XT600e Simple Front Fork Rebuild: Oil and Oil Seal Replacement, Spring Upgrade

Simple fFork rebuild on the Yamaha XT600 XT600e: change the oil, replace the leaking oil seals and upgrade the fork springs to heavier duty Wirth progressives to improve handling on the road.
Some experimentation with presentation on this video
/ lakeyinspired

[@MattPerry]

It is guys like these that save a lot of money in the shops. They buy the parts and do almost everything.

[@MotoMirius]

Labour is expensive, and there are a lot of jobs that really aren't that hard to do yourself.

[@GTsGarage]

a really well edited instructional vid. Would say easily one of the better fork vids about, and the editing on the intro is brilliant. Would happily watch these all day.

[@MotoMirius]

Thank you kindly sir. That means a lot coming from an accomplished garage video maker such as yourself!

[@tonyireland1434]

good job great idea about the plug socket down inside the fork well explained good man

[@MotoMirius]

The old tricks are always the best! Thanks

[@vasulverhlomchuk6243]

Молодець. Дякую за подробне роз'яснення.

[@MotoMirius]

Thank you. Much appreciated. Skäl. David

[@ipacavallaroalleanzaassicu6042]

Great work

[@MotoMirius]

Thank you. Skäl. David

[@jantoreaga5920]

Good quality video 🙂

[@MotoMirius]

Thanks 😁

[@wascadoo8946]

Greate job thanks Mate👍🍺

[@MotoMirius]

Thanks, much appreciated. Skäl David

[@sanchopansa4113]

thank you

[@MotoMirius]

Thank you Sancho. Skäl. David

[@manmanlaiaddictioncoach8602]

Hi David. Great video. Thanks! Just picked up an 86 XT600. Do you know the exact model you installed?

[@MotoMirius]

I don’t unfortunately. It was the recommended one for that model. I’m not sure they do any different ones. Skäl. David

[@martylawrence1092]

Flight Path!

[@MotoMirius]

It's great! Especially since at the weekends they route all the planes taking off away from the posh housing areas and over mine! Skäl David

[@ronanrogers4127]

Have you ever thought of using cartridge emulators, or perhaps you already have? They seem to make a significant difference, along with improved progressive springs. Are they worth it?

[@MotoMirius]

I haven’t. From the discussion I’ve seen they are a contentious subject because they don’t always work as well as claimed. I guess it depends on how you intend to ride the bike. For general road and trail riding I wouldn’t bother. If I was serious about some form of sport use I’d probably be looking to upgrade to better forks. Skäl. David

[@oldbonesgarage977]

Hello bud what year xt do you have ?? And what did you think of the fork spribg upgrade changed the bike alot ??

[@MotoMirius]

Hi David. I think it was a 90, but I wouldn’t swear to it. Yes, massive improvement. Brought the dive under heavy braking under control. Bike felt firmer in general riding though off road you might prefer a softer front end. Cheers David

[@hughardara2867]

Hi Dave, great video and I've watched it a couple of times. A couple of questions if you don't mind, I've ordered some progressive springs for my 2003 xt 600e, I'm hoping to do some riding on the tet trails next year but I found the front suspension way to soft while out on local trails, bottoming out, making the front end and me nervous! Do you think new springs are the way to go? Also, as its a different spring how do you get an accurate volume of oil in the tubes? Oh and one third question do you leave out the bottom spacer when changing to progressive springs, I think mine are filled with jelly, sorry about the long text, appreciate any feedback!

[@MotoMirius]

Thanks. Yes, the stock springs are very soft, and unless you've had the forks apart, who knows what the previous owner did. Yes, no issue with changing the springs. Although the springs are different, they won't really make a lot of difference to the oil volume but in doubt ask the spring manufacturer (normally in the instructions if a change is needed). No, I would leave the spacers unless Progressive recommend something different for their springs. Check all spacers anyway because a previous owner might have modified them (very common) - and this could be part of the problem.

[@hughardara2867]

@@MotoMirius thanks for getting back to me!

[@michiel-vdheuvel]

Hello again! I've followed all your steps, however I ran into a problem. One of my forks inner tube seems to be 'sticking' when I try to pump it up and down. When I unscrew the damper rod bolt at the bottom, it moves freely. If I do tighten that bolt, the inner tube can move up and down up until a certain poiint. When it's all the way down, it gets stuck somehow and It takes a lot of effort before I can pluck it free. I noticed that the bottom part of the inner tube has a tiny internal ring, that moves freely if you wiggle it around with your finger. Mine seems to be somewhat stuck somehow, and the other fork has the same but it moves freely. How on earth do you adjust or even fix such a thing ? Any suggestions would be very welcome. Thank you.

