Author Topic: Anybody Remember Fork Drain Plugs???  (Read 4449 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

eddiesgirl

  • The only girl here.
  • Grease Monkey
  • ****
  • Posts: 458
  • Karma: 0
  • Ventura, CA
Reply #30 on: January 18, 2021, 06:44:45 pm



You should try a whiff of race gas sometime. you'll remember it the rest of your life. ;)

When are things going to open up again so I can be that idiot at a race begging to stick my face near a gas tank? "We've got a code 3 down here, lady in a Royal Enfield shirt trying to sniff gas tanks."
2020 INT 650 Silver Spectre

Ventura, CA, USA


zimmemr

  • Grand Gearhead
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,824
  • Karma: 0
Reply #31 on: January 18, 2021, 08:48:45 pm
When are things going to open up again so I can be that idiot at a race begging to stick my face near a gas tank? "We've got a code 3 down here, lady in a Royal Enfield shirt trying to sniff gas tanks."

Don't worry, you won't have to leave your seat in the stands to smell it. It'll waft over you like a cloud of pure sensory overload.  ;)


Day Trippin

  • Scooter
  • **
  • Posts: 25
  • Karma: 0
Reply #32 on: January 19, 2021, 01:23:59 am
There are 2 smells that were even more enticing than one of grandma's freshly baked pies; Castrol bean oil, and jet fuel. The smell of either meant I was about to have a lot of fun.
2020 Continental GT 650 - currently Black Magic but was Mr. Clean.


Starpeve

  • Starpeve
  • Grand Gearhead
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,579
  • Karma: 0
  • Adelaide, South Aust- Conti GT 650 2019
Reply #33 on: January 19, 2021, 09:05:15 am
Plus 1 😅. Especially having grown up with air cooled vw, Holden 6 and Detroit diesel. Oil leaks for days...
I had a vwee that I loved . Great car, so much fun. It took me years to get my head around the oil issue on a boxer motor! And how the hell does a rear main seal actually work? Most of my cars have leaked oil from the TOP of the engine, let alone horizontal barrels and heads. And WW1 radial engines!!! Yeesus!
I’d rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy...


olhogrider

  • Classic 350 Desert Sand
  • Grand Gearhead
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,882
  • Karma: 1
  • Blue Ridge Mountains of NC
Reply #34 on: January 21, 2021, 05:27:55 pm
I had a vwee that I loved . Great car, so much fun. It took me years to get my head around the oil issue on a boxer motor! And how the hell does a rear main seal actually work? Most of my cars have leaked oil from the TOP of the engine, let alone horizontal barrels and heads. And WW1 radial engines!!! Yeesus!
In WWI most radial engines were "rotary" in  the sense that the crankshaft was bolted to the airframe and the prop was bolted to the case. The engine spun which caused some gyroscopic issues ??? By the end of WWII the greatest radial of engine of all time had been built. The mighty Pratt & Whitney 4360. You should google that!


20MarkIII

  • Grand Gearhead
  • *****
  • Posts: 525
  • Karma: 0
  • East Central Indiana, USA
Reply #35 on: January 24, 2021, 12:06:12 am
When are things going to open up again so I can be that idiot at a race begging to stick my face near a gas tank? "We've got a code 3 down here, lady in a Royal Enfield shirt trying to sniff gas tanks."
Love your sense of humor ;D Thanks for the chuckle!


BC AVIATION

  • Bulleteer
  • ***
  • Posts: 193
  • Karma: 0
Reply #36 on: January 24, 2021, 12:33:11 am
I like the smell of burning nitro-methane.   Model airplanes use both caster oil and nitro methane...yum!

When I was about 8 years old, my Grandparents too me to the "stock car" races...not NASCAR type..but old jalopy type, and midget race cars.  The smell of burning alcohol , I'll never forget...I think I may have gotten a bit drunk?

Somebody mentioned the open cockpit WWI airplanes with rotary engines...they used castor oil, and had a "total loss" oil system..so the engine threw out a constant mist of caster oil.

The pilots always had the "shits'..




Cookie



There are 2 smells that were even more enticing than one of grandma's freshly baked pies; Castrol bean oil, and jet fuel. The smell of either meant I was about to have a lot of fun.


RecoilRob

  • Grease Monkey
  • ****
  • Posts: 427
  • Karma: 0
Reply #37 on: June 20, 2021, 03:15:58 pm
I just replaced the springs on my Interceptor and seeing as it has less than 400 miles on it figured the stock fluid will suffice until it's time to change it this winter.   But being that there are no drain plugs and here in PA the inspection mechanics love to stick the inspection sticker on the fork tube up between the triples....pulling the forks to drain the oil becomes a bit of a problem.

So I just ordered a used fork from Ebay to disassemble, measure then drill and tap a drain hole so I can then do the same safely on the bike.  Fork maintenance is important but with the hassle of disassembly it gets overlooked by many owners for far too long.   And if you are one that likes to tinker with the suspension tuning by changing fork oil viscosity it will be much easier with a drain plug.

Some have opined that just changing the fluid doesn't get out all the dirt like upending the strut will....but unless you flush with kerosene just upending and draining doesn't get all the dirt out either.   I just serviced the forks on my SV1K and the kerosene flush was nasty looking!   I'm planning to do the same with the Interceptor....pull plug, drain and pump until empty, add 3-4 oz kerosene, pump and drain until it comes out looking clean...then fill with the 'fluid de jour'. :)

Once I get a good measurement of the plug location I'll start another post with the info for the collective data trove.


Karl Fenn

  • Grand Gearhead
  • *****
  • Posts: 1,163
  • Karma: 0
Reply #38 on: June 20, 2021, 03:25:59 pm
Well we all remember the days of drain plugs, what a rediculous idea stripping the forks to drain oil, l guess the bean counters got the urge to increase company profits in their service departments.


Jack Straw

  • LAUGH MORE, LIVE LONGER
  • Grand Gearhead
  • *****
  • Posts: 1,760
  • Karma: 0
  • Prescott, Arizona
Reply #39 on: June 20, 2021, 03:28:12 pm
I'd advise changing the fork oil right away.  Some members have found some awful crud in there including one leg dry and the other filled with weird slush.  A drain and proper re-fill will give you a baseline.  Without that you're sort of flying blind.

A suction pump eliminates removal of the forks. True, it leaves some residue but any method short of total dis-assembly does. 

I believe at least one member has installed drain plugs.  If he doesn't respond a search may help find his posts on the subject.


Bilgemaster

  • Just some guy
  • Global Moderator
  • Grand Gearhead
  • *****
  • Posts: 3,251
  • Karma: 1
  • 2005 Bullet 500ES in "Mean Green" Military Trim
Reply #40 on: June 20, 2021, 06:30:33 pm
My Iron Belly Bullet still has drain plugs.
So badass my Enfield's actually illegal  in India. Yet it squeaks by here in Virginia.