[Gskii]

I'd like to swap out my fork springs quick and easy. The forks have fresh oil, seals etc so it would be nice to do it without losing oil or tearing the forks apart. Can the springs be removed through the fork cap??? (and loosening the top triple clamp bolts). Every write up I can find talks about complete disassembly for changing seals, so I can't tell if I could just remove the caps, and then swap the springs.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!!!

oh. bike is a 2005 CRF450R

[DarkCRF]

Nope you can't

For changing the spring you must remove the damper catridge. For doing it you must unscrew the bottom bolt (the one where you adjust the rebound damping). So in removing this bolt your oil gonna spill out.

But you don't have to split the tube and the legs

[lightflight]

suspension a little to hard???

[Gskii]

suspension a little to hard???

Well I just bought the bike and the guy had it set up by RG3 for a 240 lb rider. The suspension actually felt really good but I thought it would be even better if I put in the stock springs that are correct for my weight (180lb). The weird thing is that I swapped one spring last night, it was a .49kg. A 240lb rider should be around a .51.

The good news is I figured out a way to change the springs without losing or changing the oil. It's a little tricky but wasn't that hard. I probably should have changed the oil but I wanted to feel the difference in the springs without the oil making a difference.

[lightflight]

are you swapping to the stock .47's? edit: just realized that's what you said in your post.

once you figure out the spring rate you want i would say new fluid to make sure the level is right which can also play a factor in the feel.

[Gskii]

are you swapping to the stock .47's? edit: just realized that's what you said in your post.

once you figure out the spring rate you want i would say new fluid to make sure the level is right which can also play a factor in the feel.

Yeah switching to the stock .47's. But they have 2 hash marks on the top (the owner's manual says that stock springs have 0 hash marks. so I'm confused)

I'll change the fork oil after my next ride. I just wanted to get a good understanding of the feel from different springs without oil changes being a factor.

Does everyone just run the amount of oil specified in the manual??? Or is there a benefit of adding more or less?

[JimDirt]

Actually you CAN change the springs without losing any oil , you remove the forks from the triples, then remove the Rebound Nut at the bottom of the fork (while the fork is upside down)compress the fork so the rebound rod sticks out enough to put the holder under the nut(you can also use a 12 or 13mm open end wrench to hold the rod), hold the lock nut and remove the adjustor nut all the way , then remove the adjuster rod (the Aluminum D shaped rod in the center**use the adjuster nut insert that goes in the rod to remove it** , otherwise use a small flat tipped screwdriver) now slightly compress the fork again to relieve pressure on the holder holding the shaft , and let the fork extend slowly , allowing the tube to drop inside , now screw the adjuster nut assembly back on and snug it down , now turn the fork right side up again (no oil will leak out now) , and unscrew the top cap , the whole assembly will now come out and you can remove your spring , make sure to keep the assembly upright at all times to avoid any fluid coming out the weep holes near the top, replace with new spring put the cap assembly back in and tighten (hand tight is sufficient) turn the fork back upside down and remove the rebound nut , compress the fork enough to hold the rod under the lock nut,let the fork slowly extend , re-insert the D rod , set the nut back on , making sure to get the nut insert back into the D rod , tighten down to the lock nut , snug up lock nut to rebound nut , compress fork enough to release the holder ,let fork extend , tighten rebound nut , repeat on other fork ...done

[Gskii]

Actually you CAN change the springs without losing any oil , you remove the forks from the triples, then remove the Rebound Nut at the bottom of the fork (while the fork is upside down)compress the fork so the rebound rod sticks out enough to put the holder under the nut(you can also use a 12 or 13mm open end wrench to hold the rod), hold the lock nut and remove the adjustor nut all the way , then remove the adjuster rod (the Aluminum D shaped rod in the center**use the adjuster nut insert that goes in the rod to remove it** , otherwise use a small flat tipped screwdriver) now slightly compress the fork again to relieve pressure on the holder holding the shaft , and let the fork extend slowly , allowing the tube to drop inside , now screw the adjuster nut assembly back on and snug it down , now turn the fork right side up again (no oil will leak out now) , and unscrew the top cap , the whole assembly will now come out and you can remove your spring , make sure to keep the assembly upright at all times to avoid any fluid coming out the weep holes near the top, replace with new spring put the cap assembly back in and tighten (hand tight is sufficient) turn the fork back upside down and remove the rebound nut , compress the fork enough to hold the rod under the lock nut,let the fork slowly extend , re-insert the D rod , set the nut back on , making sure to get the nut insert back into the D rod , tighten down to the lock nut , snug up lock nut to rebound nut , compress fork enough to release the holder ,let fork extend , tighten rebound nut , repeat on other fork ...done

Yeah that's basically what I did. You just have to make sure when screwing in the bottom bolt, that you pull up on the fork leg a bit so the bolt doesn't screw into the internal compression shaft and lock it down. Otherwise, when you go to remove the fork internals, you will be stuck.