Forks Bottoming Out Too Easily Now After A Year Of Abuse .......

[YipYipYa123]

My beloved Nouvo Elegance 135 appears to have knackered front suspension

I ride it hard and rarely slow down over speedbumps or holes etc and i have borrowed it a larger friend (hes about 120kg + his wife 70odd kg

who were way too heavy for a scooter but they couldnt ride a big bike with clutch so i let em take it for 2 weeks when they were holidaying in thai

anyways ,

between a year of my wreckless riding and the scooter being way overloaded on many occasions ,we have managed to make the front forks

bottom out now and they go all the way down while braking with just 1 normal weight rider now (90kg)

i checked the seals and nothing (oil) appears to be leaking----- but is this fixable at home by adding new springs or heavier oil or what would i need to replace to get it stiffer again ?

is it something i could fix myself or would it need to go into the dealers

apart from that ,its a great bike and i intend to keep it as my daily workhorse until it dies or hopefully i can see 99,999 on the odometer someday ........

any body know about forks ?

[BirdsandBooze]

First thing to do is drain out the old fork oil and fill with new. Using a heavier weight will make a difference, but if you then find the action too `stiff` you could drain again and refill with Yamaha`s recommendation. I wouldn`t think that the springs are knackered but if you do decide to change them it is a simple job.

[VocalNeal]

You could get some upside-down aftermarket forks. They are a bit firmer than stock.

[karlos]

Could just be that you were always bottoming out the forks but not realising due to the bump stops doing their job.

a year or so of continuous bump stop action (ohhh errr Mrs) has surly mashed them up.

A god strip down, heavier oil as mentioned above and some new bumpstops and you'll be on yer way

[YipYipYa123]

Great stuff gents, I will have a go at it on the weekend or leave it in if I don't have enough time to do it properly

I've never opened or dismantled a fork before so it will be slow and meticulous :-)

Great news if it can be fixed cheaply though with just new heavier oil and bump stopers

[BSJ]

From what you say the only obvious choice is heavier springs and oil.

[Familyonthemove]

Yes - as others have said - sounds like the forks need new/heavier oil and perhaps new rubber bump stops. The problem may simply be that the oil has been lost through the seals due to all the sliding up and down on the shaft (ooh-er missus again)

Forks are simple to strip down - but you need to keep everything clean or the seals will wear our fast if you get grit inside.

Be careful of the springs - they are compressed.

But is it worth the effort of doing it yourself? You'll need the oil, new seals and new bump stops - and your local dealer will do the job for a small fee and you don't even need to get your hands dirty?

Just check everything is tightened up properly after they've done the work.

[BirdsandBooze]

Great stuff gents, I will have a go at it on the weekend or leave it in if I don't have enough time to do it properly

I've never opened or dismantled a fork before so it will be slow and meticulous :-)

Great news if it can be fixed cheaply though with just new heavier oil and bump stopers

If you decide to dismantle the forks photograph each step with a digital camera with the date and time on, that way you`ll know the sequence for reassembly .

[YipYipYa123]

considering that probably will just leave it into yamaha then because i dont really have a spare day to waste at the moment

learning about fork mechanisms and and then trial and error until i get it right ......

i wouldnt have a clue which weight oil to buy or which type of springs to order either without wasting a lot of time doing research

looks like a job for the somchais and it will keep them in beer money for satuirday night and i can get on with more important stuff

[BSJ]

"looks like a job for the somchais and it will keep them in beer money for satuirday night and i can get on with more important stuff "

Somchai maybe on the suds when he does your forks. Sit there and watch them like a hawk.