_11-14-52 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr What this tube does is push on a spring loaded needle valve when you turn the rebound adjusting screw on the top of the fork. Need I say that if you dump the oil out, that spring and needle valve will eventually fall out into the oil,and maybe get lost? Next, there is a stamped gizmo.. it's not named on the parts blow up.. that you can fish out with a piece of welding rod or coat hanger with a 90 degree bend on the end.. 2017-02-12_11-15-17 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr Now is the time to measure the air gap. On my fork, the oil just comes to the top of the spring. That is right at 4.6 inches. Converting that to metric, it's 116.84mm. Hmmm. The manual says 105mm. I'll probably go with that.

Here we go. Upright.. check. soft jaws.. check. Notice I get my supplies from the same place as Wiley Coyote.. 2017-02-12_11-12-02 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr Back out the blue nut all the way. Count the turns. This controls spring preload, and if you don't count the turns, you'll have to go through setting the sag again. 2017-02-12_11-12-18 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr I'd already loosened the top nut assembly when it was on the bike, but it wouldn't have been necessary. You'll feel a click when the damper rod comes loose from the top assy. "Do not damage the O-ring (well, duh) and do not drop the flat key into the fork leg." (I have no idea about what they are saying, there.) 2017-02-12_11-12-36 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr

As an Airframe and Powerplant mechanic, I'm licensed to fix anything the flies.. from a free balloon to a triple 7. (!) Naturally, the FAA doesn't expect a guy to instinctively *know* everything about all. What they *do* expect, though, is for a guy to be able to find the micro fiche.. uh, well it's on CD now.. from the manufacturer and follow the instructions. Ok. I downloaded the manual for the Ohlins Road and Track 43 fork, and here are the instructions for changing out the seals: Changing seals Put the fork legs upright for 15 minutes. 1 Grip the fork leg in a vice. Use soft jaws. 2 Unload the spring preload completely by turning the adjustment screw counterclockwise. Use a 12 mm or a 17 mm wrench. Make a note of the number of turns. 3 Carefully remove the top nut assy. CAUTION! Do not damage the O-ring and do not drop the flat key into the fork leg. 4 Remove the preload tube. 5 Slide the outer fork leg up until the top bushing is just above the inner leg. (Approx. 140 mm from complete bottom position. This is to make sure there is no oil above the top bushing). 6 Slide the outer tube completely down. (Fork seal touching fork bottom). 7 Push the piston rod down completly. NOTE! When measuring the oil level, always have the spring installed. Measure the oil level using the top of the outer tube as the zero mark. Note the measurement. 8 Remove the spring and tip the oil in a clean container. 9 Remove the outer tube, clean the seals and check for damage, if the seals are damaged remove and replace. If the seals are OK, then apply �hlins grease (green grease 148-01). Sweetie's calling me for lunch.. back in a few.

Or an antique airplane. A little oil is like a little blood. Looks like crap, but isn't much of a *problem.* I think you got a little carried away before really troubleshooting where it is coming from. You mentioned the baby powder (or spray athlete's foot powder trick. Seriously.. you should have done that before getting this far. It will be harder to find out where it is coming from, now. At least do the sniff test so we know whether it is engine or transmission oil. Report back. Hey Chuck when I was working on Pratt R2000's we lived by the addage you only need to worry when it's not leaking oil, that means its run out Ciao The engine (90 hp Lambert 5 cylinder radial) for the Monocoupe I'm restoring was overhauled, test run, oil drained, and pickled in the late 90s. There's no oil in it, but it's still marking it's spot underneath it.

You're probably right, Scud. Just the same, I have depth mics and know how to use them. It only take a few seconds to get them closer than Luigi originally assembled them. Makes me feel good. That's just the way I am.

Good plan.

Or an antique airplane. A little oil is like a little blood. Looks like crap, but isn't much of a *problem.* I think you got a little carried away before really troubleshooting where it is coming from. You mentioned the baby powder (or spray athlete's foot powder trick. Seriously.. you should have done that before getting this far. It will be harder to find out where it is coming from, now. At least do the sniff test so we know whether it is engine or transmission oil. Report back.

Back in the day, I had a Bultaco Matador. I had a set of vise grips clamped on the frame. You could always find a rock.

The pictures are so small, my old eyes don't see much. You *may* be overly worried, though..

So, I went to an Ape forum, and answers were all over the place, too. Spring in, out, damper rod up, down, 90mm, 110mm.. This shouldn't be that hard.. Fortunately, one of mine has never leaked, and the forks have worked beautifully. I'll pull the cap tomorrow, measure it with the spring in and the damper down. Whatever it is.. that will be what I use. I'll report back tomorrow. It's supposed to rain. I really enjoyed playing out side today..it's rare to have 60f, sunny, and no wind to speak of in February. Thought about going for a ride, but there's still salt on the roads. Nah.