Should I be putting air in my forks?

Again I'm still new at this.
While doing some cosmetic things to The Beast, I noticed a cap so I unscrewed it to reveal an air valve at the top of the forks?

 

You need one of these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1982-YAMAHA-XJ7 ... 1297wt_912

 

yeah with a little searching I found out what it is for. Considering the pressure is between 0 and 10 psi depending on what is in your manual (thanks bigfitz52), It seems that it probably doesn't mater much if it has air or not.

thanks for the quick reply

 

You would be surprised at the difference between 0psi and oh, say 6psi.

Try it and see (assuming your fork seals still do their job.)

 

yeah, I have a bicycle pump so why not!

 

Ok, I grabbed my bicycle pump and pumped up my forks. My Seals seem like they are A-O-K!! What a HUGE difference in the dive-down effect. Huge difference!

Everyone, go our to you bikes. If you have this little valve squirt some air here you will be AMAZED hehe.

Thank you XJbikes!

 

I put some air in my front and rear shocks. Stiffened up the back but the front leaks out. Are the front seals pretty easy to replace?

 

Teidious would be the term I'd use for someone who has not ever done the task before.

It's not a bad job. It just requires certain tools and techniques to do the job. Research online and do a search here on the forum. I think someone has done a write-up about the task.

 

Is the leakage from the oil seals or from the air seals? If the fork oil seals aren't leaking then you are in for a fairly easy job to replace the o-rings and schrader valves (if needed) at the air collar. The 1100 also has a crossover tube to keep both forks balanced. That is another potential source of leakage.

 

K-moe, yeah it is just the air seals. Oil seals are good. I'll do a search for it. Wasn't sure if the fork oil seals and the air seals were the same or not.

 

And you can find all your air leaks with dish-detergent & water in a spray bottle, same as looking for leaks in a tire.

 

The o-rings are an uncommon size, so your best bet is ordering them from Chacal.

They are really straightforward to get to (mostly).

Set the bike up just like you would if you were going to do the fork seals, except you don't need to entirely remove the fork legs (you will want to remove the brake calipers, wheel, and fender though to make sliding the fork legs easier).

Remove the crossover tube at one side, then slide the fork leg down (giving a slight twist to help free up the o-rings) and remove the air collar.

There are two o-rings per collar (upper and lower). Remove them, clean the channel, install the new o-rings (lubricate with a compatable grease) and slide the air collar back on the fork leg.

As you run the fork leg back up into the upper clamp you need to be sure that the ear on the collar engages the stop that is on the underside of the triple clamp, and that you have the rubber doughnut between the top of the collar and the bottom of the upper clamp.

Reinstall the corssover tube, using teflon tape on the threads of the coupling, and replace the schrader valve if it's leaky.