1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

Pinned ZXR 250 fork seal/oil change (basic tools)

Discussion in 'Kawasaki 250cc In-line 4's' started by sharky, Feb 13, 2019.

  1. sharky

    sharky Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    482
    Likes Received:
    325
    Trophy Points:
    273
    Joined:
    Aug 5, 2016
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    daredevil
    Location:
    Tweed heads
    My Bike:
    kawasaki zxr 250c
    This is to take the mystery out of doing your own fork seals without the special tools. This is for the "c" model forks, the "a" model,I think, has a different spring & spacer setup.
    These are the tools that will get you by- a shifting spanner, a 12,14 & 17mm spanner, a sm & med flat blade screwdriver, sm & med long nose pliers, a syringe with 85mm of hose, a roll of electrical tape, silicone grease(optional) & an old fork seal with a cutout section just wide enough to squeeze over the fork.

    20190212_170342.jpg 20190212_125330.jpg

    First off be sure to crack the top plug before removing the forks.

    20190212_161845.jpg
    With the forks now removed,unscrew the top plug from the fork outers, now pull up the top plug while pushing down on the spacer, wedge the spacer under the piston rod nut.

    20190211_141347.jpg

    Now with the med screwdriver wedge the spacer & nut apart & squeeze in the 12mm spanner under the nut.

    20190211_141400.jpg

    20190211_141448.jpg

    Place the 14mm spanner on the rod nut & the 17mm spanner on the top plug, crack & unscrew by hand,remove spanners.

    20190211_141533.jpg

    20190211_141710.jpg

    20190211_141908.jpg

    Remove damping rod,spacer,guide & fork spring.

    20190211_142039.jpg

    Drain the oil, then at a 45° angle, pull the piston rod in & out to drain the cylinder, place in a dry container to drain further & start on the next fork.

    20190211_215155.jpg

    20190211_142143.jpg

    Remove the dust seal & retaining ring.

    20190211_143150.jpg

    20190211_143651.jpg

    Now the forks are ready for disassembly, hold the fork horizontal & pull apart until you feel them stop, then give them a few crisp snaps back & forth until they seperat, remove- bushes,washer,oil & dust seal.

    20190211_143827.jpg

    The forks are now ready for a clean before re-installing the gear, at this point I like to remove the cylinder also for easier cleaning(optional). You will need a few more tools for this, if you wish to do so you will need a 10mm Allen key, a breaker bar to fit over the allen key, for the fork cylinder I use a 16/18mm double ended plug spanner, 18mm for the fork cylinder & another spanner fits the 16mm end to lengthen, hold the cylinder end tight & crack the allen bolt, I do it in the vice but can be layed flat on the ground with a foot on the fork lower, you may need another person to help.

    20190212_121635.jpg

    20190211_163751.jpg

    Forks are clean, now the bushes & seals need re-assembling. Use a plastic bag smeared in fork oil or silicone to slide the oil & dust seals over the sharp edges,pop the bag & pull down through the seal to remove. Install the parts in the correct order the right way up- dust seal first then oil seal, washer,outer bushing, inner bushing, the retaining ring can pop in later. MOST IMPORTANT- the washer has a flat & rounded side, the rounded side faces upward towards the outer bushing, the flat side of the washer sits flush against the oil seal.

    20190212_124922.jpg

    Seperate the washer and outer bush from the seals & wrap electrical tape about 5mm thick in the middle of the tube.

    20190212_125821.jpg

    Sit the forks on the ground & give it half a dozen good whacks, check under the washer to see if the bush has bottomed out, remove tape.

    20190212_130003.jpg

    Slide the new oil seal down now & re-tape, insert the cutout oil seal facing the same way as the new oil seal. Slowly push the seals down until the cutout seal is just inside the tube, then give it a few mediumish whacks, dig out the cutout seal & rotate 180° & go again, remove cutout seal & tape.

    20190212_134757.jpg

    20190212_135300.jpg

    Insert the retaining ring & dust seal.

    20190212_140727.jpg 20190212_145053.jpg

    Fully compress the forks & watch out for the dust seals, hold the piston rod nut & fill with oil, pump the rod up & down slowly while keeping the oil above the holes.

    20190212_150316.jpg

    20190212_151047.jpg

    Sit the syringe on the fork tops & remove oil until the recommended 85mm from the top.