[@MotoMirius]

Can't comment on the small ring as it's been a while since I had this apart but if one tube is sticking, especially when the damper rod is attached, the first thing I'd check is that it's still straight - not uncommon for these to acquire a bend, just roll it on a flat surface to check.

[@tinks43]

Good work Dave! See you at The Ace on Sunday?

[@MotoMirius]

Cheers for that. Yes, I certainly hope so. Not sure of my timings as yet, but intend to be there - by the bins if I'm early enough...

[@CrusherHell]

Hi How do you call that tool which you use to push down oil seal? Where I can buy it? Do I necessary need it? Thx.

[@MotoMirius]

Hi. They are called fork oil seal drivers. You can buy them on eBay or from your motorbike spares shop. You can instead use a length of plastic tubing such as water pipe. If needed, split down one side to make bigger or smaller. If you leave it long enough you can tap it on the end with a weight. Good luck!

[@chico-de4099]

Hi Dave, thank you very much for this video. It will help me a lot changing the springs on my XT600E 1997 to new progressiv Wilbers springs. The repair manual says 62 Nm for the lower bolt. Which torque did you use for this 8mm bolt? I think 62 Nm is a lot of torque for it. What's your personal opinion? Thanks. Regards from Southwest Germany to you. Jörg

[@MotoMirius]

Hi, sorry, took me a while to dig out my documentation for this bike. Yes, I can confirm that Yamaha specify 62Nm for the bolt which is slightly more than for the front axle nut. Hope you have a great day!

[@chico-de4099]

Hi Dave, I completed the fork service. Here is my "special tool tip" for ~10€: KS Tools Spezial-Einsatz mit 27 mm Innensechskant und 1/2" Antrieb". Search on eBay or Google for this german description and you'll find it, I think. Regards, Jörg

[@MotoMirius]

@@chico-de4099 Thanks. Special tools are always great to have in your toolbox if you expect to repeat a job. I'm just waiting for a special tool to come in for a future video. Thanks for the link!

[@mitsosvarsa]

Hi David , I like your video . I have XT600E with motard rims 17inches . I want to repair my fronk fork spring . Where did you get your spring ?Do you have the link;What you think is better for motard , progressive or symmetrical springs ?A progressive spring from WP with 15W will be a good setting for my Motard XT600E? I wait for your opinion!!

[@MotoMirius]

Hi and thanks. I used hyperpro. I would typically choose a progressive rate spring, I can't think of any good reason to fit a single rate spring except when building a bike on a budget. Lots of factors affect choice of spring especially when building a motard, the spring is only part of the decision. I chose a spring which would be stiffer for road use because the stock spring rate was too soft - designed for off road comfort but too much fork dive under heavy braking on the road. So it depends how heavy you are, how you are using the bike and how you want the fork to feel. In the real world, the process is that you try a spring and then if it doesn't do what you want then you sell it (always a market for this) and then buy another that moves you closer to where you want to be.

[@mitsosvarsa]

​@@MotoMirius thank you very much !!!! I use it only to road trip , so i will start with springs (progressive -hyper pro or wp) and a thicker oil 15w. Thank you again for your fast response wish you the best

[@MotoMirius]

@@mitsosvarsa Good luck with that. Oil is easy to change so don't be afraid to experiment to get the damping effect you want.

[@ernestohernandez139]

But it was only one side. Do i have to do it in both bars

[@MotoMirius]

It depends why you are doing it, both sides are the same. You might as well do both even if you only need to do one.

[@972jc]

Salut David,j’ai une 600XTe de 91 mes deux joints de fourche sont morts peux-tu refaire la vidéo en français..😬

[@MotoMirius]

Salut, je ne pense pas que mon français soit assez bon pour ça. Si vous regardez la vidéo, vous devriez pouvoir voir la plupart de ce qui est fait.

[@972jc]

@@MotoMirius en tout cas votre réponse est écrite dans un très bon français...

[@MotoMirius]

@@972jc C'est Google Translate - oui, je parle un peu mais ceci, c'est mon Francais. Et parle? Je ne pense pas!

[@RemiDomer]

What's the key inside? 27?

[@MotoMirius]

Yes, you need a 27mm nut to fit into the 27mm socket. Skäl David

[@RemiDomer]

@@MotoMirius Thank you very much 😊