Let’s refresh with front maintenance + SKF & A.S.H. overhaul.
We can also polish corroded parts like these as an add-on.
By cleaning things up alongside maintenance, the bike’s performance steadily improves and its appearance gets better too. I believe this is how you can truly care for and own your motorcycle.
Steering bearing. There’s oil present, but the grease has degraded and become sticky. Smooth handling would be difficult in this condition.
Let’s thoroughly clean the head pipe with a brush while we’re at it. This is one of the few times you can do this, and who knows when the next opportunity will be.
Visually confirm that it’s properly pressed in.
Bikes from this era have a lot of plastic covers. Suzuki has very few upper seals, so we’ll adapt one and make the change.
When adapting, it’s necessary to confirm that this seal moves freely as well.
In recent years, it’s become standard practice to place a washer seal used for the lower seal on top. (Honda has been doing this for quite a while now…)
The grease is Neutech NC100. It’s not because we handle Neutech that we use it.
• Resistant to heat and doesn’t liquefy and drip easily
• The consistency feels softer than the specification.
• Excellent durability.
The frame gets hot, so the grease resists liquefying and flowing away under those conditions. Being soft also improves handling. When we’ve disassembled bikes with several years and tens of thousands of kilometers on them, the grease was still there in good condition.
The result is that good condition lasts longer.
Next, we move to the front fork. It’s a very simple, old-style inverted design.
The oil condition isn’t bad.
The difference from the shiny areas in the photo is obvious. These shiny areas are worn down, becoming even shinier, and when the seal slides back and forth while being pulled, both sides suffer significant damage.
I believe the best way to prevent leaks is to keep the fork operating smoothly and minimize wear on the inner tube and oil seal.
I’ve measured outer diameter wear in various ways over the years. Even where plating has peeled off, the dimensional change is surprisingly small.
If you wipe it back and forth with a paper towel in a degreased state, you’ll be able to feel the difference.
As for what to do with used inner tubes like this—that’s another matter.
After that, we bleed the air, adjust the oil level, and we’re done.
Of course, the seals are SKF.
