Starting fork caps is my FAVORITE thing about working on motorcycles!

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

The most bestest favorite thing ever! 😅

After the drilling and before you use the tap, it is a good ide to use a Chamfering Tool to clean the edge up and make a good start for the tap.

One of the first and only mods i did on my 78 CX500 (CeX Machine). I just bought replacement caps without the air ports. Easy peasy. Nice job.

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

Thats a clean method for sure

@donzimmer63

7 ай бұрын

@@BrickHouseBuilds and luckily for me...requires no skills. lol

@scottmoto

7 ай бұрын

Where did you get caps without ports? Thanks!

@donzimmer63

7 ай бұрын

@@scottmoto dont recall. But they are readily available. 4 into 1 may have been the place. They have them 9 bucks each.

@scottmoto

7 ай бұрын

@@donzimmer63 Thanks!

Great timing! Previous owner removed the line and lost it, but left everything else so I was looking for a way to delete the air assist, and here you are!

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

I knew you needed this video so thats why I made it 😉

@13tucker45

7 ай бұрын

@@BrickHouseBuilds what a guy!

Best timing ever, I"m rebuilding a 1982 CM450 Hondamatic and I need to do that. Thanks. Hello from Montreal.

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

Glad to hear it!

Excellent. I just bought a CM400T. Going to strip it down to the frame and restore. This vid is good information.

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

Those are fun bikes!

Thanks for the video! Worked great for me. I ended up using a 1-1/8" 6 point socket and it worked to line it up well.

Great suggestions. This video is going into my archive.

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks for this video. Very helpful. I just bought another cx500 and I want to simplify the fork adjustment and eliminate the stock air valve. This is perfect . Great idea. 👍🏍🇨🇦

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

Hopefully it works well for you

I did it to my V-MAX 1200 with spacers and new RACETECH springs. Factory springs were weak weak. Enjoyed the video B. J. and RIDE SAFE OUT THERE!

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed!

Brilliant as always. Thank you for sharing your know how.

@BrickHouseBuilds

Ай бұрын

🤘🤘

Nice job BJ and clever too take care 👍👌🔧🔧🔧❤️

Fork spring installation. I remember doing that on my yz when I was young.

I got some non air caps cheap online for my CM400. Haven't done the work yet this video helps.

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

Thats the ticket for it and a cleaner look for sure

I used your technique, but drained the oil first. Covered the fork caps with a rag and pressure to keep the cap and pre load spring flying away. And made the PVC spacers 80mm long. Flushed and cleaned as you described. Added Honda Fork Oil 200cm as you did. I just left the schrader valve and cap. Riding it tomorrow. Took me an hour to do this mod, thanks.

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

Hopefully it rides well for you! I don't know what bike you are working on but the 200cc was specific to this bike based on the service manual so use caution there.

@rolandestrada7007

7 ай бұрын

​@@BrickHouseBuilds The bike is a Honda GL650i. I road it today, works great. Thanks

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

The gl650 has 37mm forks and takes more fluid. Cx500 custom takes 220cc, gl650 takes 275cc. This is why I mentioned it. Id add another 50cc each

@rolandestrada7007

6 ай бұрын

Your a real master with these bikes.

Ooohhh CHET!!...the suspense...i frkn jumped when the cap took off😂😂

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

The cap jumped too! 😅

nice job

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

Thank ya!

Finally Someone made a proper video about this 👌🏻👍🏻 thanks dear 😊 is there a kit to replace the top cap to have better look?

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

I am not aware of any kit but you could possibly fit a a different cap from a non-assisted bike

@ahmedalmemari8341

7 ай бұрын

Thanks dear 👍🏻 you are the reason why I bought honda CB and CX 😅

Fork oil has to be the most overlooked fluid on any motorcycle.

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

Id agree along with correct spline paste

Thanx for sharing, a "hack" that is simple and works p'fect

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

Glad you liked it!

This looks like something that I'm going to be doing this winter. If you wanted to shorten the front forks, could you trim the main spring and then just make that spacer longer to match what you took away from the main spring?

