Hello all and thanks for reading this. I bought a 95 F3 that was down the hard road. When I brake or when bouncing the fork up and down while standing still, it seems to bind. Someone turned the preload all the way up at the top of the forks and backing it off to the middle position helped a lot. Is there any way to diagnose a fork?? Do the fork springs break?? I downloaded the manual I was just hoping for some fork insight. Thanks again!!

 

My guess is the binding is from there being too much friction in the forks. There are a couple reasons for this. I am guessing it's been years since the forks were serviced and the fork fluid is done for. Second, the bushings in the forks are shot and this is probably where the excessive friction is coming from.
To adjust the preload which is located at the top of the forks. To increase preload, screw down the adjuster with a 14mm (maybe 17mm, slipping my mind) wrench and vice versa to decrease preload. There are little rings, make sure you have the same number showing on both forks.

 

The front wheel, brakes, axle need to be tightened in a specific order. Over tightening or improper order can also cause binding. Any signs of bending in the fork tubes?

 

Sounds like a slightly bent fork tube to me, I hit the side of a car once and the bikes forks were never quite right after. The fork oil needed changing very regularly because as soon as it thinned a little it would leak through the seals.
If the fork oil is old it will have collected moisture and won't lubricate properly, this could also cause a bind.