Hawk DLX fork oil change and sag correction

[Shawnd84]

Ok on to my next project... I have changed all of the fluids on my hawk so far but the fork oil. Man what a difference my brakes made with good old American fluids in them. I have seen a lot on the regular “skinny” forks oil and valve changes but nothing on the DLX usd forks. I just want a bit more stiffness and maybe be tease the sag. After about a year of use I think it sagging more.
Does the stacking washer approach change the sag on Usd forks also?
What do you think a 160lb guy neededs for weight fork oil if I’m going just on the stiff side of things?

Thanks in advance you guys are the best

[tknj99]

I added the 15W oil in my Brozz 250 and noticed an improvement and less bottoming out..
Just please don't make the same initial mistake i did by unscrewing the retainer bolt on the bottom of the forks to drain the oil, that makes for a bad day lol

By the way, also in VA....Charlottesville.. in case your ever in this neck of the woods

[matt12eagles]

Excited to hear your review of the change!! I will also attempt this as soon as I get a 2021 Hawk DLX. If you don’t mind, please try and document the process a bit for all of us newbies out there (aka me and anyone else who tries it in the future) lol

Thanks again!

Matt

[Megadan]

It is possible to add preload to any fork spring setup. The real question comes down to how. For us spaghetti fork regular hawk guys, we can simply make spacers out of pipe/tubing and cut to the desired length. For the USD forks, it will depend on how the spring is installed internally. Since I have not seen the internal workings of the Hawk DLX forks, I can't really give any insights, but the concept is the same. You are decreasing the installed spring length to increase spring preload on the fork (More static force in the extended position).

[tknj99]

In case its of use to anyone, I'll add my process of the work performed for USD style forks going from memory:
1. Jack up bike to lift front wheel off the ground
2. Remove axle bolt, axle, front wheel
3. Remove both fork caps
4. Remove fork pinch bolts on the top and center locations
5. Each fork tube can now be slid out carefully
6. Have a bucket for each fork tube so that the amount removed can be measured later
7. Suspend or prop each fork tube upside down so that the fork oil drains
8. Let the fork oil drain overnite. Note: they may need to be pumped a bit to remove more oil
9. Replace the fork oil with either the same amount of oil that was removed or a bit more.. more oil within reason will reduce the air gap and provide more resistance when fully compressed
10. Reverse procedure to complete the job

Hope that helps anyone looking to do this.

[Megadan]

That's great if all he wants to do is change the fork oil. He is specifically looking at reducing sag, which is a preload issue.

[tknj99]

He also wanted to stiffen them up a bit if im not mistaken, and 15W oil with a slight increase in amount added back after change definitely addressed that issue for me.
It's still not perfect, i will bottom out on occasion but nowhere near as bad as when it was new.

[Shawnd84]

Ok so the oil change will be straight forward ... but I will open one up and take some photos and take some measurements... megadan is your diy spacer basically the same diameter of your spring? Just so I have an idea of what to look for ... did you make a post about how you did yours by any chance that I did not manage to stumble upon?

FYI I’ll be moving to the Staunton area this summer so I’ll hit you up tknj when I searching for some riding spots������

[Shawnd84]

nother area that needs a little additional love being a larger rider, in my opinion, is the suspension. The rear shock/spring is adequate, but the forks have too much rider sag. I highly recommend making new preload spacers for the forks. The stock units are 15.2mm long and 22mm diameter. Find some 22mm (or 7/8") O.D. pipe and cut yourself some new ones. I currently run 35mm of preload, and I get about 3 inches of sag out of 8 inches of travel, which is perfect



Just ran across one of your old posts I just leave it here

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by Shawnd84

megadan is your diy spacer basically the same diameter of your spring?

In simple terms, yes. You will need something the same basic diameter as the spring, give or take a tiny bit. The idea is to have a spacer that sits between the spring and one end of the fork.

Originally Posted by Shawnd84

nother area that needs a little additional love being a larger rider, in my opinion, is the suspension. The rear shock/spring is adequate, but the forks have too much rider sag. I highly recommend making new preload spacers for the forks. The stock units are 15.2mm long and 22mm diameter. Find some 22mm (or 7/8") O.D. pipe and cut yourself some new ones. I currently run 35mm of preload, and I get about 3 inches of sag out of 8 inches of travel, which is perfect



Just ran across one of your old posts I just leave it here

Keep in mind, this is for the standard Hawk forks. For your DLX forks a lot of this info might be useless. The spring diameter may be different as well as the rate. The rate will greatly alter the length of the spacer needed.

[KenTaoyan]

OK, changing my fork oil as recommended but when re-tightening the drain plug it appears to be stripped as it doesn't tighten down all the way.

What kind of a project did I get myself into?

any tips?

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by KenTaoyan

OK, changing my fork oil as recommended but when re-tightening the drain plug it appears to be stripped as it doesn't tighten down all the way.

What kind of a project did I get myself into?

any tips?

You didn't get yourself into any project. You made the mistake of thinking the damping rod retaining screw was a drain plug due to bad advice and videos on the internet. Now when you are trying to tighten it down, the rod is just spinning in place instead of allowing you to tighten the bolt.

The solution? Find a way to keep it from spinning. If you have an electric bit driver you might be able to hit it fast enough to start it clamping down. If you can get away with that then you can hand tighten it. Just be careful not to hammer down on it once it hits.

[KenTaoyan]

Originally Posted by Megadan

You didn't get yourself into any project. You made the mistake of thinking the damping rod retaining screw was a drain plug due to bad advice and videos on the internet. Now when you are trying to tighten it down, the rod is just spinning in place instead of allowing you to tighten the bolt.

The solution? Find a way to keep it from spinning. If you have an electric bit driver you might be able to hit it fast enough to start it clamping down. If you can get away with that then you can hand tighten it. Just be careful not to hammer down on it once it hits.

how do you drain the oil? I found the info on you tube. I can screw it down until it seats, then I cant put any kind of torque on it.

[KenTaoyan]

Originally Posted by KenTaoyan

how do you drain the oil? I found the info on you tube. I can screw it down until it seats, then I cant put any kind of torque on it.

Right now I moved on to a new chain and the proper sprocket nuts and studs with locktight. I have a whopping 350 miles my hawk so I going through a full service for a more confident ride.

I also just put the Zanella cluster in and tested fine. directions say to just press the blue/white wire into the other plug Bule/White. the youtube vid showed a solder job. Anyone have problems with what the directions say? it seems pretty snug.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by KenTaoyan

how do you drain the oil? I found the info on you tube.

You unscrew the top cap, pull the stanchion tube down to create a gap, and invert the fork and pour out the oil.