RC3 Fork Maintenance Tutorial

This maintenance tutorial addresses RC3 fork maintenance.

Lift the front end of the motorcycle and remove the front wheel and tire in accordance with the front wheel removal tutorial.

Remove the four Allen bolts securing the front fender and remove the front fender.

Loosen (but do not remove) the two Allen pinch bolts on the upper triple tee.

Loosen (but do not remove) the Allen bolt securing the fork top clamp.

While holding the fork, loosen (but do not remove) the lower triple tee Allen pinch bolts.  When both are loose, the fork will be free to fall, so make sure you are holding it as these bolts are loosened.

Carefully slide the fork from the triple tees, taking care not to scratch the front fork anodizing.

Using a small screwdriver, gently pry the lower fork seal away from the fork upper, taking care not to scratch or gouge the fork upper.

Fully unscrew the damping adjuster until it can no longer be turned.

Unscrew the front fork cap assembly.  We use a rag over the aluminum hex head and a socket one size larger to avoid marring the cap assembly.

The fork contains oil, and when you remove the cap assembly, tilting the fork down will allow the oil to drain.  Drain the oil into a receptacle.

Next unscrew the fork cap assembly from the fork internal rod.   This is made challenging by the fork spring and the lock nut arrangement securing the fork internal rod to the fork cap assembly.

After unscrewing the fork cap assembly, remove the fork spring.

Remove the inner clip securing the lower fork seal.

At this point, the fork lower can be removed from the fork upper.  Drain any remaining oil in the fork lower.

Inspect the condition of the seals, the spring, the fork lower plated surfaces, and the bushings.  If any parts are damaged, please contact CSC for replacements at 909 445 0900.

The fork capacity is 270cc of fork oil.  We generally use 10W fork oil when replacing the fork oil.   Please contact CSC at 909 445 0900 if you need fork oil.

Assembly is the reverse of disassembly.   Torque all fasteners in accordance with the torque table in the CSC RC3 Owner’s and Service Manual.  Torque the fork cap assembly to 35 ft-lbs, but do so after the upper and lower triple tees (but not the fork top clamp) pinch bolts have been tightened.   Torque the fork top clamp pinch bolts after torqueing the fork cap assembly.