I've taken the Showa front forks out of the clamps to change the steering bearings and noticed there is a different in height of the fork tube when placed side by side, the right hand one is 20mm shorter in height than the left one, if I pull the fork tube up to the height of the left one and let go it drops to 20mm below the left one again. Could anyone tell me is this normal for these forks or does this mean something is wrong with the right hand fork . Thanks

I've taken the Showa front forks out of the clamps to change the steering bearings and noticed there is a different in height of the fork tube when placed side by side, the right hand one is 20mm shorter in height than the left one, if I pull the fork tube up to the height of the left one and let go it drops to 20mm below the left one again. Could anyone tell me is this normal for these forks or does this mean something is wrong with the right hand fork . Thanks

If same as Showa fork on 4RT, the fork spring is in the left leg and has some pre load on it which keeps it fully extended. The right leg has no spring but an airspace above the oil, if this air is at negative pressure )after extending the leg then it will be "sucked ' back down.

If when rebuilding the leg you fully extend the leg before fitting the fork cap then you will have positive pressure in their and the it will act like a light spring and will tend to extend the leg when no weight on it.

If you undo the  fork cap and extend the fork leg before replacing the cap you will be able to see how this works.

 

I was taught to extend the leg prior to fitting the cap to ensure the air acts as cushion at the end of the compression stroke of the fork.

 

 

Oz is spot on!

Is there no breather hole in the top? Because thats why forks have them!

Hi Oz, did exactly what you said and guess what it's perfect know