    20190212_151519.jpg

    Now some important bits before re-assembly.
    PISTO ROD NUT-manual states 12mm of visible thread, I screw it right down (13.5mm) which seems to allow a few more clicks adjustment in suspension, chamfered side of the nut faces downward.

    20190212_153740.jpg

    FORK SPRING- smaller end of spring faces upward.

    20190212_153755.jpg

    TOP PLUG- manual states a 25mm gap between the compression damper adjuster & where the damping rod inserts, turn the adjuster until 25mm is attained.

    20190212_201834.jpg

    Unscrew the piston rod nut to this position, damping rod should be out also.

    20190212_155901.jpg

    This is the hardest bit, insert the fork spring,insert the spacer & guide while holding the piston rod up from the bottom near the fork tube with one finger, grab the piston rod nut with the small pliers as you drop the spacer(I got by using the larger pliers) push the spacer down by hand while holding the rod nut to lock it in this position again under the nut.

    20190212_160813.jpg

    Use the screwdriver once again to wedge open & insert the 12mm spanner under the nut, use the 14mm rod nut spanner & tighten the rod nut back down to the seated position, push down firmly with the 12mm to compress the spring so a full tighten can be achieved without the cylinder spinning, install the top cap.

    20190212_161257.jpg 20190212_161401.jpg 20190212_161458.jpg

    Screw the top cap onto the fork outer tube, done :cool:

    20190212_161845.jpg 20190212_165953.jpg
     

    Attached Files:

    • Winner Winner x 4
    • Informative Informative x 4
    • Nice Work Nice Work x 4
  2. kz1000a

    kz1000a Active Member

    Messages:
    34
    Likes Received:
    12
    Trophy Points:
    178
    Joined:
    Dec 13, 2018
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Melbourne
    My Bike:
    '89 ZXR250A '77 Z1000
    Ahhh, now I understand how you are using the electrical tape as a fork seal driver.
    Ingenious
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  3. Carsnwomen

    Carsnwomen Member

    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    13
    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2019
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Toronto Canada
    My Bike:
    1994 zxr250r
    Wow First timer and first time poster, i'm glad these forums are being kept alive.

    Great post! Will be doing fork seals for my very first time ever myself on this bike, this is very helpful since the zxr250 was imported where i live...

    Question, the bike is a '94 and it has only 15k km on it. There's a full fork bushing, fork seal and dust seal for sale on ebay (i believe its from the UK-Pyramid parts) should it need the fork bushing replaced, should i bother, is it difficult? Please advise, thanks!
     
  4. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Staff Member Contributing Member Ride and Events Crew

    Messages:
    6,397
    Likes Received:
    4,785
    Trophy Points:
    1,148
    Joined:
    May 4, 2013
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Tamworth, NSW
    My Bike:
    1937 Royal Enfield 250, CF Moto 250 V5, Honda's XL250, CBR250, FT500 plus a few others.
    Welcome. At 15,000Km I wouldn't think the bushings would be worn out. Can you grab the bottom of the leg and move it back and forth and feel any movement?
     
  5. Carsnwomen

    Carsnwomen Member

    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    13
    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2019
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Toronto Canada
    My Bike:
    1994 zxr250r
    I haven't checked but i'm just gonna go ahead and buy the kit... is there a certain spot where the seal stops moving when you whack it down? or just underneath the retaining clip can be inserted?
     
  6. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Staff Member Contributing Member Ride and Events Crew

    Messages:
    6,397
    Likes Received:
    4,785
    Trophy Points:
    1,148
    Joined:
    May 4, 2013
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Tamworth, NSW
    My Bike:
    1937 Royal Enfield 250, CF Moto 250 V5, Honda's XL250, CBR250, FT500 plus a few others.
    Take a measure before you pull the old seals out. Usually just below the clip groove is where the seal stops.
     
  7. Carsnwomen

    Carsnwomen Member

    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    13
    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2019
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Toronto Canada
    My Bike:
    1994 zxr250r
    Ah yes, that makes sense! As for fork oil weight I see that 5w is what's used and what the factory service manual calls for, I'm 230lbs should I perhaps use 7.5w?
     