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

You could trim the main spring and then add a spacer under the leg by the bottom out spring to keep the preload but lower it at the same time

Great to see you struggling with that fork cap, like us mere mortals 😂, I’m going to say it would’ve been easier if you’d put a head stock paddock stand under the steering tube and lifted the front end to hyper extend the forks (or a scissor platform under the engine), but where would the fun have been in that! 😂

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

The forks were fully extended with the bike supported..Definitely a bear

@1234567marks

7 ай бұрын

@@BrickHouseBuilds Ah right, it’s similar fun on my XJR, and a host of other bikes I guess, always a good feeling when you’ve beaten it though 👍

I'm 250lbs. so I put some Progressive springs in my CX500D and it's about perfect and I left the air hose on in case I need more pre-load. The air system would also prematurely wear out your fork seals because it would increase the grip of the seal lip against the fork tube increasing the friction.

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

The progressive springs are very nice I had those in a GL650 and FT500 and were a big improvement.

How were your underpants after that spring went flying? Great video. Thanks

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

They were definitely soiled lol. I had never had one launch like that.

I see you colour in your 10mm spanners with a sharpie - all my open enders, combination spanners, sockets etc all have similar (sockets usually get a thin sleeve of shrink wrap) makes them so much easier to identify and in the case of sockets count up or down when on a rack to get the 13 or 14 or 8mm socket you require. Also I have a screwdriver drawer - all flat blades - the handles point South and the crossheads point North with a separate drawer for JIS screwdrivers.

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

I actually don't do the markings on my spanners but the screwdriver drawer sounds IDENTICAL to mine lol. I also have a separate rack for just JIS drivers

Thanks 👍

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

🤘🤘

Good job!👍👌 I have two air shock absorbers on the front fork of my Moto Guzzi and I feel terrible about it! If you apply even very little air the front wheel bounces on the asphalt, if you don't apply any braking it will immediately bottom out. It goes without saying that I will look for a solution similar to yours or I will switch to traditional shock absorbers. 😉

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

That sounds like how this bike was!

I remember those days of trying to get a fork cap back on! Was the screw you fitted a self tightening thread? It looked like it got tight.

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

Yes it was an NPT thread so it has a taper to it

Hmm, this could well have been the issue I had with my CX500. I put it down to what I thought as inadequate 32mm forks that caused the front end to flex while cornering at speed. Btw, fluids are compressible, but not very much.

or in the case of my 83 nighthawk, you replace the forks with those from a 91 nighthawk. from a time when Honda realized air assist was ultimately a bad idea.

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

Newer is usually better especially coming from the early 80s. Tech started moving pretty quick about then

I’ll have to take this for a scoot around the block and see how it compares to my GL with the air. I should probably check the pressures and if they are close to 0 pump and test in a week and see if there is a leak and rectify.

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

Yours may still be holding as it doesn't seem like your front end sags. The red cx couldn't support its own weight

Great call BJ! Too many builders just take 'the factory knows best' approach and keep these features. I'll even go one further and say that removal of these systems, even if they are in top shape, is better than keeping them. Here is the thing, the industry has had TONS of experience and knowledge gains around suspension since when these systems were designed. Since then we have learned of the detrimental effects of having ANY air pressure in your forks since that air pressure causes stiction in the fork action and takes away suppleness. There is a lot of engineering around this, but suffice it to say that you do not want air pressure in your forks ever. In fact air bleed valves are pretty standard these days to help remove any pressure buildup in forks, mostly MX. It's a complication that they don't add to most street forks but that doesn't mean it's OK or good, it's just not complained about by street riders so it doesn't get added. Adjustable fork caps are now a thing that can be added to many vintage forks to give preload adjustment. In lieu of that internal spacers that BJ mentioned are good and not too hard to setup. In fact stock springs that are too soft or have sagged a bit can be made stiffer by doing some simple modifications to them. That is probably another conversation, for now just know that you do not want air pressure in your forks ever. EDIT: I do not however recommend making these changes in situ, much better to disassemble the front end and have good control over the caps when they come loose. This will remove any sprung weight that adds energy to the spring and thus the cap, and it allows you to simply get a rag over the whole fork end and cap and easily trap it when it comes loose. Also way easier to start the cap with the increased preload the spacer adds. 😁 Also, fork oil *height* in the fork helps control bottoming, unfortunately manuals always give you volume instead. Going through the machinations to obtain that are worth it, once you know fork oil height you can use it as a tuning variable for bottoming resistance.

