Upside down forks

I thought they were practically normal nowadays on bikes over a certain price point.. my Africa Twin has them. I could care less so long as they do their job reliably.

I don't think it's anything to do with price to be honest.

My MSX has them, where as my f700gs doesn't.

Personally, I don't notice a difference. Both seem to perform well on the bikes I have tried.

I don't think it's anything to do with price to be honest.

you're right of course. Ive never really paid much attention to forks after so long on a bike that didn't have them (in the traditional sense)

It was only after buying the Africa Twin that it actually sunk in that it had them.. so I did a quick search on reliability and was almost immediately satisfied that I wasn't buying a pig in a poke.

what gets me most is just how complicated they are.. reading about adjustment leaves me right outside my comfort zone. Im considering payng to have them 'properly' set up together with the rear shock.

Ah, and there was me thinking it was so if you fell off no-one would notice as quickly. I must confess I have had several occasions of upside-down forks.

They do seem to be more complicated to do things to. My MSX ones could do with some tweaking and new oil. But I don't have a way of supporting the bike with no forks .

I've toyed with draining the oil and tank and turning it upside down like a push bike

They do seem to be more complicated to do things to. My MSX ones could do with some tweaking and new oil. But I don't have a way of supporting the bike with no forks .

I've toyed with draining the oil and tank and turning it upside down like a push bike

Can you get a scissor jack under the sump or near the front of the frame to lift the front wheel off the ground? You might have to use ratchet straps and a cross-beam to hold it steady......

They do seem to be more complicated to do things to. My MSX ones could do with some tweaking and new oil. But I don't have a way of supporting the bike with no forks .

I've toyed with draining the oil and tank and turning it upside down like a push bike

Not as daft as it sounds actually .

They do seem to be more complicated to do things to. My MSX ones could do with some tweaking and new oil. But I don't have a way of supporting the bike with no forks .

I've toyed with draining the oil and tank and turning it upside down like a push bike

 

Can you get a scissor jack under the sump or near the front of the frame to lift the front wheel off the ground? You might have to use ratchet straps and a cross-beam to hold it steady......

Have a look at a picture of an MSX 125 . No frame as such , just the cylinder and exhaust in that area, so dangling it from the rafters is an option.

I dangled my GSXR600 from the garage roof to swap the forks. Thread on here somewhere.

So how do you get the front wheel out if there's a puncture?

I dangled my GSXR600 from the garage roof to swap the forks. Thread on here somewhere.

But worrifyer ain't got a garage? I know I had to start out in the service station of the gutter.

So how do you get the front wheel out if there's a puncture?

Front paddock stand

So you see I’m needing something to firm up some basic but essentially still wobbly knowledge. Something that starts of in the most basic way but then goes into more depth. Maybe this?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-your-motorcycle-works-motorcycles/dp/1845844947

Suggestions welcome.

I've got the ebook version and I think it still thinks you have a chunk of mechanical/engineering knowledge. It doesn't really explain the why, just the how.

When I'm trying to understand things I get a fair bit of use out of YouTube videos, because at least they can also show me visually the bit they're talking about, which helps.

If you took the book and allied it with research elsewhere (such as videos) you will probably pick up a lot

As an example, does this section on automatic transmission that I just randomly selected give you a good understanding? I'm sure there's some mechanical types that sit there and say "that makes perfect sense" but I'm left trying to work out what a v-belt and a v-shaped pulley looks like, especially after it has been split in two

As an example, does this section on automatic transmission that I just randomly selected give you a good understanding? I'm sure there's some mechanical types that sit there and say "that makes perfect sense" but I'm left trying to work out what a v-belt and a v-shaped pulley looks like, especially after it has been split in two

see I understood that straight away but I know how they work and what it all looks like and most of the time a picture (or video) says a thousand words

As an example, does this section on automatic transmission that I just randomly selected give you a good understanding? I'm sure there's some mechanical types that sit there and say "that makes perfect sense" but I'm left trying to work out what a v-belt and a v-shaped pulley looks like, especially after it has been split in two

 

see I understood that straight away but I know how they work and what it all looks like and most of the time a picture (or video) says a thousand words

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Funnily enough when I read the bit on manual transmission it made sense.... but only because I'd already watched a few youtube videos in the past

Have a look at a picture of an MSX 125 . No frame as such , just the cylinder and exhaust in that area, so dangling it from the rafters is an option.

