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Author Topic: 2010 Zero DS front Fork Susppension Replacement  (Read 851 times)

DarenH

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2010 Zero DS front Fork Susppension Replacement
« on: September 27, 2023, 09:21:05 PM »

I have a 2010 Zero with less than 700 miles and the forks are shot. No rebound hardly when pressed down.  I would like to find a replacement set that will bolt on.  The ones that are on it now are Fastace ALX02RC.  How would I go about looking for the forks that will replace this set without breaking the bank. I only use this bike to ride back and forth to work.   

Thank you
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Specter

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Re: 2010 Zero DS front Fork Susppension Replacement
« Reply #1 on: September 28, 2023, 03:13:15 PM »

13 years and only 700 miles?  Dammit man, I wish I had a job that easy !  :D

Are they seized or possibly some crap blocking a port in them or something?  Rusted maybe? can you tell why they are only working that little bit?

Given how few miles on them, if the bike was not like stored outside or something, they might just need a little bit of elbow grease to free up and it'd save you the hassles and money of putting new ones on.

Aaron
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DarenH

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Re: 2010 Zero DS front Fork Susppension Replacement
« Reply #2 on: September 28, 2023, 05:59:44 PM »

I just barely got it revived. It has sat since 2013 in the garage. I don't know anything about shocks lol. They rebound a little bit but I could still pull up on the bars and they come up
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Richard230

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Re: 2010 Zero DS front Fork Susppension Replacement
« Reply #3 on: September 28, 2023, 07:27:19 PM »

It could be that the oil in the forks has just turned into goo and the forks need to be taken apart, cleaned and new oil installed. Those forks were originally used on small dirt bikes as I recall. Perhaps a dirt bike shop can perform that work for you, even if they are not familiar with the brand. I seem to recall that years ago I saw both a video and parts diagram showing how the FastAce forks were designed and how they could be serviced.
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Richard's motorcycle collection:  2018 16.6 kWh Zero S, 2009 BMW F650GS, 2020 KTM 390 Duke, 2002 Yamaha FZ1 (FZS1000N) and a 1978 Honda Kick 'N Go Senior.

Richard230

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Re: 2010 Zero DS front Fork Susppension Replacement
« Reply #4 on: September 28, 2023, 07:35:41 PM »

I found this description regarding how to service the FastAce forks on the 2012 Zero models in my computer files that was posted by someone on this forum years ago. While they might not be the same as the forks used on the 2010 bikes, it might be of some help when servicing those forks. You could also try a "search" here and/or Google and you might come up with something useful, too.

Zero Fork Oil and Spring Replacement

What was done: I replaced the OEM 24.8 lb/in (.44 kg/mm) springs with 18.0 - 23.0 lb/in (0.32 - .41 kg/mm) progressive springs from Cannon Racecraft, along with 7mm pre-load spacers & Bel-Ray HVI 3W shock oil. Sag went from 20mm (static) 38mm (race) to 32S 56R, and every aspect of the fork improved. The adjustment clickers also became usable, instead of just staying at minimum damping as before.

Spring Dimensions (OEM): 16.56" / 420mm OAL, 1.46" / 37mm O.D., 1.10" / 28mm I.D., 32 coils

Spring Spacers: 1.00" I.D., 1.46" O.D., .28" / 7mm max thickness, aluminum (machine shop), or...
 NF14502 nylon washers (1.45" O.D. x .99" I.D. x .12" thick, www.non-ferrousfastener.com)

Prep: I put the bike on the stand, removed the bars & risers together (riser bolts use 7mm Allen keys), then slightly loosened both fork caps, front axle, & brake caliper bolts while the front wheel was on the ground. To minimize fork-cap damage, I used a modified 34mm Proto impact socket w/.012" shim, aluminum tape, and plastic guard made from an aerosol can lid:

I then propped up the front end at the fender bolts, and removed the front wheel, caliper, and both fork legs.

Fork Cap / Spring Removal: Adjust the rebound clicker to about 10 clicks CCW from full CW, then unscrew fork cap from leg, slide cap/spring up slightly, and slide a thin 17mm open-end wrench (I used one from an old Honda tool kit) between the spring coils to fully engage the two flats on the inner shaft's locking collar. These flats round easily & require a fair amount of torque, so use the widest thin wrench you can find. While holding the fork cap with the socket, unscrew the locking collar until it bottoms on the shaft threads and resistance is felt, then continue to apply force to unscrew cap from shaft. Leave rebound clicker & slotted setscrew exactly where they are, and the cap may go right back on later. With the cap off, remove the springs (the center shaft may slide down into the fork, no biggie). NOTE: I didn't see any Loc-Tite on anything I worked on.

