front shocks

[tri-z tex]

i was just wondering my front shocks on my 86 tri - z at loose would i have to get them rebulid or are then air compressed can i just pump them up with the equal amount of air pressure

[tri-z tex]

anyone know?

[ATCWRENCH]

what do you mean by "loose". are they just really soft and scwushy or are the fork slider and fork tube wobble ie. when you grab them do they bend in the middle? I'm not real familiar with tri-z forks but if they are just real scwushy and you have noticed oil seeping past the seals and swipers on your forks they need to be rebuilt with new seals and swipers along with new fluid in the forks. if there is no fluid seeping past the seals and swipers then ya just need new fork oil. if ya need new fork oil there are one of 2 ways you can put new fluid in the forks. like i said i'm not familiar with yamaha forks, i'm used to honda but there might be a small bolt at the bottom of the forks, not on the bottom but at the bottom on the back side of the fork. if there is one take it out of both forks and slowly pump the forks up and down to cycle all the fluid out and even after thats done let it set for about a half hour so it can drain a little more. once that done put the bolt back in and go to the top of one fork at a time and take the cap off and fill with recommended amount of fluid. the other way is to take the fork out of the triple clamps, take the caps off pull the springs out and pump that forks up side down until all the fluid is out. in either case it is wise to loosen the top triple clap bolts so it is not hard to get the fork caps off, leave that bottom one torqued down just loosen the top ones. you would be amazed at what new fork fluid would do for a set of forks. and all I use for fork oil is automatic trans fluid. yea I know they have specific fluid for forks but that pricy and I change my fluid quit often so the cheap stuff works

[tri-z tex]

by loose i ment they are really soft cause i heard from somewhere that i could just pump them up with a air pump cause theres a little valve on the top of the forks is this true

[Power_Ram100]

You can pump them up but you can only put 8 PSI max in them. You might need new springs if its really soft and bottoming out. I know denniskirk has progressive springs.

[tri-z tex]

anyone else know about this topic

[thefox]

When was the last time the fork oil was changed?

[tri-z tex]

never from what i know

could you explain what oil i would need and how to do it plz

[Darius1502]

The 86 has great front shocks. Better than the 85. Its likely that you fork seals are leaking. Do you have oil around the boots? or seal? When the oil level leaks out the forks get softer. Adding air will only further blow out your seals.

If you forks are adjusted with the right oil and they are 86 forks...they should work awesome. Some have said that the 86 Z and 86 R had the best front suspension of any 3 wheeler. The Z was only marginally off when compared to the action of the R's fork forks. I can't tell a difference with mine.

I bet you have a leak

[85 250sx]

so if your fourks are soft but you dont see any oil seeping out, you dont need a rebuild just new oil? Because thats how mine are just soft but cant see any oil

[tri-z tex]

what oil is it

[twgranger]

somebody here told me that they did a 86 fork conversion on their 85 and now it rides like a lumber wagon. :confused:

[OldSchoolin86]

somebody here told me that they did a 86 fork conversion on their 85 and now it rides like a lumber wagon. :confused:
The 86 forks are the same forks as the 85-86 R forks but with different axle and caliper mounting. If it felt like a lumber truck to them they either had too thick of oil in them or rammed em full of air.

[85 250sx]

so if your fourks are soft but you dont see any oil seeping out, you dont need a rebuild just new oil? Because thats how mine are just soft but cant see any oil

can anyone please input on this thanks

[Darius1502]

Yeah the forks on the 86 are awesome...beats the hell out of the skinny 85's