Lifan X-pect front fork tip and tool

Fireman350 · 06-13-2021, 09:03 AM

After almost hitting the 300 mile mark on my Xpect I decided to stiffen the front end a bit with an oil change on the forks. After doing a bit of looking and studying of the fork set up I decided I could do it with the bike on the ground without removing the front wheel (I was partially correct). So I dug out a 6mm Allen wrench and a measuring cup and gave a quick short snap on the drain plug/valve retainer bolt and all I did was broke the seal causing a small steady drip of oil and the valve body to rotate inside the shock, at this point I decided it was time to hoist the front end remove the wheel and drop the side of the fork that I had leaking after removing the cap and spring. Once I had the fork in my hands I poured the oil out and took a look inside and could see the valve body had a large hex slot in it and no way to measure it in the bottom and after 30 minutes of searching the interwebs no good information about a size. So it was time to dig into my bag of old hand mechanic tricks, I welded an oversized bolt head facing down onto a piece of steel rod I had and then I started grinding a jeweler's facet cut on the the head of the bolt grinding a little from each side of the head and putting a bit o a taper to it and then test fitting it repeatedly until I had a solid bite on the valve body and then using a vice grips to hold the rod and reaching the other end of the shock I was able the get the Allen screw drain screw to break free and remove it. With the valve body removed from the shock tube I was able to measure the hex slot and it is a 14mm. I then expanded the tube and took a quick measurement of the extended length. Now that I had some solid numbers to work with I grabbed a bolt out of my bin with a 14mm flanged head and a 48" piece of 3/8" steel rod stock and welded the bolt to the end of the rod, measuring up 32 inches from the head of the bolt up the rod and then bending the rod at that point into a 90°, I did end up cutting a bit off of the handle as what I had left over was a bit excessive. At this point I used the newly minted custom long range allen wrench to put the plug screw back tight and then reassemble the fork and refilled it with 210ml of 20wt Lucas shock oil. I completely reassembled the bike put a couple blocks under the frame and the removed the cap on the other side of the fork, pulled the spring dropped the tool down the tube and got it engaged in the slot I was able to kneel down and hold the handle of the tool and break the drain bolt loose and drain the old shock oil with the wheel on into a measuring cup and then easily reinstall the drain plug pour in the oil drop in the spring and cap and have the bike ready to hit the road again. The first side was took about 1.5 hours the second side took about 10 minutes. And with all of that said if you are a bigger boy like me at 270lbs what a difference 20wt makes in the ride. I hope this info helps a few of you out and saves you all some headache and time!

Megadan · 06-13-2021, 04:38 PM

For those who are going to read this in the future when looking for advice on how to change the fork oil, DO NOT remove the allen bolt from the bottom of the fork. This is NOT a drain bolt, but the damping rod retaining bolt. This person got lucky that the bolts went back in without issue. The proper way to change fork oil is to remove the fork leg and drain from the top cap.

landshark · 06-14-2021, 01:28 PM

I have posted that it is a 14mm allen multiple times. Maybe not easy to search and find on this forum. Might have saved you some frustration, sorry.

Fireman350 · 06-14-2021, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by landshark

I have posted that it is a 14mm allen multiple times. Maybe not easy to search and find on this forum. Might have saved you some frustration, sorry.

I turn wrenches for a living I live on frustration��

06-13-2021, 09:03 AM	#1
Fireman350 Join Date: May 2021 Location: Fall River Wisconsin Posts: 11	Lifan X-pect front fork tip and tool After almost hitting the 300 mile mark on my Xpect I decided to stiffen the front end a bit with an oil change on the forks. After doing a bit of looking and studying of the fork set up I decided I could do it with the bike on the ground without removing the front wheel (I was partially correct). So I dug out a 6mm Allen wrench and a measuring cup and gave a quick short snap on the drain plug/valve retainer bolt and all I did was broke the seal causing a small steady drip of oil and the valve body to rotate inside the shock, at this point I decided it was time to hoist the front end remove the wheel and drop the side of the fork that I had leaking after removing the cap and spring. Once I had the fork in my hands I poured the oil out and took a look inside and could see the valve body had a large hex slot in it and no way to measure it in the bottom and after 30 minutes of searching the interwebs no good information about a size. So it was time to dig into my bag of old hand mechanic tricks, I welded an oversized bolt head facing down onto a piece of steel rod I had and then I started grinding a jeweler's facet cut on the the head of the bolt grinding a little from each side of the head and putting a bit o a taper to it and then test fitting it repeatedly until I had a solid bite on the valve body and then using a vice grips to hold the rod and reaching the other end of the shock I was able the get the Allen screw drain screw to break free and remove it. With the valve body removed from the shock tube I was able to measure the hex slot and it is a 14mm. I then expanded the tube and took a quick measurement of the extended length. Now that I had some solid numbers to work with I grabbed a bolt out of my bin with a 14mm flanged head and a 48" piece of 3/8" steel rod stock and welded the bolt to the end of the rod, measuring up 32 inches from the head of the bolt up the rod and then bending the rod at that point into a 90°, I did end up cutting a bit off of the handle as what I had left over was a bit excessive. At this point I used the newly minted custom long range allen wrench to put the plug screw back tight and then reassemble the fork and refilled it with 210ml of 20wt Lucas shock oil. I completely reassembled the bike put a couple blocks under the frame and the removed the cap on the other side of the fork, pulled the spring dropped the tool down the tube and got it engaged in the slot I was able to kneel down and hold the handle of the tool and break the drain bolt loose and drain the old shock oil with the wheel on into a measuring cup and then easily reinstall the drain plug pour in the oil drop in the spring and cap and have the bike ready to hit the road again. The first side was took about 1.5 hours the second side took about 10 minutes. And with all of that said if you are a bigger boy like me at 270lbs what a difference 20wt makes in the ride. I hope this info helps a few of you out and saves you all some headache and time!
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06-13-2021, 04:38 PM	#2
Megadan Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Omaha, NE Posts: 8,044	For those who are going to read this in the future when looking for advice on how to change the fork oil, DO NOT remove the allen bolt from the bottom of the fork. This is NOT a drain bolt, but the damping rod retaining bolt. This person got lucky that the bolts went back in without issue. The proper way to change fork oil is to remove the fork leg and drain from the top cap. __________________ Hawk Information and Resource guide: http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=20331 2018 Hawk 250 - Full Mod list here. http://www.chinariders.net/showpost....62&postcount=1 2024 Royal Enfield Shotgun 650 https://chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=34124
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06-14-2021, 01:28 PM	#3
landshark Join Date: Aug 2019 Posts: 53	I have posted that it is a 14mm allen multiple times. Maybe not easy to search and find on this forum. Might have saved you some frustration, sorry.
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