Oil Change (the forks do NOT have to be disassembled further): I set up a long steel rod with about 6" hanging over the bench edge & the other end weighted. I pumped out as much oil as possible into a pan underneath the rod, then hung the fork leg on the rod to let the rest drain (it took a while). The LH leg had @ 400cc, RH leg 360cc. The oil seemed like maybe 10W, black & 'pearlescent', and looked/smelled a lot like some 70's graphite-based fork oil I have. After a Web search of 43mm-fork oil levels (the lowest I found was 378cc, highest was 410cc), I decided on 400cc of Bel-Ray HVI 3W oil. NOTE: this was for a '14 2.8 FX w/light springs; the 5W HVI might be a better choice for a 5.7 w/OEM springs, although the 3W should work well too.

After flushing out any remaining OEM oil with some old HVI 3W, I poured in the new oil slowly, then worked the shaft up/down repeatedly. At first there was cavitation noise, but after many up/down movements the noise stopped and the shaft had full damping in both directions. The oil level was 130mm from the outer tube top when it was aligned with the top of the center shaft.

Spring / Cap Replacement: OEM or straight-rate springs can go back either way, but progressive springs must have the 'soft' side down so the 17mm wrench can be used again up top. The center shaft will want to slide down inside the outer tube, so I angled the fork leg quite a bit to put some side friction on the center shaft while the spring was slid over it. Once the spring was in, I used the 17mm wrench to snag & move the center shaft up more. I then put the spacer inside the fork cap and screwed the cap onto the center shaft (the spring needs to be compressed with the wrench in place, kind of a PITA). The cap clicker's lower end is basically a super-short flat screwdriver blade which engages a slotted setscrew in the center shaft's I.D.; if the clicker and setscrew weren't moved during the fork work, the cap might go right back on to full thread depth - but I'd assume the worst and screw the cap on slowly & gently, and if it stops moving early try rotating it and/or the clicker back and forth a bit until the clicker blade engages the setscrew slot (if the clicker starts clicking while the cap is being installed, either the clicker blade is jammed against the setscrew or the adjuster needle is bottomed; try backing out the clicker a half-dozen or so clicks). Once cap is on (be sure air venting screw is tight!), invert & rotate fork legs once to oil spring & outer tube, then return quickly to normal cap-up orientation so cartridge stays full of oil.

Misc: The rebound-adjuster setscrews push against long aluminum needles. The needle tapers are short and roughly machined, so it's no wonder they have poor action over a limited range. I smoothed and polished the tapers a little which seems to have helped a bit, and may try having custom needles made at some point (although these are working great with the 3W oil).

Torques used:

Handlebar clamps15 ft/lb (M8)
Handlebar risers 25 ft/lb (M10)
Triple clamps (all)15 ft/lb (M8)
Fork caps 15 ft/lb (M46)
F caliper bolts18 ft/lb (M8)
F axle end cap 15 ft/lbs (M8)
F Axle clamps 9 ft/lbs (M6)
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Richard's motorcycle collection:  2018 16.6 kWh Zero S, 2009 BMW F650GS, 2020 KTM 390 Duke, 2002 Yamaha FZ1 (FZS1000N) and a 1978 Honda Kick 'N Go Senior.

DarenH

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Re: 2010 Zero DS front Fork Susppension Replacement
« Reply #5 on: September 28, 2023, 07:50:42 PM »

Thank you very much!! I looked but couldn't find anything.  I will check this out this weekend.
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Specter

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Re: 2010 Zero DS front Fork Susppension Replacement
« Reply #6 on: September 29, 2023, 02:10:03 AM »

+1 what he posted.
The oil may have got some glop in it, moisture maybe from sitting so long, emulsified and is plugging up a port.
change the fluids and while it's open operate it to blow out any floaties and chunkies in there and put new oil in.
If you see any corrosion on the metal sliding parts on the exterior, possibly oil it up a bit and work the shock several times to spread it / work things back loose again.

I am thinking like the steering on my boat before I went with hydraulic steering.  It seemed no matter how well you thought you took care of it, the cables would want to start seizing up and you'd have to pull the ends off, run them full stroke back and forth 100 times cleaning the old shit out of them, and putting new shit into them / their sheaths.  Once you were done the steering would work like it was new again, but the chore had to be done.

Good luck and hopefully that fixes your problem.  Getting parts from a bike that old, umm might be a problem.  E bay /Amazon might help.. maybe

aaron
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DarenH

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Re: 2010 Zero DS front Fork Susppension Replacement
« Reply #7 on: October 18, 2023, 08:07:14 PM »

Did the oil change and shocks feel much better.  Thanks guys
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