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Fork Oil change: DIY!

99K views 172 replies 35 participants last post by  mako 
#1 · (Edited)
UPDATE: 10/9/2017: Photobucket was the host of the images embedded links of the photos I took of the fork change, however, Photobucket is now requiring account holders to pay and annual fee to allow the photo links to be embedded into third party websites, such as this S1000RR forum. I'm not paying any fee and will try to find a different host to put the photos. Until then, all the photos in the below description will be null. Sorry for the hassle!

How to change fork oil on the BMW S1000RR

This was my first attempt to change fork oil on my own and it seemed to go very well and the biggest advantage was saving money from having a local shop do it for me. I’m somewhat mechanically inclined and decided to give it a try. I bought a RaceTech fork compressor tool for $136 shipped on eBay. If you do not have one of these tools, you’ll need one, or use a homemade fork spring compression tool. (I’ve heard some folks can use c-clamps and ratchet style tie downs to compress fork springs).

I won’t get into the details on how to remove the forks from the bike. If you do not know how to do that, stop right now and don’t attempt this on your own. You’ll want to note your suspension settings and the height the fork extends from the top clamp. Turn the rebound to #1 on the top of the fork. Most importantly, you’ll also need to loosen the top cap of both forks prior to loosening the pinch bolts on the triple tree. Otherwise, you probably won’t be able to loosen the top cap if you remove the fork from the bike first. Don’t completely remove the cap, or you’ll be dealing with fork oil going everywhere when you slide the fork out of the triple tree. I just turned the cap 2 or 3 revolutions to get it started then loosened the pinch bolts and removed the fork from the triple tree.

Once you’ve got the fork removed from the bike, you can completely unscrew the top nut then slide the upper tube down on the lower tube to see the internals. At this point, you have the option of draining the fluid out prior to compressing the spring, or you can drain the fluid later. I chose to leave the fluid in so I could take a measurement of how much fluid was in the fork prior to draining it just for my own curiosity.

With that said, I put the fork in the compressor tool and cranked it down to expose the locknut for the top cap.

Loosen the lock nut and then unscrew the top nut to remove if from the damper inside the fork. I removed the plastic spacer, metal washer, and spring then took a measurement of the current fork oil using small tape measure with mm on it.


I then drained the fluid out by turning the fork upside down. There is another metal washer that’ll come out of the fork too which is positioned just below the spring. I laid out the internals in order.

Once drained, remove axle pinch bolts to access the bolt from the bottom of the fork that holds the damper inside the fork. Loosen it all the way and remove the damper.

Here's the link to all the photos I took during the procedure: https://photos.app.goo.gl/YKYms1CJFu3sUxXW2
 

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#41 ·
Sorry, you must have missed my first comment......I can tell you when I was changing to Ohlins cartridges I did it without any special tools.

Which was relevant, I was trying to tell you it can be done without fabbing anything, but I guess you missed that. I followed up with a suggestion to not bother, because it seems like you were after simplicity, and I am of the opinion you'll never be able to enjoy that with the OEM Sachs internals.

No spring compressor needed with the Ohlins, 19mm wrench, 14mm wrench, 3mm a few other common tools, and since you already have the specific Ohlins stuff, I don't understand why you'd want to keep the OEM stuff, unless you're racing in a restricted class.

BTW.....you can get those cartridges a lot cheaper (new) if you look around.
AND @blachow has a near new set with 3 spring rates for sale now in the forum classifieds, who knows maybe he's negotiable on price, even though it's a decent price he's priced it.

0:)
 
#40 ·
An update, we found if you do drill another set of holes on the black plastic bushing higher up than the stock '15+ ones (at the very top, basically), you can use the RaceTech compressor to get the spring off and on. We drilled our holes 90 degrees from the stock ones for maximum rigidity. To do this, you do have to remove the internals first by removing the bottom damper bolt (and draining all the oil). But once you have done it once, you can change springs while retaining the bulk of the oil. We still will probably fab an adapter similar to the BMW one when we get time. We tried to make a "quick" one, but it was more complicated than it initially appeared (shocker).