@johncunningham4820

7 ай бұрын

So , what you are saying is that , the Trapped Air Cell in the Forks , which there IS you realise even though only atmospheric pressure , interacting with the CAREFULLY measured Fork Oil amount , produces a Rising Rate that resists Bottoming . Yes ? Careful attention to Oil Height has always been part of the deal in getting the Best of of Forks , Air Caps permit Normalising of Air pressure inside the Forks to account for Temperature and Altitude if needed . Never intended to use 30 psi or such . Just 1 or 2 , nothing more .

@jameshisself9324

7 ай бұрын

@@johncunningham4820 Yes there is trapped air, unavoidable from a practical standpoint but minimizing it is best. 'Equal' is a great term since everything in the atmosphere has some pressure depending on altitude. Zero relative is best. You obviously have knowledge most don't, most suspension is typically looked at as black magic. It needn't be, it is all science but we've learned a lot since this bike was made.

Nice job, but I would have bought two of the standard issued caps to really clean up the look of the forks, and to improve/simplify re assembly. Best Regards!

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

Thats a clean way of doing it but how do you know what caps fit?

@keithagn

7 ай бұрын

@@BrickHouseBuilds I would have no idea what caps would fit; I would leave that mystery for the Parts Dept to figure out 😆 thanks for your reply!

Great Vid! Do you think this would work on the heavier GL650's? Peace.

@BrickHouseBuilds

24 күн бұрын

Yes, this can apply to many bikes in the Honda line

@kirknis1479

24 күн бұрын

@@BrickHouseBuilds Thanks, I need to replace leaking fork seals on my 83 GL650, I've never liked the air assist.

Thanks for this video Very useful. I like the way you created it. I just made a 3000w electric car, trying to show you which one goes faster. Great thinking, isn't it?

Take care with that duco Mr BHB

Could you have removed the schrader valve permanently? I think I will on mine if it is not a bad idea. Thanks!

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

Yes if you block off the ports like I show in this you could also remove the schrader.

رائع

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

Thank ya!

Ha! I had to rewind after you lost that spring to check if that paint chip on the tank was already there.

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

If I didn't chip the paint I'd be surprised!

Not a criticism at all. Just wondering why you didn't eliminate the Schrader valve?

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

You definitely could have but it didn't bother me visually or have a negative effect on removing the forks like the side mounted fittings.

What do you do if you only have one spring in the fork? I have an 81 CB900C and only previously on the 80s model they did the 2 springs.

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

Based on Partzilla it does have the air assist. You could add a short spacer on top the spring thats probably less than 2 inches. You could tailor it to your preferred feel

@atombombsgarage

7 ай бұрын

@@BrickHouseBuilds thanks man. And yes it does have air assist for sure. I will just have to take off the top cap and see how much space I have in there. I’ve taken it out before and don’t remember there being as much compression as what yours had to make the spring shoot across the room. lol. Are you saying the PVC piece i would pay in would be less than 2”. Thanks for the info man! I greatly appreciate it

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

@adamdavis5126 since you have 1 spring you wouldn't be replacing a smaller one so a short piece of pvc would be all you need.

@atombombsgarage

7 ай бұрын

@@BrickHouseBuilds thanks a lot for getting back with me man. Really appreciate the advice. I’ll definitely be trying this out to see how it feels. I think it will save my old seals from leaking. But Ill probably just go with the bolt and washer with some sealant just in case it doesn’t work out and i can switch it back. Thanks again Makes me see that you’re not just like a lot of other KZreadrs, and that you actually care about your viewers and helping them out. Love your channel and all your tips, and shop tricks. I have learned so much from you by watching all your builds. I was the one that talked back and forth with you about valve composition and lapping, and you helped me out with a ton of good information. I’ll be buying some merch from you soon. And don’t listen to the haters on here, it’s never ending, you do an awesome job, and there are a lot of us that appreciate

First, thanks. Why didn't you put matel pipe instead of plastic?

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

Well PVC is common practice. Even aftermarket suppliers use PVC

I went to do this to my 81 cb750C, but there was no preload spring to remove??? Just 1 long fork spring

@BrickHouseBuilds

3 ай бұрын

Thats interesting. I wonder if someone had replaced them previously

@david84ss

3 ай бұрын

@BrickHouseBuilds I think Honda used an extra long fork spring compared to the non air asist spring. I just read to add a 1" spacer, it should do the trick

Great video, I really liked it! "just like your mothers mimosas, heavy on the pour!"