  8. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Staff Member Contributing Member Ride and Events Crew

    Messages:
    6,397
    Likes Received:
    4,785
    Trophy Points:
    1,148
    Joined:
    May 4, 2013
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Tamworth, NSW
    My Bike:
    1937 Royal Enfield 250, CF Moto 250 V5, Honda's XL250, CBR250, FT500 plus a few others.
    I would suggest going to 7.5wt.
     
  9. jmw76

    jmw76 Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    1,151
    Likes Received:
    585
    Trophy Points:
    498
    Joined:
    Mar 12, 2017
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Melbourne, Australia
    My Bike:
    Honda cbr250rr mc22 road + 1 track, Honda RC 162 tribute bike, Honda Spada Vt250, Honda CBR900RR
    I prefer a stiffer feel for the front end. So I run 15W in my CBR250RRs.
    It does depend a bit on the valving setup and the condition of the fork internals. You might also like to experiment a little with oil height. More oil makes them a bit stiffer. But don't overdo it, otherwise it can limit fork travel.
     
  10. maelstrom

    maelstrom LiteTek Staff Member Premium Member 250cc Vendor Contributing Member

    Messages:
    5,102
    Likes Received:
    3,472
    Trophy Points:
    1,148
    Joined:
    Dec 23, 2012
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Thailand
    Home Page:
    My Bike:
    Yamaha FZR400 3TJ1, Honda MC22
    Hey Mr Big Cheese, @GreyImport, could you sticky this please.
     
    • Like Like x 2
    • Agree Agree x 1
  11. Carsnwomen

    Carsnwomen Member

    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    13
    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2019
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Toronto Canada
    My Bike:
    1994 zxr250r
    Hey I got a full carb rebuild kit from you guys! Great instructions and I like that its ethanol resistant !

    Def not revalved so I will be sticking to some just a bit thicker... I'm glad this was pinned, great pics and following!
     
    • Like Like x 1
  12. maelstrom

    maelstrom LiteTek Staff Member Premium Member 250cc Vendor Contributing Member

    Messages:
    5,102
    Likes Received:
    3,472
    Trophy Points:
    1,148
    Joined:
    Dec 23, 2012
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Thailand
    Home Page:
    My Bike:
    Yamaha FZR400 3TJ1, Honda MC22
    Your welcome Carsnwomen. We don't have many Canadian customers because of the shipping problems.
    Cheers
    Blair
     
  13. crshbndct

    crshbndct Active Member

    Messages:
    46
    Likes Received:
    35
    Trophy Points:
    188
    Joined:
    May 15, 2019
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    New Zealand
    My Bike:
    1991 ZXR250R
    What do I do if the top cap is super ultra mega tight? I have backed the preload adjusters all the way off, in case that makes a difference. Can I use WD40 on it? I imagine the rubber seal wont let the wd40 get to the threads.

    I am going to try getting a 27mm impact socket to put on it.

    EDIT: 27mm Impact socket, in a normal wrench did it. I wasn't going to put a rattle gun on it, but the 6 sided impact was the right choice for getting it off. This was while it was still in the tree.
     
    • Like Like x 1
    Last edited: May 16, 2021
  14. GreyImport

    GreyImport Administrator Staff Member The Chief Contributing Member

    Messages:
    10,914
    Likes Received:
    6,708
    Trophy Points:
    1,168
    Joined:
    Jun 14, 2012
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Between a Rock and a Hard Place
    Location:
    North by NW NSW Oztralia - Tamworth
    My Bike:
    *Kawasaki ZXR250C *Yamaha FZR250R 3LN1 *Yamaha FZR400 *Triumph Bonneville 750 T140V *Triumph Daytona 675 *Triumph Tiger 800XC
    Top caps should be cracked loose while the fork is still in the triple tree .... top pinch bolts loose and bottom ones kept tight to hold the fork from spinning

    Plus the correct size socket with a breaker bar if its tight
     
    • Like Like x 2
    • Agree Agree x 1
    Last edited: May 16, 2021
  15. ruckusman

    ruckusman White Mans Magic Master Premium Member Dirty Wheel Club

    Messages:
    3,225
    Likes Received:
    1,415
    Trophy Points:
    918
    Joined:
    Oct 1, 2013
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Narrabeen, NSW Australia
    My Bike:
    Yamaha FZR250 3LN1
    That's a magnificent write-up!
     

Share This Page