Broken reaction rod bracket

Yes, the side plate will need to come off. You won't be able to use the BT stand.

So, the old girl is seeing the welder this weekend. I have a new silent brush on the way to replace the split one in the reaction rod. I also plan to change engine, transmission, and gearbox fluid, change spark plugs, air filter, change brake and clutch fluid, check valve clearances. While the bike is off the road, what else would you suggest I look at. The bike has done 22k miles. I have booked into garage for a fork oil and seal change, (as per manual) however, there seems to be nothing wrong with them currently, is this just throwing money away? Do the throttle bodies need checking?

Assuming wheel & other bits will be off anyway I'd check & grease rear swing arm bearings at same time & could grease dog-bone joints as well as more access with wheel off. If you take forks off to get new seals & oil (I changed mine at 20K miles and 4 years just to avoid them failing) then steering bearings are worth a grease as well.

Oils & air filter & plugs (& hydraulics) are so quick and easy it doesn't require major off-road time so would do them anytime (plus I always drain fluids hot anyway).

Valve clearances adjustment means you should synchronise/balance & reset TBs as well

Thank you Paul, this is great

The forks are Showa’s, very similar to the type on GSXR’s etc. It would interesting to look at the service schedule from Suzuki and see if they schedule fork seal replacement.

It would be interesting to check out.Upon inspection over the weekend however identified that the left fork seal has gone, so needs changing anyway. Looked on Gutsibits at seals and they want £17 per seal, but surely since the forks are just Showa inverted forks, the seals should be readily available cheaper right? Also reading on here about fork cartridges, i believe that my forks are stock, therefore should be able to get hold of a spring compressor right?

Cheaper seals on ebay but never tried them myself.  For instructions on remove & rebuild use the service manual and read this thread from Ghetto (and others)  [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]. I wimped out and chucked the forks into Brookes for full service - not cheap.

Seals size: 43 x 54 x 11


Yes, a spring compressor is required

paulbrice wrote:

Cheaper seals on ebay but never tried them myself.  For instructions on remove & rebuild use the service manual and read this thread from Ghetto (and others)  [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].   I wimped out and chucked the forks into Brookes for full service - not cheap.

Thank you for the link Paul, interesting read, but this isnt required for a seal and oil change those is it? I actually found a pair of vids here, which seems to provide ample instructions on an oil a seal service:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

So on the shopping list is fork oil, seals, dust caps and spring compressor. Should be a fairly straight forward job?

The link was just to give some pictures of dismantling forks - I wasn't thinking you would do the shim stack as well Somewhere in forum there are plenty of threads around doing this job & I just picked the first one I found !

paulbrice wrote:

The link was just to give some pictures of dismantling forks - I wasn't thinking you would do the shim stack as well    Somewhere in forum there are plenty of threads around doing this job & I just picked the first one I found !

Thank you

For the fork oil, manual says 7.5w however, there seems to be a choice, which should I choose.

The weight of fork oil is...

Well it really depends on the manufacturer, as fork oils are all different, despite their stated weight. It's a conundrum shared by many. I know what I use and am happy with. Others will be along shortly with their tales, both tall and true!

Thanks Tony, I was looking to get Agip oil as per manual.

Given the stock forks are overdamped, I suggest 5W.

Comming back on the frame lug, I ve seen it once on a stelvio, and after looking the newer years have a stronger setup there with thicker/double steel. Don't know if they ever changed it at the GRiSO frames, maybe with the A8 engine swap?