filling the air forks?

[Lucky]

ok, got the 83 ft end installed, & attempted to get some air in the forks. I tried my sports ball pump, but it doesn't have a core deprsser built in, so I tried a bike pump, but unscrewing the hose let all the air out....

short of using the one at the gas station to give a "shot" & then letting the air out bit by bit till it's right (the tedious way) what apperatus do you 83 owners use?

--Lucky

[Blake]

hey lucky,

i dont have the aircaps installed, but the easiest way i would assume is with a bicycle pump that has that "quick disconnect" lever.  basically you depress the core of the..whatever that thing is called (valve stem?)..  and you pump it, then to get it off quickly you just flip the lever and it basically "pops" off.


might help.


also, did you ever figure out the leveling of the air pressures? (thought that was you)... easiest way i would think would be either find a couple of the connecters for the valve stem and rig one on each end of a hose and connect both to let the air level.  or if you cant find the connectors.. use the tire fill connecters that you use on air compressors (about 2 bucks a pop)..same idea..just instead of clamping on..you press down and hold to seal..youd just have to use two hands)





Blake

[Lucky]

What I had in mind, but probably won't do because i think it'd just look plain silly, is using the hose kit found on automotive air shocks. they screw into schrader type valve stems (no core) using nylon lines & compression fittings, going to a "T" that has a schrader valve built in.

what I think i'll go looking for is a small bicycle pump with a guage built in & a quick release.

[Humber]

u seem to always complicate your life with some pathetic devices like bike pump etc.


I will tell u how I make it go... I just use normal air compressor, pumpt it to 2 bar, and then fill the forks... it's the easiest, safest, and most accurate way....

Just try it ;)

[Ron_McCoy]

The easiest, safest, and most accurate way to air up your
forks is with a mountain bike suspension air pump. They
cost about $20 at any bike shop and are made to do the
exact same job on air forks and shocks accurately and without losing air. They come with a gauge on them and its
calibrated in one psi increments.

[Kenny]

Lucky,
      Please don't use a service station air hose for filling the forks, you are filling a small area and if you use a high volume type hose you will damage the seals. I have seen it happen and its a bloody mess! I use SW syringe type pump which were popular back in the 80's,usually one stroke gives you two psi of pressure. One up (180 lbs) with no krauser bags on I run around 8 psi per tube.
   The mountain bike pump that Ron mentioned is what I would use.
               Cheers Ken    

[Riche]

That mountain bike pump sounds like the way to go. For $20 give it a try. I used to fill my 81 Kawasaki using a foot operated bicycle pump with a cam operated hose lock. Lock the hose on and pump just a little by hand. Here is a view of the GPZ fork cap with the rubber cover removed. Please excuse the dust, it has not been run in ten years plus.

Here is a pix of the gauge I used to check the pressure. Note the restriction. This gauge was supplied with late 70s YZ s. A gift from my Yamaha dealer when I put Works Performance suspension on my 77 IT 175

My other method for filling the forks was using an air tank with only 15 to 20psi. The fork volume is very small and doesn?t deplete the tank pressure much. You can even recharge the forks a few times if you drop the pressure to much during adjustment. The YZ gauge is great for adjusting the pressure because it can bleed off very small amounts of air.

Edit.. pay close attention to Kenny. It is very easy to over pressure the forks.

[Lucky]

You'd be surprised at how hard it is to find the stupid pump, lol. I went to 2 bicycle shops, Target & Walmart (so far) no one had one. the ones the bike shop had either were for the other type of valve with no shrader, had no guage, no cam lock, or was $70+.
I'll find one sooner or later. I know not to use shop air though, thanks.

[james ransom]

   try using nitrogen bottle with preset regulator?

[Lucky]

there's an idea I hadn't tought of.. :)
nice to see you again James! By the way, I got ahold of an 83 guage cluster, so i'm all set.
--Lucky

[Humber]

yeah sure... if the little fork pump costs only 20 bucks I would probably buy it... the rest of the solutions are just meant to complicate life.....  ;D the choice is yours...

[Ron_McCoy]

Lucky try www.supergo.com , www.pricepoint.com or
www.bikenashbar.com . They all carry suspension pumps and
any other bike stuff you might want.

[Riche]

Lucky

Here is a pix of the pump I use/used to fill my air forks. Not just the GPZ550 but two different Yamaha dirt bikes. As Humber pointed out it is not the best solution. An air compressor with a regulator to me would be ideal. I have not had that luxury, so as with all problems there are many solutions. To me the issue is not so much getting the air in but to adjust it to the proper pressure. I am fortunate to have a purpose built pressure gauge for forks. All other non fork gauges I have tried using release to much air when obtaining the pressure reading.

My method: lock fill line on, put a little pressure on the pump by hand, remove fill line and check/adjust pressure. My Yamaha dealer used a nitrogen bottle with a regulator that he could carry to the races with him and adjust his suspension as needed. This looks like an excellent solution. http://www.progressivesuspension.com/gauge-pump.html The pump/gauge is $50 but all the bicycle solutions I have seen are high pressure items. Low pressure and accuracy are needed for motorcycle forks. These are just options. I believe you will find a workable solution that suites you.

[Ron_McCoy]

Bicycle suspension pumps are available in both high and low
pressure models. Some air forks use as little as 30 psi. They
are graduated in 1 psi increments on the low pressure pumps.
The air chucks are for schrader valves and are designed not

[Ron_McCoy]

Oops, anyway the chucks are designed not to lose air when
they are removed from the valve.

[Riche]

Thank you Ron. The only bicycle pumps I viewed on the web were high pressure models. The more I look at the GPZ the more I think about riding it again. If I do one of those pumps would be convient and nice to have. My dirt bikes never gave me trouble with air pressure vairing from leg to leg but the GPZ always did.

edit: The cam lock on the pump I showed in the picture would always allow a small amount of air to escape when it was removed. Plus it was a guess how much you were putting in, the second leg was always the easiest to fill.