R75/5 fork drain problem. yikes!

[Steve in Golden]

https://youtu.be/4HsJ_91YNJ0

[Airbear]

It's step 2 of preparing an English muffin

An excellent response. Welcome aboard, Mike.

When my dear old R90 turned up in my life 15 years ago the forks were the first thing to go wrong. Different to yours in that they started to seize on cold mornings. I had no clue on how to get them apart, so ordered a Clymer manual from the US and waited for it to arrive. It didn't turn up for two months (I had chosen the cheapest shipping method and it turned out to be by ship). In the meantime I blundered upon Duane Auscherman's website which gave me some clues. I extracted the stanchions from the tripletree and pulled them apart. The bottom of the sliders each had a good handful of dry crumbs that could be squeezed like silicone. There was no fluid at all. I cleaned everything, put it back together, added some 5W fork oil and suddenly had front suspension that worked in a satisfying manner. Later, when the Clymer manual finally turned up I found that there should be a rubber bumper in each leg, which I eventually replaced. I'm rambling, but the point I want to make is that refurbing your forks isn't a big deal. They come apart easily once you know how, there is a finite number of parts and everything goes back together easily enough. I didn't even replace the stanchion seals, and still haven't - they don't leak. Yet.

So, c'mon, bite the bullet and strip those forks. I promise you won't regret it.**

** Conditions apply.

[Zombie Master]

The good thing is that these fork units are much better quality than other bikes of the day. IMO you should resist getting stiff springs. The BMW heavy duty springs are good. When set up right these forks can really eat up the rough stuff. Use OEM parts for best results...IMO

[Wobbly]

On my '79 /7 forks... the 13mm hex nut is removed completely. Then the 4mm Allen wrench is used to push the bolt up until it rests on an (unseen, but felt) internal step. You must push very hard against the fork spring to accomplish this. Some minor amount of oil will dribble out at this stage. With the bolt up on the step, the front brake can be held and the fork oil pumped out by nose diving the front end. That's the only way all the oil will come out for me.

If your fork oil shows signs of water or is really dirty, you may want to do this procedure again in a week.

[Roy Gavin]

ATF is cheap ,detergent, and makes a good flushing agent, both for the forks and the drive shaft were the corrugations on the rubber boot can hold a lot of crap.
Works OK in the forks too, but a quality 5 WT Synth suspension fluid will work best.

Fork springs work best if matched to the shocks.
The stiff Progressive brand work fine with the stock springs in Ikons, if you prefer a stiff set up.
I like things a bit softer , and have matched the stock factory soft fork springs with budget priced but fully adjustable TEC shocks , with excellent results, although I did ask for the softest spring TEC have as most of the other bikes they do shocks for are a heavier than my R75/7.
The English guys did this for me, dont know if the US agent is as helpful.
The US guys also have a real cheap TEC shock with limited adjustment which will probably work best with something a little stiffer like the progressives.

[jagarra]

Taking the forks apart is a snap. Remove the top caps and pull the big springs out. Remove wheel, fender, slide gaiters up, remove nut at bottom of slider and everything should slide off the fork tubes. Clean it all up and reassemble.

[Zombie Master]

It's step 2 of preparing an English muffin

This true!

[Zombie Master]

https://youtu.be/4HsJ_91YNJ0

Looks like an R75/5 to me.

[Airbear]

https://youtu.be/4HsJ_91YNJ0

Looks like an R75/5 to me.

Hey, nice Toaster.

[Zombie Master]

Toaster Shmoaster.