1997 Skorpion forks topping out....

[hb7]

My new to me 1997 Skorpion forks are topping out.... since I changed the fork oil.
I never had this problem on my 2000 Skorpion.....and I changed the oil on that bike several times.

The forks top out on rebound. Harsh klunk....if the front wheel goes over a sharp bump.
I'm baffled....I don't think heavier fork oil will fix this.

Is this the early production forks problem ? What was the fix....?
Replacing the top out springs ?
I recall MZ was replacing the forks with this problem under warranty.

[droy]

Sounds like the fork problem that impacted the 1995/1996 models. I remember one dealer teling me you could tell the new vs. old forks (pre post 1996) by the slightly different paint color on the fork lowers. Regarding what's actually happening in the forks, I not sure but I know it's not the end of the world - I ran around for a year or two with mine clunking away. I had Bikeworx fix mine..

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

Doug in NJ

[iceman]

Not sure of the fix but if anyone needs parts here's a complete parts bike.

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/mcy/1667725023.html

[jimc]

This is the first time I've heard there was a problem.
Appreciate any background information and the nature of fixes.
The first time I changed fork oil in my '96 Sport, I found that the spring clip, spring , and washer thingies
that normally reside in the bottom of the fork tube all just fell out - one side only.
Condition would be evident with the oil drained and the tube upside down.
These parts don't show up on any parts diagrams I've seen.
Tricky to replace, I can provide details if anyone cares.

[hb7]

I removed that light weight spring thing at the bottom of the damper, can't imagine it does anything....
and that part was not on my 2000 Skorpion.

Paging Mr. Anders......to the 660 forum.

[Anders]

Havent had that problem on my -95 Skorp.

However if you check out the MuZ illustrated parts list, avaliable here: http://www.swipeout.net/srxttforum/view ... p?f=6&t=21 you will see that the newer forks has slighly shorter stanchions and also "supporting tube" apparently.

There is also a diffrent stop cone in the newer version fork, so I guess they fixed whatever problem there was.

[hb7]

I figured out what happened...the top out springs were never installed in the tube.
The parts were just at the bottom of the fork sliders.

I will remove the damping piston and try to install the top out spring by pushing the circlip into the groove.
Once that circlip is installed, I don't see how you could ever remove it.

[Bill Jurgenson]

OK
I never ever had such problems either with my 1994 Tour or with my 1995 Sport, both of which had progressive springs and recommended SAE 20 oil. I used 140-150mm air cavity on the tour and 130 on the Sport. The Sport staunchions are 20mm shorter than those of the Tour or were at the beginning at least.



here are the two pages from the official MZ parts list. You can see the small rebound springs.
As I said he Tour staunchions are 20mm longer and there are 30mm longer precompression sleeves. Both forks use the same spring, tho.
BOth of my own bike predate this list but I do not remember them being basically different inside. Been a few years, tho, since I last had a look. Since I have reworked other RSU forks ad well, my memory can beo fogged which had which sort of rebound.

[droy]

Bill,

Thanks for that. This is the first "official" info I've seen regarding the "fork clicking" issue and the changes by the factory.

Doug in NJ

[hb7]

These springs are not in the fiche, they are part of the stanchion #4.
There are 2 top out springs, the one on the damper and the one in the stanchion tube.
The 2nd top out springs go inside the stanchion.....on the bottom,
The circlip goes to the inside on the stanchion. Once this is assembled in the stanchion, it can't be removed,
not unless you can find circlip pliers which are 2 feet long.

From the bottom : plastic ring, spring , washer and then circlip

The early production glitch appears to be that the top springs were just left loose in the sliders and not installed into the
stanchion.

It should possible to install these springs without fork disassembly, remove the damper piston with a magnet
and push the circlip with a socket into its groove. You can see the plastic ring in the photo.