NOTE: I am not even close to a suspension expert or a German engineer. So while I believe that this mod would have little impact on performance or safety, it is modifying the OEM part so it's up to you to use your own best judgement.
 
#56 ·
An update, we found if you do drill another set of holes on the black plastic bushing higher up than the stock '15+ ones (at the very top, basically), you can use the RaceTech compressor to get the spring off and on.


Hi Lane, and all, I have a 2015 and have drilled holes at the top of the plastic bush etc. But I'm having difficulty with reassembly. I have a Racetech spring compressor. When I compress the spring until the fork leg body touches the top clamps of the Racetech compressor, The damper rod can almost be pulled up using long nose pliers, but not enough to access the square section used to hold the rod while tightening the fork cap.

Did you have this problem? I think the BMW jaws give an extra inch of spring compression before the fork body touches the top clamp under on the compressor.

Does anyone reading this know if the BMW jaws/ "Extensions" (83302336777) work with the Racetech spring compressor?

Can anyone advise what I maybe doing wrong? My set-up does not seem to compress the black bush far enough before the fork body touches the underside of the Racetech compressor top jaws, which I describe as maximum possible compression with the setup I have.

My bike is in bits, your help will be appreciated!
 
#42 ·
I'm changing my fork springs and oil on a 2014 HP4 at the moment.

For the left leg, I've made up a tool similar to what BMW use. I bought a 1-1/4" PVC pipe joiner from Home Depot, as well as a reducer that fits inside the joiner. I cut the reducer at an angle with a hacksaw, so that it effectively makes a "thread" so you can treat the joiner as a nut that will screw down on the spring as if it is a bolt. I had to do redo this as the first one I cut in the wrong direction. Make sure you cut at the same angle and direction as the way the spring spirals.

Put a pair of holes at the top of the union for your spring compressor.

Then cut the union in half and use PVC pipe primer and glue to glue the "threads" into the pipe joiner halves. Clamp the plastic together - PVC glue is designed to work where this is a friction fit. Leave it a full 24hrs to cure.

Put the two halves around the spring, I used a zip-tie to hold it on, then the race-tech compressor to crank down on the spring. The union will slide inside the tube so you get plenty of room.

If you don't want to drill another set of holes in the right leg spacer, you can make a right leg tool as well. Same concept, you just glue two round pieces inside the union that fit in the spacer holes. That will give you an extra 1-1/2" compression which is all you need. PVC is plenty strong enough and it won't scratch anything.

I'll post some pictures to make it clearer.
 
#43 ·
Well my cunning and devious plan did not work out so good - BMW why did you make this so hard....:frown2:

I have a Racetech spring compressor. The "jaws" that go either side of the spring/spacer are not wide enough to allow a PVC fitting (or anything strong enough really) between them and the spring or spacer. Other compressors might have more room - I don't know.

Reluctantly I had to give in and take the removed forks and my Wilbur springs to the local dealership for them to complete the removal, clean, add fresh oil, new springs and seal them up. It wasn't a lot of money ($200) but a bit annoying. The real BMW compressor and inserts is currently Euro 475 (about USD$490 + $30 shipping). I guess that is only 3 fork services - if you are going to be riding DDC bikes for the next 3yrs or more it might be worth it. If you are handy with a welder and a mill you could make equivalents.

Also, the spec for the fork oil has been updated. The original was 7.5wt but now all DDC forks are using 11.5wt (odd ball I know).
Dealer tech showed me this on their system. I went with the 11.5wt instead of the 10wt I was going to use.
 
#44 ·
Thank you to the OP and the follow-up posters.

Using this thread, I just finished changing the fork oil on my 2010. The bike has just under 20k miles and the previous owner did not give me any service records.

