Changing fork springs and oil. Cheap way vs expensive way

wearelopey

wearelopey

Well-known member
Hey everyone,

So I want to switch out the fork springs on my 07 SV1000S. Bike has 9000km on it.

Half the shops I get quoted at $80 to flush the fluid and swap the springs (labour only).

The other half of shops quote me in the $200-250 range. I assume they would be totally rebuilding my forks?

I was wondering if anyone knew the difference between the two price ranges entailed? I have contacted more than 2 shops and they all either say around $80 or around $250, no one says anything in between...
I want specifics, as I have no clue what the difference would be.

Your suggestions would be appreciated as well!
 
Maybe the $80 one is assuming the forks will be off the bike when you bring them in?
 
Are you changing your springs for better handling?

Or just looking to change the oil and fork seals, i usually don't change my oil till my seals blow.

I Did my YZ 125, change oil and springs no problem

do a search on it and how to fork seals are not that hard to do just gotta have some tools.

have my not done MY GSXR 600 yet but i will be when the time comes
 
I'm not familiar with the OPs bike but on my Goldwing it's a piece of cake so the $80 + oil seems about right. For $250 I would expect new springs. My progressives were about $100.00.
Fork oil degrades and needs to be changed. Same with clutch fluid (DOT 4). Mine looked like gravy when I bought the bike.
 
The SV has the older damping rod style forks. They're not as good as modern USD cartridge forks, but they're also easier to work on. Changing springs and oil is a fairly simple job to do, and not overly time consuming. Sonic Springs seem to be popular with the SV crowd, and generally run about $100 for a set. A litre of fork oil is about $15.

Forks already off the bike, it's probably 15 minutes per fork, so maybe a total of 30 - 40 minutes. The $80 is likely 1 hour of labour. Forks on the bike would probably almost double the time.

When you get your quotes, why don't you just ask what's included in the price?
 
$80 pull the legs drain the oil fill her up and drop in new springs
$200 to pull the legs dismantle clean the internals reassemble with fresh seals and bushings fill oil and add springs.

If you have ever seen the inside of forks even after a short while they are nasty. Your bike has simple forks just do it yourself. Its a messy but not real complicated job.
 
kneedragger88 said:
$80 pull the legs drain the oil fill her up and drop in new springs
$200 to pull the legs dismantle clean the internals reassemble with fresh seals and bushings fill oil and add springs.

If you have ever seen the inside of forks even after a short while they are nasty. Your bike has simple forks just do it yourself. Its a messy but not real complicated job.
Click to expand...

+1 even on fairly new bikes, fork oil is usually black and filled with particles when it comes out
 
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