Hello,
If any one can offer advice it'd be greatly appreciated. I have a 1973 honda cb 750 four.
I have the rims true and balanced with new tires. The forks seals done and have 5 Oz of 15w fork oil. The bike despite my efforts bounces so bad at the front I can't ride it. Really sucks as it's running great.
You could try a lighter oil. Some use ATF instead of fork oil. Was it doing it before you did the seals? Here is some interesting reading for you from another thread. Confirm that the tires are seated properly on the rims and running true, again.
Forks could be suffering from Stiction... try this.
Method 1
Loosen the front fork hex caps, and then pump the forks with the brake on. That will center the wheel in the forks, if it is out of alignment. Then tighten the fork caps. Then, your triple trees (yokes) can be done, loosen the upper right pinch bolt and lower left, pump the forks again, (re-tighten the bolts) then do the lower right and upper left to take out any misalignment in the trees. Remember to tighten the first two bolts before loosening then other two, or your forks will slip up into your trees... There may be a method to do this in the SOHC manual, also.
Method 2
Start by jacking the bike up so the front wheel is off the ground; a half-inch or so will do it.
If the forks have been removed from the bike:
**1 **Set the stantion tube fork height level with the top of the the upper clamp, and then tighten the pinch bolts in stages to the proper torque. If you're not convinced that the heights are equal, slip the axle into place. If it doesn't glide smoothly through the forks, one leg is higher than the other, so readjust them until the axle slides through them with little or no effort.
2 Install the front fender-but don't tighten the bolts.
3 Install the front wheel and axle. If the axle threads into the fork, thread it in loosely; if it uses a nut, just snug the nut down by hand. Do not tighten the axle pinch bolts.
4 Spin the wheel as vigorously as you can and abruptly clamp on the brake. Holding the brake lever on, tighten the front axle
**5 **Lower the bike onto the ground, and, while holding the front brake, gently pump the forks a few times. You did remember to tighten those upper pinch bolts didn't you?
6 Tighten the lower clamp's pinch bolts, followed by the axle pinch bolts.
7 Tighten the fender bolts.
That's it bub, the forks are now aligned, but wait: there's more.
If you suspect the forks are tweaked but don't want to go through the whole shebang, there's a short cut.
Support the weight of the bike on the jack or center stand, and loosen the front axle. Remove the lock nut, and then try to slide the axle out of the fork. If it comes away with little effort, the forks are in alignment. If the axle has to be pounded out, it's a safe bet the forks are slightly tweaked. Of course that presumes the axle hasn't been rusted into place.
To correct a slight misalignment, loosen everything but the top clamp pinch bolts (you don't have to remove anything), and start at Step #3. Anytime the wheel is removed, perform steps #4 and #5: that'll center the wheel in the fork and provide better suspension and braking action.
Method 3
Here’s how to remedy. Keep in mind that the
sequence and order of this procedure is very critical:
1. Start with the bike on a level concrete floor on the centerstand. Put a small floor jack under the front of the engine (with a very thin board to protect the engine). Jack up the bike just enough so that the weight is off the front tire.
Warning: jacking beyond the point that the rear tire contacts the ground will lever the bike off the centerstand and cause a nasty spill.
2. For extra safety, run 2 tie-down straps down from the ceiling to the handlebars.
3. Loosen all of the following in this order but
do not remove:
• Left side, front axle cap pinch nuts (left as viewed by the rider). There are 4 of these. Make sure you’ve loosened these 4 nuts enough so that pressure is off the retainer and the left fork lower (“slider”) is free to “float” relative to the axle. Test to make sure the slider can move side-to-side relative to the axle.
• All 6 of the bolts that secure the fender
• Top fork stanchion Allen bolts (secure the fork tubes to the upper triple clamp).
• Fork caps (just loosen slightly)
• Lower fork stanchion attach bolts (secure the fork tubes to the lower triple clamp).
4. Next, remove the fork caps to relieve the pressure from the fork springs.
5. Carefully lower the front of the bike with the jack until the fork is
fully compressed. Be sure you have enough slack in the safety tie-downs to allow full compression. As the front end is lowered, carefully observe the action of the brake hoses and speedo cable to make sure they are not put into jeopardy by this extreme compression.
6. Tap the lower and upper triple clamps (stanchions) in several spots with a
soft mallet.
7. Carefully tighten all of the fasteners in the following order. Very important: be sure the fork tubes are at the same relative height inside the triple clamps. Normally, they should be flush with the top of the upper triple clamp.
• Lower triple clamp pinch bolts
• Top triple clamp pinch bolts
• Left side axle pinch nuts
• Fender attach bolts.
8. This is a good time to make sure your fork oil is at the correct level. With the fork fully compressed and the
fork springs removed, I run 160mm of free air space above the oil. This is a more accurate level of filling the forks than the factory suggests in the manual. Their method is approximately 6 oz when you drain the forks… 6.8 oz when you do a complete overhaul.
9. Raise the bike and replace the front springs.
Loosen the top triple clamp pinch bolts again to reinsert and tighten the fork caps. Re-tighten the top pinch bolts.
Same here, I told her I'd wash it before I put it away, and she said never mind, just keep it. Guess she hadn't missed one of our strainers that I use for sifting blast media.
Almost chickened out of doing mine after seeing some write-ups including removing most of the bar assembly to get to the air fittings. Yikes. Yours doesn't have that air fitting?