Without this thread I never would have known about the "10-clicks and only 10" business, and my damping adjusters would have been mis-adjusted.

Fork oil looked new, was clear and was not at all stinky (smelled just like the stuff that came out of the Maxima bottle), so it had probably been changed recently.

But hey, now I know for sure it is done, and I know who did it.

Valve adjust one weekend soon... :)
 
#46 ·
Preparing for this at the moment.

Bought the RaceTech compressor. Now just gathering information.

Mailed Dave Moss, he recommends a deviation from BMW advise regarding air chamber and oil weight:


For 2012 BMW S1000RR
10w Motul oil, air gap 90mm

Shock oil service was due at 10-12,000kms for a track bike, preferably 8,000kms for fast riding. Please get the rear shock serviced.


My bike has 17.000km's.
 
#54 ·
Thank you! it works! I will have 2 tabs opened and will follow the text DIY with the pictures' folder on the other tab.

I am thinking what would the safest way to put the front in the air (and keep it while I take the forks out). I see the hydraulic jack you used to raise the bike, did you leave it on the jack? What is the jacking point please, I can't see this from the pics.
 
#57 ·
Here are the pictures from the service manual for the BMW Compressor and extensions.
I would guess - maybe, the extensions look like they might fit on the racetech but it depends on the threads. They are pretty thin (I've seen them at the dealer).




As you can see here, the spacer is 100% in the fork leg when compressed. I tried drilling the holes and had exactly the same issue you have.
I have the cartridge pull rod from Traxxion (basically a rod with a threaded hole so you can screw it on to pull the cartridge rod up).
The top out springs in the stock carts make it impossible to get the damn nut high enough to reach.


I'm going to make my own equivalent of the racetech for my next service, with these extension points welded to the 'C' clamp. The racetech C is actually a bit narrow to fit anything like the extensions.
 
#58 ·
Your mileage may vary...
I'm not recommending my method, just advising what I ended up doing...
The Left fork left was easy, I used the Racetech spring compressor on the exposed spring to make room for tools to undo the locknut. Re-assembly was not a problem either. I was able to set the oil level without the spring as per the factory method.
The right DDC fork leg with the pre-load adjuster was a challenge. I had to deviate from the recommended method.
I carefully drilled 5.5mm holes at the top edge of the black plastic spacer, allowing the use of the Racetech compressor to dis-assemble the fork.
While compressed I was able to undo the lock-nut and remove the cap, but when it came free and the damper rod disappeared (The rebound spring is under a bit of tension) I thought crap, this will be a toughie to put back together. Sure enough...
I tried REALLY HARD to follow the BMW service guide. With my setup I could set the oil level, then try and compress the spring enough to reach the top of the damper rod with long nose pliers and pull it up. I definitely had to compress the rebound spring, but could not get the rod up enough to get a spanner onto the square section of the damper rod. I ended up leaving tool marks on the end of the damper rod so I DONT recommend you try pulling the damper rod with pliers.
When following the service guide procedure, I measured 580mls of fork oil, filled the forks. When I dipped to check the level it was spot-on.
I decided to assemble the damper rod assembly outside the fork and add the oil after installing the complete damper rod assembly.
Its a little intimidating compressing the damper in the Racetech setup out of the forkleg. First time I used a piece of PVC as a sleeve but repeated the process without it. I screwed the damper bolt into the bottom of the damper, which located nicely on the bottom mount of the compressor.
There is a bit of "fishing" required to ensure you get the assemebled damper rod seated properly in the bottom of the fork leg, but it only took a moment to feel the rod notch into the recess.
The final note I'd make is clean and inspect the damper rod bolt and washer, the washer has a rubber seal that should be clean for reassembly.
I was intimidated by this job before I started but am happy with this process and will be confident when I go back from 11.5 weight to 7.5 weight oil.
 
#61 · (Edited)
Roger, that.

I finally started process. Straight away I see that BMW RSD manual tells to remove side fairing only, while you seem to have removed the front too. Also you left the bottom, BMW tells me to remove the bottom.