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

🤣🤣🤣

Hi, i get the problem with that forks and the need to solve it... that tech is almost 40 years old, it didn't survive for some reason, one will run out of working spare parts due to the aging components... pumping air into it might bring water from atmospheric air that might mix with the oil. As a biker you might get the problem. I still got some problems with the fix... I don't think plumbing pipe (in that case pvc/pp/pe? might work... cos temperature and softness of the material that might collapse, expand and get stuck inside the tube). It is made to withstand forces from inside out but not forces that compress it... well it is a roadbike, no dirtbike... still. There are newer forks that use a bladder like the WP ones from dirtbike racing so that idea atleast did survive. Why you do not just advise to look for other forks? Dunno which ones would match that cx500 but there have to be options to make it safe I think. :/

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

PVC is used as a spacer by suspension manufacturers such as progressive. This is common practice. As far as suggesting a different set of forks that is another level of complexity and cost. If i were to recommend something like that people get upset suggesting it is out of their budget, scope of skill, or extremely dangerous because it is not how the manufacturer designed it from the factory. This is a simple and effective modification using common items that nearly anyone can do.

@ronr6605

7 ай бұрын

@@BrickHouseBuilds true Triumph uses such... but it is special plastics, brittle, it even sounds different if you knock it. I remember all Japanese manufacturers and aftermarket companies as yss using metal ones... so 39mil for the 41. I am sure I have seen collapsed plastic piping that got stuck if you bottom them. That is a deathtrap I assume, if it fails... but I am no Engineer. About costs for more modern suspension I agree... but well, we got just one life. Who knows.

@outerfroggy1

7 ай бұрын

I used PVC spacers in all my trail bikes for years and they took 10x the abuse that a streetbike ever will. Never once had an issue.@@ronr6605

My man, get yourself a set of 90-degree Metric countersink bits to clean up that nasty burr edge on the drilled hole. Also, you almost certainly can just buy fork caps for a different model and save yourself all that time. I'm pretty sure the CX650C only had a Schraeder valve, for example.

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

I know I could buy caps but I already have these and it's easy to drill and tap. It's not like it's extra time and is also cheaper.

Wouldn't it be easier to aluminum tig weld all the roles instead of plugging them?

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

No and that would assume everyone has an AC capable tig machine. This is meant to be easy for everyone

Got me 🎉😂 damn

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

That POP in editing was still startling lol 😆

@X_Studios

7 ай бұрын

@@BrickHouseBuilds yep jumped. Im build gl650 myself i need to work on filming myself just can’t seem to do it

Step one was remove air transfer line. But shouldn’t step one be depressurize the system? Not tryna to be an a-hole just was thinking

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

You make a good point but a tiny volume of air at a max of 10psi we aren't talking about anything remotely dangerous here. The moment you crack the fitting loose it would depressurize with a light hiss

Why would you want to delete air shocks

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

I explain it in the video actually

Could you just buy new fork caps?

@BrickHouseBuilds

3 ай бұрын

Yes, but this is still a cheap option

@Backwoodbros

3 ай бұрын

Okay I just wanted to make sure. But still add the pvc. Awesome video! Thank you

Lowe your atention to details

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

Thank you

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

I could have paid more attention to the threads on the cap before it flew off lol 😆

@MrNiklas1967

7 ай бұрын

@@BrickHouseBuilds Thats a vake up call lol

What on earth is UNFERSTANDING....FFS!

@Phronsias1

7 ай бұрын

Maybe "understanding" could have hit the wrong key, D is next to F on the keyboard,I could be wrong.

There should absolutely NOT be any Air Leakage at the Slider Seals . The things done on this Video are BUTCHERY . The Air-assist gives you a Rising Rate spring . Reduces Front-End Brake Dive and , by extrapolation , a Variable Damping rate . Nothing like UNFERSTANDING the Principles at work , AND , the Value of a bit of Thread Tape or Loctite . Thumbs Down buddy . Bad Advice and Badly Executed too .

@BrickHouseBuilds

7 ай бұрын

John its never my goal to give bad info here and I do not feel this was an instance where I did. I felt my explanations and demonstrations were sound. I'm sorry you feel differently but there is a place for this information.

@jameshisself9324

7 ай бұрын

Nope. Your theories are out of date sir. Air pressure as preload is an out of date concept that adversely affects fork action. The industry did not know better back when this bike was made but they do now. I suggest some research around current suspension technology on this topic.

@outerfroggy1

7 ай бұрын

I've done this on a bunch of off road bikes and the results were night and day. Way better riding and more reliable