KDXRIDER.NET

How do I change the oil in kx250 forks? Do they have to be removed from the bike? Thanks

actmobmar wrote:How do I change the oil in kx250 forks? Do they have to be removed from the bike? Thanks

What year forks? Are they open cartridge or closed cartridge forks?

They are 2001 kx250 forks

Yes. You will have to remove them from the bike.

There is a link to an article on fork service within these forums, but I don't have it handy. Look for KYB service.

You probably need to see a video to get the whole idea (any open chamber fork on youtube will do , IMO).
but here's the basic process:

back off both the compression and rebound adjusters to full out. If you want to use the same settings write em down.
jack the front end up and remove the wheel, brake caliper and line, fork guards, etc.
loosen the top triple clamp bolts and break the caps loose before you remove the forks.
loosen the lower clamps and remove the forks.
take the cap off, remove the spring. The cap to rod bolt-up is self-explanatory...you'll need a couple of open end wrenches. I always compress the fork now just to see what the original oil height was... oil level to top of compressed fork, it also gives you an idea how much oil to put back in as a rough estimate.

dump old oil in a pan, you can pull the rebound adjuster rod (you'll see it), sometimes I just leave it in.
pump the damping rod some to get the rest of the oil out
put the new oil in and pump the fork inner damping rod gently to fill it up (oil will eventually come out the top without bubbles) then measure and set the oil height to the top of compressed fork. I always assemble the fork now and pump the heck out of it, then recheck the oil height - sometimes there is some change.

put the forks back on.

I always reinstall the fork caps hand tight only, they are sealed with an o-ring.
Be sure and use the right torque on the lower triple clamps, over-tightening will bind the forks.
Before you tighten the axle clamps or the lower triple clamps, push down a few times on the forks with the brake applied. This will make sure that the brake rotor is in the right position and the forks are properly aligned. Bleed the air.

I'm sure I missed something, but you get the drift.

+1 kawagumby...that's the best 30 second fork oil change I've read.

Look on the www.racetech.com site for their videos.

thanks guys, this thing rides like a truck! changing to amsoil lite5 wt oil, hopefully it will help

what about setting the oil height? the kyb service guide touched on it, but they basically have you almost dissassemble the whole fork? i thought u could pull the spring, drain it with pumping and inverting the fork, flip it back over and put oil in, pump it and then measure the height of the oil with a long stick, etc. what is the proper height, and do i check it with the fork compressed with no spring? also, i took out a little more then 300 ml of oil out of the fork. thanks

Measurements are taken w/o the spring. So change the oil as described above, then measure, leave it a little low if you prefer. To add oil, you can measure the amount with a syringe and fill through the bleed screw, you can remove oil the same way with the proper tool, but you won't be able to measure actual height after the fork is reassembled.

What is the measurement?

120 mm is a good starting point.

what's the measurements for conventional?