I tried their way, but it makes no sense - the whole point of the exercise IMHO was to get access to bolts holding the fork, the BMW way just does not give any more access then before I removed the side cover.

Having said that, I realize that I can reach those 2+2 bolts on each side holding the fork with a Torx T45 bit. Anyone can confirm this please?
I guess it sort of depends on exactly what type of tools you have at your disposal. Trying to do that with t-handles or a ratchet t-handle with sockets, would be a challenge without removing at least some bodywork.
Regular ratchet with extensions, and without long torx drive sockets, I don't have to pull any bodywork off, as long as I'm using a triple tree stand. Unscrew brake line "T" and move it aside as you insert the pin of your stand into lower triple clamps steering stem hole.

If you're worried about a wrench slipping out of your hand, scratching your bodywork, then take all of the front stufff off. It's probably why BMW's official reference manual for their techs, mentions taking the pieces off.
 
#67 ·
This (which is 100% true) is the reason the weight like 10w is almost pointless. 10w BelRay and 1w Castrol might be the same. Ohlins quote the centiStroke value because that’s at least a scientific measure.

The heavier oil should take more force to push through the shim stack, so it has greater damping as @smash_adams said.
Thinner has less damping.

BMW changed to their own which I think they claim is 11.5wt. On DDC bikes that seems to work pretty well.

If you increase the thickness you move the baseline of your damping adjusters to the stiffer side. So if you had -7 to +7 it might make it more like -5 to +9 (equivalent). I would only change the oil weight if you are at the limits on your damping.
 
#68 · (Edited)
I won’t get into the details on how to remove the forks from the bike. If you do not know how to do that, stop right now and don’t attempt this on your own.
I did not know how to remove the forks, but I didn't stop and removed them. And thank you for motivating me with your DYI!

However, the hard part is what follows and I am at the stage where I do not know how to continue:





However, I cannot expose the nut? Could it be that the tool needs to be adjusted? What setting do you have the tool at?





I am on the 5th hole, should I change that?
 
#72 · (Edited)
I did not know how to remove the forks, but I didn't stop and removed them. And thank you for motivating me with your DYI!

However, the hard part is what follows and I am at the stage where I do not know how to continue:

However, I cannot expose the nut? Could it be that the tool needs to be adjusted? What setting do you have the tool

I am on the 5th hole, should I change that?
Back off your preload adjustment, and your clickers too, that will also make it a bit easier.
 
#69 ·
Hard to tell, but if you are on the 5th hole can you grab the spacer with the insides completely extended and then pull the lever all the way down? It seems like you don't have enough stroke. I can't remember the stock innards, but I'm pretty sure I just pulled the spacer down by hand to get the wrench in. And I'm not that strong.
I now have the BMW tool, quite different from Racetech.
 
#82 ·
If you fab one - it’s just two pieces of tube with a length of threaded rod and a captive nut - I would also fab the prong things that stick down into the fork leg. The RaceTech U on mine is fine to use the spacer with holes, but what you need is the legs of the U to have captive nuts and to allow two pieces to bolt on and slide inside the fork tube, so you can compress the spring more than just the fork leg height.
 
#88 · (Edited)
I am stuck at the bolt at the bottom of the fork. Someone mentioned "if it going hard, you are probably doing something wrong. Stop!"

Well, I have little leverage, true, but the bolt is not moving at all. Shall I apply more force? Also it would help to immobilize the fork somehow, I am afraid using the vice will damage the fork.





UPDATE: after few hours of spraying with WD40 and trying and spraying, bottom bolt is loose.

I need to change the fork seals now. Hope it will work out.
 
#91 ·
Late getting to this thread but am reminded by a fellow rider who can tear his bike apart including the engine and rebuild like new who has an R. He said that a well respected BMW master tech who has gone independent told him no need to do the fork oil change unless they're leaking. Just sayin'......
 
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