Topic: CB550 Front forks (help)

[Zaipai]

Ok, so I finally got around to removing the oil in the forks, they seemed kinda soft. Well it was the most foul smelling thing in the world and I believe the left side was mostly water.. sigh. Anyway, I tried to remove the nut from the top of the fork tub so I can put some oil in it. However it seems to be attacked to some thing and I just can't figure out how to put the oil in with out removing the cap. So after much searching on the forum (possible I did not use the correct key words) I found what type of oil to use, the weight of oil to use even the amount of oil to use but nothing on how to remove that nut to put the oil in. I found the service manual online but really the scan was so bad I could not read anything on the page and the graphics did not help. So can some one tell me how to remove the chrome bolt so I can add he oil?

Thanks!
Scott

[bwaller]

Use soft jaws in a vise.

There is an o-ring on the cap so it doesn't need to be crazy tight.

[Zaipai]

Use soft jaws in a vise.

There is an o-ring on the cap so it doesn't need to be crazy tight.

I probably should have mentioned, the forks are still on the bike. I have tried using lockjaw pliers and pulling up, but I see there is a rod attached to the chrome nut that seems to be keeping it from coming out. I want to leave the forks on if I can at all.

[Zaipai]

I am sorry, I am doing a poor job at explaining. Here is a picture. If you look closely you will see what looks like a rod attached to the chrome nut that goes thru the spring, its keeping the bolt from coming out. I tried just turning the bolt but it just seems to be not doing much.

Thanks..

[Zaipai]

Just a side note, when I pull up on the chrome bolt it pulls up the forks.. That leads me to believe its attached at some point. So how would one add fluid to this with out taking them apart? I don't recall my 72 CB750F being that way.. hum..

[Old Scrambler]

I am not familiar with the 550.........To completely remove the cap you may have to unscrew the small bolt at the bottom of each leg.  Suggestion.......make a funnel from calender paper and slowly add the fork oil with the cap as pictured.  I like to use ATF for a refill after cleaning years of old fluid out.  Next change might be higher viscosity.  You said one of the forks had water in it.  That tends to indicate the seal is leaking.  Suggestion.......loosen the triple-tree bolts one side at a time and rotate the fork tube a quarter turn or more.  This will move any worn portion of the tube away from the worn seal.  When both tubes are filled, prop the frame up from below to get the most extension on the forks.  This will help to get the caps started in the threads.  

[ttr400]

There is a lock nut holding the damper rod into the top cap. you have to loosen the lock nut first and then unscrew the top cap from the rod. can be tricky getting a spanner in between the spring.
Also I do not know of the 550 having this design...this was the design used on the CB500 and CB350F and probably other ealier models.

Hope this helps. Have a look at the parts book for the CB500 (Four cyl) you will see what I mean.

Kevin

[Zaipai]

Ok, I will try and see if I can remove the lock nut. If that fails then I will fashion a cone and try and get the 5oz of ATF I have in each fork using that method. I may even go up town and get a turkey baster and try that. I will also move the forks 1/4 turn as suggested. I really only need to have them work for a little while as I just picked up a pair of forks for the bike that I plan to rebuild. I will extend the forks as much as I can once I go to put the bolt back in. Thanks for that tip, I would probably have messed with it for hours.

CB500 and CB350F <-- yea that would not surprise me since the PO had a 350 rear rim and tire on it when I picked it up. The new (old) ones are for sure from a CB550 so perhaps they wont have that. So its good info thanks!

Oh, and I looked at the parts book via the link from here and the image and text was so bad I could not read the text and the picture was hard to see clearly. Maybe I will look around some more see what I can dig up, the manual I had seems to be MIA so I am looking for that also.

[Zaipai]

So after inspecting the front end I bought a week ago the caps come right off, no rod holding them down. So I will just pick up the pace and get those on my bike as soon as I can.. Thanks for the help all.