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Front Suspension

MotoGuzzi12

MotoGuzzi12

Tuned and Synch'ed
Joined
Jul 6, 2014
Messages
41
Location
San Francisco, CA
I blew my front suspension on my v50...can't afford to take it to my mechanic so I'm gonna take this puppy apart and rebuild the front fork. Any want to shed some light? I have the guzzi workshop manual so I think I figure this out but any tips would be helpful. Also suggestions on where to get parts? In the past I've usually go through Harper...should I be getting used parts, new, or just replace the entire front end...

Also, little confused as the best way to take everything apart to work on the fork so suggestions there would be much appreciated as well...

I probably wont get a chance to work on it for a couple weeks but I'm sure I'll have a couple hiccups and will continue posting to this thread.

Thanks
 
Sounds like an adventure!
Some productive ideas I've found along the way:
Get a camera.
Take pictures of every thing you do. Get pictures BEFORE you take a section appart. Organize the pics on a computer for frequent referral.
Get organized.
Find some cans for collecting bolts, nuts,washers, etc. If possible, organize the cans let and right, top bottom, whatever you need.
Get comfortable.
I use a creeper, a rolling seat, and a bar stool. Granted, working on the front end requires standing a lot, but it is considerably more comfy when I sit when working on low parts (axle, brakes etc.)
Get a plan.
Exactly what are you going to do?
Welcome to the crazy world of DIY!!!!
 
Last edited:
MotoGuzzi12 said:
I blew my front suspension on my v50...can't afford to take it to my mechanic so I'm gonna take this puppy apart and rebuild the front fork.
Click to expand...
So you'll likely need an impact gun for the bottom bolt to get the damper rod/fork tube apart, and you'll also need a good sealer puller and driver to put them back together. There's probably a ton of info on YouTube on how to R&R a damper rod fork. Do you have the manual?
 
Tonerjockey said:
Sounds like an adventure!
Some productive ideas I've found along the way:
Get a camera.
Take pictures of every thing you do. Get pictures BEFORE you take a section appart. Organize the pics on a computer for frequent referral.
Get organized.
Find some cans for collecting bolts, nuts,washers, etc. If possible, organize the cans let and right, top bottom, whatever you need.
Get comfortable.
I use a creeper, a rolling seat, and a bar stool. Granted, working on the front end requires standing a lot, but it is considerably more comfy when I sit when working on low parts (axle, brakes etc.)
Get a plan.
Exactly what are you going to do?
Welcome to the crazy world of DIY!!!!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestions - organization is definitely key!
 
GT-Rx® said:
So you'll likely need an impact gun for the bottom bolt to get the damper rod/fork tube apart, and you'll also need a good sealer puller and driver to put them back together. There's probably a ton of info on YouTube on how to R&R a damper rod fork. Do you have the manual?
Click to expand...

I had some free time over the holiday to take my front end off get the ball rolling on this project...I came to quick halt when I arrived at the sealers. GOOD SEALER PULLERS ARE DEFINITELY NEEDED. I'm still not exactly sure what the problem is though; after I removed the fork and separated the two legs it was clear that my left side was failing to return to its original position after it was compressed. I took them both apart and drain all the fluid...my thought process here was that if I'm going to rebuild one, I might as well do both while they're apart.

I'm including some of the pictures I took for reference but please let me know if you have any ideas what I should be looking for...both springs seems to be in good condition and judging but the spare parts I've found online, it seems like replacing the seals is really the only issue I could fix. Otherwise, replacing the whole fork...any feedback is much appreciated. I have a PDF of the manual but its missing several pages and the exploded diagram of the front end has really been all I'm going off of.
 

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Is it possible one fork has compression dampening and the other has rebound dampening?
That could make one side reluctant to fully extend after being compressed.
 
Thanks again everyone...

I'm make some progress here - turns out one of the damper rods was completely shot and I was able to reorder aftermarket replacements as well as the fork seals. I didn't end up needing an impact gun (although it would have been helpful) and the real pain in the ass here remains with the seals...close to impossible to get out and i haven't really thought much about getting the replacements installed. I think I might just limp back to my faithful mechanic and ask him to check out my work and slap the new ones on.

In my mind, the majority of the labor associated with this project is out of the way so if I can have the seals properly installed I can reassemble on my own and sleep a little better about blowing the seals.

I've tried to attaching some follow up pictures of the damper rod reassembly in case anyone is interested but I'm having some issues uploading.
 
MotoGuzzi12 said:
Thanks again everyone...

I'm make some progress here - turns out one of the damper rods was completely shot and I was able to reorder aftermarket replacements as well as the fork seals. I didn't end up needing an impact gun (although it would have been helpful) and the real pain in the ass here remains with the seals...close to impossible to get out and i haven't really thought much about getting the replacements installed. I think I might just limp back to my faithful mechanic and ask him to check out my work and slap the new ones on.

In my mind, the majority of the labor associated with this project is out of the way so if I can have the seals properly installed I can reassemble on my own and sleep a little better about blowing the seals.

I've tried to attaching some follow up pictures of the damper rod reassembly in case anyone is interested but I'm having some issues uploading.
Click to expand...
IMG 0188 IMG 0437 IMG 0434 IMG 0238 IMG 0429
 
Final update here.

Good seal pullers are definitely needed so take that into consideration. I'm fortunate enough to have a good relationship with my mechanic and he let me swing by his shop to borrow his...

Everything else was fairly straight forward.

Once the seals were replaced, I just needed to reassemble everything with the new damper rods and replace the fluid.

I don't recall specifically how much is needed but its far less than I expected.

I got everything wrapped up about a month an half ago and put a few hundred miles on since. Everything appears to be in good order.

I'd recommend putting a handful of miles on your bike and then going back to tighten everything up afterwards.

I also stripped the black paint of the forks to return the front suspension to what I suspect was the original look.

Pictures to come...

Thanks again!
 
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