Home Great Deals When Should Service the Front End?
How long have you had your motorcycle? A year? 2 years? 10,000 miles? 25,000 miles? No doubt you have serviced the Engine, Transmission, and Primary according to the recommended schedule. You may have even had the Steering Stem inspected and adjusted. But what about the front fork springs? Yes, your front fork springs need inspection or replacement too. Depending on the mileage you have racked up on your ride. Here at K and G Cycles we have just what you need to service the front end on your motorcycle and return that ride to new.
The recomme nded front fork service and or replacement intervals vary depending on who you are talking to. Factory recommendations can be as far out as 5o,000 miles, while those in the aftermarket swear your springs are done after a mere 10,000 miles. So who is telling the truth? Well in actuality, they both are. There is always a catch – It all depends on how you ride and where you ride. If you are a weekend rider that takes the same good road the 50-100 miles each way for lunch on Saturdays than you are most likely to be at the higher end of the interval. If you are the rider that does 500+ miles in a weekend with a passenger and gear, you will be at the opposite end of the range. Symptoms can range from harsher ride, fork wobble developing while cornering , a feeling of less control when loaded with gear and passengers, to signs of a fluid leak from the front forks. I tend to be about a 50% guy when it comes to the battle of OEM v/s Aftermarket. What I mean by that is is I try to be better than "Factory Recommendations" but yet tend to have some leniency with the Aftermarket because I know their service suggestions can be a bit excessive and be focused on their pocket book.
Something else to consider when determining the appropriate time to service your front end is whether you plan on altering the suspension. By this I mean do you have any intent on lowering your bike. Many people lower the rear of the motorcycle to achieve a tail dragging stance that also affords them a slightly reduced seat height. For those looking to drop the overall ride height of the bike you can also install new fork springs that lower the front end. This often gives the rider a lower seat height making the bike more manageable for them. Keep in mind when removing any amount of suspension travel you compromise the ride quality of your bike. Now you must decide if it will be just the rear or all of the bike. Companies like Progressive Suspension and Burly Brand produce quality suspension lowering kits that have been designed to maintain as much of the original ride quality as possible. While servicing the front end or replacing the fork springs and seals it is always a good idea to use an industry recognized, top notch fluid that is the correct weight for the application. Some of the fork oils available could cause a pressure build up and damage your fork seals causing a leak, while others could keep the correct pressure from building and create a very rough ride.
Determining th e correct service point or replacement interval is something you will want to talk to a a qualified technician about. They can perform tests that will better determine the condition of your suspension. A rebound test will show you just how weak or tight the suspension is by the degree of bounce the suspension yields. They can also inspect the fluid which will speak volumes. As with all fluids, dirt and heat are major storytellers, with no real way of hiding the facts. Burnt fluid is a dead giveaway that indicates thermal breakdown and can render the fluid useless. It is important to have your bike serviced on a regular basis so critical components do not have a chance to fail. You friends at K and G Cycles have everything you need to keep your ride like new. Contact us today for all your front end parts.