Zongshen 200GY-2: Fork Service at 41,922 Miles

[SpudRider]

Today I forgot to take photographs of my dirty oil seals and dust wipers. These parts accumulated a lot of dirt over 42,000 miles of riding; a lot of this riding was done in nasty mud. 8O I will try to remember to take some photographs tomorrow.

If you wish to buy 37mm x 50mm x 11mm, fork oil seals for your Chinese motorcycle, you have a lot of options. However, many people recommend OEM oil seals over aftermarket oil seals. Therefore, I decided to install OEM, Honda oil seals and dust wipers in my Zongshen forks.

P.S. My Zong definitely deserved new oil seals and dust wipers after 42,000 miles. However, I was pleased these parts lasted as long as they did! The Zongshen 200GY-2 is a well built motorcycle.

Spud

[FastDoc]

Originally Posted by SpudRider

I know you are a very intelligent, well educated, and skilled physician, Brother Bill. I believe you are a doctor of internal medicine. Please remind never to have you perform neurosurgery on me!

Spud

That was tounge in cheek, Brother Spud :wink: .

With that said I have assisted in brain surgery, and open heart and transplant surgeries.

It was an amazing privelege to see God's handiwork in such a manner.

In California I assisted one day a week in the OR with my best friend and Brother Gideon, a general surgeon. I have quite a bit of experiance with a scope and a scalpel. I still would not be your first choice for brain surgery though. :roll:

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by FastDoc

That was tounge in cheek, Brother Spud :wink: .

With that said I have assisted in brain surgery, and open heart and transplant surgeries.

It was an amazing privelege to see God's handiwork in such a manner.

In California I assisted one day a week in the OR with my best friend and Brother Gideon, a general surgeon. I have quite a bit of experiance with a scope and a scalpel. I still would not be your first choice for brain surgery though. :roll:

I know, Brother Bill. I was just kidding you a bit.

Spud

[FastDoc]

[AustinConnell]

This write up is great! I finally got my bike up and running, but the shocks are brutally soft. :? I am going to do this with my Zong 250GS, but I wanted to check here and ask if the forks are the same?

[FastDoc]

IIRC the 250GS forks were conventional, not USD.

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by AustinConnell

This write up is great! I finally got my bike up and running, but the shocks are brutally soft. :? I am going to do this with my Zong 250GS, but I wanted to check here and ask if the forks are the same?

Thank you, Austin. I'm glad you got your ZS250GS running! If you just want to change the fork oil, and not the oil seals, the job is simpler. We will probably have a new thread on this subject pretty soon, which might help you if you want to change the fork oil in your conventional forks.

Spud

[AustinConnell]

I actually went ahead and took care of it! I just got some oil from a local parts store and figured out the process. It took about ten minutes. I didn't have much oil in them before, so I wasn't able to use the measuring method that you did. They were nearly empty to be honest. I suppose that explains the dreadful dampening. . Anyways, I filled them with 100ml first then tested them out. The difference was amazing. Ever since I had purchased the bike, it would dive while slowing down. I wasn't able to test cornering too much as it is pouring down rain here. . Even though it was better, I still felt that there wasn't enough strength in the shocks, so I added an additional 50ml to each shock. Now it seems to be much better. I perform a more thorough test once this rain clears up. I'm excited to feel the difference!

I sort of answered my own question when I took the forks apart though, they are completely different. ha.



8)

[SpudRider]

Good for you, Austin! Actually, your conventional forks share many of the same parts as my USD forks. I think many Chinese motorcycle forks share this design, and use the same components, with slightly different sizes.

Spud

[FastDoc]

Glad it went so well! Sometimes a guy has just gotta roll up his sleeves and get to work.

How does your bike ride? It sure is a nice bike.

Best I can recall you're the only one in our group who has ever gotten a ZS250 to run!

[Weldangrind]

Please start a new thread and tell us more about your bike, Austin. I'm also interested in how it runs for you. What type of oil did you use in the forks? Do you intend to try another 50ml?

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by Weldangrind

Please start a new thread and tell us more about your bike, Austin. I'm also interested in how it runs for you. What type of oil did you use in the forks? Do you intend to try another 50ml?

X2! I would love to hear more, and see more photos of your ZS250GS! Please start a thread in our Street Forum, and tell us more about your bike, and the steps you took to get it running well for you!

Spud

[AustinConnell]

Thank you everyone! I appreciate the response! I will try to get something together this week about the work that has been done. I'll rummage up some photos of the process and I might even add a write up of the fork process if I decide to add another 50ml.

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by AustinConnell

Thank you everyone! I appreciate the response! I will try to get something together this week about the work that has been done. I'll rummage up some photos of the process and I might even add a write up of the fork process if I decide to add another 50ml.

If you have time, please do take some photos, and post a thread on the procedure you followed!

Spud

[SpudRider]

This spring I have been riding the trails as well as pavement, so I think it's time I updated everyone regarding my new fork oil. Last fall I switched from the stock fork oil to Mobil1 Synthetic ATF, which has a viscosity of 34 Cst at 40 degrees Celsius. I don't know the viscosity of the original fork oil, but my fork action is much improved with the Mobile1 Synthetic ATF. The fork travel is much smoother now, so I believe the Mobile1 Syntetic ATF must have a lower viscosity than the original fork oil.

Spud