This is more than likely what we will do. Our garage does have a rather strong looking beam half way up it. And the msx isn't exactly heavy

[mention]SometimesSansEngine[/mention] Thanks for the tip off. Yep know what you mean about assumed knowledge. I found on the motorcycle maintenance course I did it happened a lot. It was supposed to be for complete beginners but he assumed quite a lot, not helped by two army engineers booking onto the wrong course that should have been in ‘advanced’ so of course he was pitching what he was doing at them rather than the ignorant and helpless.

After the 3rd lesson it got a bit much so I asked for a lesson plan (he just made it up on the spot which led to the repetition of changing brake pads 3 weeks in a row) and if he could explain things rather than assume we knew what he was talking about to which he replied “oh dear are you finding it difficult because your deaf? Are you married? Why isn’t your husband here doing this course?” Along with “Are you actually going to be using this stuff?”

You can imagine my reply. Made the other students laugh a lot though

Amazingly after right royally p*ssing him off I still passed and have a college certificate saying I’m qualified in basic motorcycle maintenance which would be hilarious if it didn’t allow me to wander into a place and get a job messing up other people’s motorbikes

Then completely oblivious to his own tw*tness he asked me if I wanted to go out for a ride with him. Words fail me. Sorry slightly off the subject but I still can’t believe it now.

The book they use which is recommended is this one-

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0435127594/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1

Have a look at a picture of an MSX 125 . No frame as such , just the cylinder and exhaust in that area, so dangling it from the rafters is an option.

 

This is more than likely what we will do. Our garage does have a rather strong looking beam half way up it. And the msx isn't exactly heavy

They become surprisingly unstable when you hang them from the ceiling and remove the forks and wheel. If you have a rear paddock stand, make sure you use that to help prevent the bike flipping over.

@SometimesSansEngine Thanks for the tip off. Yep know what you mean about assumed knowledge. I found on the motorcycle maintenance course I did it happened a lot. It was supposed to be for complete beginners but he assumed quite a lot, not helped by two army engineers booking onto the wrong course that should have been in ‘advanced’ so of course he was pitching what he was doing at them rather than the ignorant and helpless.

After the 3rd lesson it got a bit much so I asked for a lesson plan (he just made it up on the spot which led to the repetition of changing brake pads 3 weeks in a row) and if he could explain things rather than assume we knew what he was talking about to which he replied “oh dear are you finding it difficult because your deaf? Are you married? Why isn’t your husband here doing this course?” Along with “Are you actually going to be using this stuff?”

You can imagine my reply. Made the other students laugh a lot though

Amazingly after right royally p*ssing him off I still passed and have a college certificate saying I’m qualified in basic motorcycle maintenance which would be hilarious if it didn’t allow me to wander into a place and get a job messing up other people’s motorbikes

Then completely oblivious to his own tw*tness he asked me if I wanted to go out for a ride with him. Words fail me. Sorry slightly off the subject but I still can’t believe it now.

The book they use which is recommended is this one-

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0435127594/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1

Was that the Bridgwater one, out of interest?

[mention]SometimesSansEngine[/mention] Maybe. Know it?

I enquired about it not long after passing my test, and just yesterday they emailed to say they'd added another date. But aside from the distance I'd need to travel each week when I looked again at the proposed syllabus I think I can do most of that in my own time as I go along.

Well I dont want to go into details on an open forum so Ill just say yes do it yourself.

Well I dont want to go into details on an open forum so Ill just say yes do it yourself.

.... Who actually runs this so-called "course"? If it's the local authority, worth having a whinge about it. There's no need for crap like that, these days.......and I'm pretty sure that most colleges have some kind of values statement that specifically rules out this kind of rubbish.

When he asked why you were having difficulty, did you just tell him it was because he was such a crap instructor? (There again, you probably did... ).

But poor..... very poor.

[mention]Speedy23[/mention] of course I did. He didnt know where to go with it because mainly he teaches teenagers and as no-one else was saying anything (just quietly sniggering a lot) he thought it must be my problem and was flailing around looking for reasons why hence the rubbish that left his mouth.

I considered complaining for some time but after this I got the sob story that was his life and he really was a train wreck, teetering on the edge. I didnt want responsibility for pushing him over. I can’t kick a man when theyre down. Even a heap like that.

There's been a few courses I've walked out of rather than get into a slanging match with an instructor I've often felt sorry for on various counts. Although I don't totally agree with the old saying "those who can do; those who can't teach" there is an element of truth in it. Having said that I've also met with some brilliant teachers/instructors over the years to whom I remain grateful to this day.