Replacing fork seals/oil on my '82 Magna V45

[danrogy]

Hi all!  I am new to this forum as I am to Honda Magnas.  Lemmie start by saying HOLY MOLEY nobody told me how fast this 24 year old bike was gonna be!  My problem is this:  My forks are leaking oil so bad that my brake discs are all lubricated from the dripping fork oil.  Please keep in mind taht I know nothing about fixing bikes but my friend who's helping me does.  We've gotten the dust caps, the fork seals, an emeory cloth to polish the tubes and Honda SS8 10W suspension oil.  I see some people prefer 15W but I don't know what the difference would be to me.  Also my friend asked me to find out the torque specs for all the various bolts we'll have to take off.  This last part is really why I'm here, but if there's ANYTHING I can learn from here I would greatly appreciate it.  I have seen some miraculously maintained Magnas on this and other sites, so I'm led to believe that I've done quite well.  I've only got 9500 original miles!  Thanks again and hello to MOOT!

-Dan

[ThomasMagna]

Dan,

Congrats on the bike. I know you'll love it. I got my '82 last year and it has given meaning to my life. That may sound dramatic, but it is true.

As for torque specs, I can look them up for you, but not right now. There is a place on line that has the manual but I can't find the link at this moment. Don't worry, someone that has it at their finger tips will post it for you. If all else fails, I'll pm the specs.

You found the best Magna forum and maybe the best forum period. Very friendly and helpful people here. They won't put you down for being ignorant about your bike. They know that ignorance is a condition that can be over come by information.

I'm like you, I am no mechanic. Sadly, I haven't a mechanically inclined friend. These folks have helped me greatly.

Welcome and ride safe.

Oh, what color is your bike?

[Marc Albea]

Dan welcome to the MOOT forum.  Good to see another remote Magna owner.  I didn't happen to notice what part of the country you are in?

Torque specs.  Well, use them if you feel you need to, I can't tell you what they would be but I've sorta gotten the rep for being the fork seal guru for the vintage Magna's.  Matter of fact we just this past Saturday did a set on a V30 that had one side leaking pretty badly.  I think I've done about 8-10 so far.  3 of them on my V65 (I screwed up the first two attempts.)  I think the "only" torque specs we used was on the axle nut and if memory serves that was torqued to 65.

The hardest part is going to be removing the C clips that hold the fork seals in.  Especially if this is the first time they've ever been changed.  chances are they are going to have some corrosion and rust on them that going to make it difficult to remove them.  Be prepared to spend some time cursing and scraping your knuckles.  LOL.

Also, if I recall this correctly on the V45 (same on the V30 and V65) there are two hex bolts that hold the sliders inside the forks.  You'll probably need an air wrench to get them off and to put them back on again.  Be sure to clean up the upper forks to make sure there are no burrs sticking up that can nick the new fork seals.  How do you plan on pressing the new seals in?

Regards,

Marc.

[danrogy]

Thank you Thomas and Marc!  I'm in Santa Monica, California right next to the Pacific Coast Highway and the Malibu canyons.  This is some of the best year round riding in the country and I'm tickled pink to be cruzin' the Magna.  Thomas I'm 100% with you about how a motorcycle can change your life.  It's done the same for me only it happened a few years/bikes ago.

Marc, the emory cloth is (from what I understand) designed to buff the burrs off the chrome.  I have no clue if my buddy has an air wrench but he's got a compressor taller than me in his garage.  I do believe we'll be OK.  I'll answer you next question with my next question:  Um, how do you suggest we press the fork seals in?

Thanks again,

-Dan

[kdf9511]

Yep Marc is the man for fork seals.   The torque spec for the axle bolt was 45 lbs not 65.  I have pulled the front off mine a few times and that is the only one that stuck in my memory.

[danrogy]

Thank you Kerry.  BTW my Magna is sparkly purple.  I think I'm gonna repaint her back to her original sparlkly purple glory.  It's hard to see but the top of her tank has become nearly grey with sun & time.

-Dan

[silveradocowboy]

Spec.'s in ft.-lb's except as noted are as follows for your '82:
axle nut: 40-47
axle pinch bolt: 11-18
caliper mounting bolts: 22-29
fork cap bolt: 11-22
fork brace bolts: 14-21
fork slider bolt: 11-18
fork spring free length: 20.5"
air pressure: 6-14 psi

Fork oil capacity:
right hand: 390cc
left hand (TRAC side): 405cc

[danrogy]

You people ROCK!!!!  Finding such helpful passionate people make me extra glad about my (sorta) new Magna.  Thanks again everybody!  I'll tell you how it goes.

-Dan

[Marc Albea]

I'll answer you next question with my next question:  Um, how do you suggest we press the fork seals in? -Dan

Most build thir own press.  I ordered the seal driver from Honda a couple of years ago and made the attachment for it from PVC piping.  You can just use appropriately diametered PVC and the old fork seal as a buffer between the new fork seall and the driver you've created.  It's sort of a kluge but it works!

Marc.

[danrogy]

Well as promised, here I am to tell y'all how it went.  Please keep in mind I don't know squat about wrenching.  My buddy Steve finally got around to my forks tonight.  It took six weeks for him to start and another four hours for him/us to finish.  There was NASTY grey slimy fork oil all over the place and he had to use a few specialized tools I've never even heard of before.  He didn't have a jack that'd fit under the bike so we used ratchet straps to suspend it from the rafters of his garage.  The PVC tube was cheap and while not directly necessary highly recommended for the job.  I'd NEVER have done this job without the help of an experienced gearhead.  This week I hit a hard dip and while the bike still tracked straight it'd wobble the moment I took my hands off the bars.  Steve pointed out to me that one fork was noticeably higher than the other one.  Not noticed by me but once again I defer to sentence #2 of this post.  You folks here were ABSOLUTELY VITAL to the whole operation.  I couldn't have been done without your advice.  A hearty thanks to my buddy Steve and y'all here at MOOT!

-Dan

P.S.  The "y'all" is not in my yankee vernacular but I am speaking to Texans.  I had hoped you might appreciate it.