Wondering if there is a tutorial on fork disassembly for our bikes. I was looking at getting a set of stiffer springs for the F2 and realized I'd have no idea how to do any of the work. The company also sells a valve kit that supposedly offers a lot better damping than OE. The complete price is cheaper than F3 forks that I have seen so far.

 

you talking about the Race Tech gold valve emulators? They're pretty well reviewed by those that have done them.

Fork disassembly isn't that difficult really - if you have a haynes or clymer manual it's pretty well described.

This guy's walk through is pretty good to give you a visual idea. This video and the manual is all I needed. I did the Racetech springs in my 94 fork, and there are some extra steps needed t install the springs - but that's all documented int he RaceTech instructions.

F4i Fork Seal Change Part 1 - YouTube

 

He uses a screw driver to remove the seal?? Yuck!

I mounted the fork into a Workmate workbench and basically just pulled them apart (hard) so it hammers the seal out. You might get away with doing that while the fork is still mounted in the bike (and might be easer), though I don't know what that'll do to the triple tree.

ALSO:
You'll need a way to put the fork seals back in! They make a special tool for this, but I used a piece of PVC pipe. Keep in mind the PVC pipe won't fit right off, I used a drill press with a sanding drum to make the inside wide enough to fit on the fork. Then I could freely slide it up and down and hit the seal back into place. Don't over torque the bottom nut!

 

Just wondering how you would remove the dust seal?

 

Split the piece of PVC on the end, length-wise about 3-4 times. That gives it enough space to scrunch down to the fork tube's diameter with the help of a hose clamp.
Then it's universal.

Ern

 

I found it harder to put the seal and dust wiper back in than take them out. After removing the screw from the bottom of the fork tube the fork leg came right out with just a couple of pulls. The whole thing was easier than I thought it would be. Took me about 1 1/2 hours from start to finish and that includes all the wiping and swabbing of everything. The oil that came out of mine was dark gray and stunk like sewage! Eeuuuww! My '82 RM 250 that I had was much, much more difficult to do. Took me like two days. Lol!

 

I wouldnt waste the money for the upgraded f2 suspension. I already have an f2 with a racetech gold valve kit and springs. The f3 front end is the way to go. F3 have floating rotors vs f2 solid mounted. You could also go with the 06 gsxr 600 front end if your going the the track with this baby.

 

How was the F2 upgraded? Doesn't the F3 upgrade require a bunch of extra parts to do?

 

The f2 is upgraded as mentioned by going with a valve kit and springs, maybe even a pvc spacer if there is more than one rider with differing weights. The adjustments able to be made on these bikes are minimal compared to newer models. The f3 upgrade does require many more parts. You would be replacing the entire font end, but can keep your tire triples, stem, forks, calipers, rotors, wheel. I am using my experiance from track riding, that i upgraded the internals with everything possible to help me out, they still are lacking. The largest part of these bikes front end that doesnt make me feel safe is the calipers. The technology with dual piston rotors has been blown out of the water. I know your only looking or a fork assy tutorial, but if your really interested in upgrading your suspension, the f3 imo is the way to go. The price point on a full f3 front end is on the cheap 150, top dollar (that i would pay, not service shop selling) 300. I think the kits that I put into both my f2's (racetech) cost about 300 per bike. Im not trying to stray you off the path, the upgraded forks are 1000X better than the stock, but the f3 front leaves them in the dust.

 

I had an '82 Rm 250 I was restoring to take evolution racing and of course the front end was totally useless. 1982 technology. I'm more on the large side than small and was consistently bottoming the front end. I bought a set of the Racetech Gold Emulators and they changed nothing. They cost me $168 and they did nothing for my bike. I changed springs, messed with settings and nothing. I couldn't even tell they were in there at all. I still have them on the shelf. I fixed the forks on that old RM though, I bought an '11 RMZ 450. No more bottoming problems! I guess the point is, emulators are a hard sell as far as I'm concerned. Fool me once shame on you fool me twice..............