XJ 900 Forks Sticking

I've noticed my front forks sticking after braking or even when sitting on my bike. If I lift the bike up or take weight off it, the forks pop up about 2-3cm...

There's no leaks from the seals that I can see.

I'm thinking that the springs probably need replacing, or even using some thicker fork oil?

It's an 86 model, no idea of the service level before I got it.

Is it just another xj trait, or should I be looking into this further?

Cheers, Stu

 

sounds like you could have a bent fork tube....
Or maybe the seals are shot and there is no oil in it.....
or maybe the springs are shot....

Or maybe I'm not understanding, do you mean that the forks stay down a little because of the weight... or because the tubes are sticking?

I've not had to mess with my tubes on my XJ yet... knock on wood.

 

Thanks for the reply, it is hard to explain.

The forks compress slightly when i'm sitting on it, fine - normal.

The issue is after stopping, the forks are lower again. If I stand off the bike, or lift the front up - the forks decompress about 2-3cm.

The handling is ok, has a bit of a wobble at around 100km/h but I'm told this is common on XJ's.

 

Sounds like the oil may be gone. Can you tell if there was a seal leaking?

 

I may drain the oil and refill over the weekend.

Haven't done it before, any tips?

 

Sorry, never had to get into mine yet.

 

Back on this, took my top springs out over the weekend & drained the oil.

The forks still seem to drop an inch when I sit on the bike, and the range of compression under braking is not great.

Anyone else have this issue? I'm thinking I should replace the lower springs with stiffer ones to help with the rebound?

Either way, I have two new custom tanks on the way from India time to break out the angle grinder and get customising.

Cheers, Stu