Some forks actually catch on the seal. Use the fork leg like a slide-hammer, and the tube and seal should pop out. Most of us have the 74 and up GT750s which have different forks.
Lane
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Success!
Lane your tip was dead on. For other's future reference here are the disassembly steps that worked for me on a set of 73' forks.
1. Remove drain plug screw from the side of the outer tube & drain oil.
2. Remove allen head screw from the bottom of outer tube.
3. Remove circlip/washer with snap ring pliers.
4. Secure outer tube & use inner tube as a slide hammer to drive oil seal out of outer tube. Eventually oil seal & inner tube will come out.
5. Remove inner tube, spring, & damper.
6. Replace/Rebuild as necessary.
I hope this helps somebody in the future.
Thanks again for all the help.
Bryan
Lane your tip was dead on. For other's future reference here are the disassembly steps that worked for me on a set of 73' forks.
1. Remove drain plug screw from the side of the outer tube & drain oil.
2. Remove allen head screw from the bottom of outer tube.
3. Remove circlip/washer with snap ring pliers.
4. Secure outer tube & use inner tube as a slide hammer to drive oil seal out of outer tube. Eventually oil seal & inner tube will come out.
5. Remove inner tube, spring, & damper.
6. Replace/Rebuild as necessary.
I hope this helps somebody in the future.
Thanks again for all the help.
Bryan
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headlight ear replacement
can you lift the top tree off the forks to replace the headlight ears?
550a model
550a model
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GT500 - GT550 forks
Just wondering if the 550 fork tubes will fit the trees on a 500? I was just wondering if changing to a 550 front end would be a good move. Also what brand of rear brake shoes work best on a GT500A? I got some from Parts-N-More, but I had to grind down the flat spot where the cam moves them. They would not fit into the drum until I did that, also they barely slow the bike and squeals like a stuck pig if I really get down on it.
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Re: GT500 - GT550 forks
The gt550 disk (not drum) front ends will fit on the GT500 trees with no problem. They are longer and need to be slid up at least 1/2" to hit the handle bars so that the trail will not be increased too much. You don't need exotic rear brake linings if you have a disk or two up front - just stock or cheap replacements. You shouldn't need to ever use the rear brakes except to do an infrequent minor drag anyway.rbond wrote:Just wondering if the 550 fork tubes will fit the trees on a 500? I was just wondering if changing to a 550 front end would be a good move. Also what brand of rear brake shoes work best on a GT500A? I got some from Parts-N-More, but I had to grind down the flat spot where the cam moves them. They would not fit into the drum until I did that, also they barely slow the bike and squeals like a stuck pig if I really get down on it.
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Fork swap GT550-->T500
I'm in the middle of rebuilding some forks from a GT550 to put on my titan. I just realized that the titan triple clamps won't work with the 550 forks. Does anybody know what models (if any) have triple clamps that are interchangeable with the 550? Or even better, does anybody have a spare set of triple clamps for a gt550???
Thanks a bunch,
Steve
Thanks a bunch,
Steve
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Steve,
A 76-77 GT500 assembly will work as will a 73-77 GT550 and a 73-77 GT750 triple clamp assembly. Bear in mind that the GT550 forks are about one inch longer than the T500 forks, GT500 forks are the same length as the T500 forks and GT750 forks are roughly two inches longer than the T500 forks. So you'll want to slide the forks up in the triple clamps an inch or two depending on the model fork you are using to keep from making a mess of the handling. The GT500, 550, and 750 forks are all 35mm in diameter versus the 34mm of the T500.
Jim
A 76-77 GT500 assembly will work as will a 73-77 GT550 and a 73-77 GT750 triple clamp assembly. Bear in mind that the GT550 forks are about one inch longer than the T500 forks, GT500 forks are the same length as the T500 forks and GT750 forks are roughly two inches longer than the T500 forks. So you'll want to slide the forks up in the triple clamps an inch or two depending on the model fork you are using to keep from making a mess of the handling. The GT500, 550, and 750 forks are all 35mm in diameter versus the 34mm of the T500.
Jim
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front fork qquestions.. single disc vs. dual disc
looking at options for my frontbrake set up on my T500
the dual disc ive found in the gt750's are expensive and hard to come by , and only one peice at a time slowly see mysself gatheering what i need after months of ebaying and dealing with that whole egay hassle ( it seems so far anyway)
the gt 380 stuff seems readily available, could be picked up all in a mtter of only a few eeks - and for much les money..
dual disc make that much difference compared to the single disc of the gt380s?
these bikes are so light compared to the 500 pounderrs im used to riding.. just wondering id the single disc is fine - and dual disc overkill for these nimble little bikes?
also, will i have to use gt trees? or will the fork tubes plug into my 'T500 trees?
and if i do have to use Gt trees.. do the ght trees plg right in , or am i looking aat some time running the lathe toget something that will plug into the neck on the T500?
thankss in advance for the time you guys spend helping us noobs!
PS
will be posting soon about ssome free service i can help out wwith aroound here, as i do have some equipment and experience doing certain things that could be useful for people on this forum - after i get to know people a little better and my name is a little better known as well..
just thought i would mention that i do plaan on giving back to this website for the help im getting here.. not going to be a cut aand run on my part.
thansk again fellas.. Allen
the dual disc ive found in the gt750's are expensive and hard to come by , and only one peice at a time slowly see mysself gatheering what i need after months of ebaying and dealing with that whole egay hassle ( it seems so far anyway)
the gt 380 stuff seems readily available, could be picked up all in a mtter of only a few eeks - and for much les money..
dual disc make that much difference compared to the single disc of the gt380s?
these bikes are so light compared to the 500 pounderrs im used to riding.. just wondering id the single disc is fine - and dual disc overkill for these nimble little bikes?
also, will i have to use gt trees? or will the fork tubes plug into my 'T500 trees?
and if i do have to use Gt trees.. do the ght trees plg right in , or am i looking aat some time running the lathe toget something that will plug into the neck on the T500?
thankss in advance for the time you guys spend helping us noobs!
PS
will be posting soon about ssome free service i can help out wwith aroound here, as i do have some equipment and experience doing certain things that could be useful for people on this forum - after i get to know people a little better and my name is a little better known as well..
just thought i would mention that i do plaan on giving back to this website for the help im getting here.. not going to be a cut aand run on my part.
thansk again fellas.. Allen
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What might be helpful for us is to know what your bike is - year, model and pictures too if possible.
I can't tell if yours has a drum on the front as stock or if it was replaced with a single disk or.......
In principle, a single disk will be fine. BUT the disks of the time were thick heavy and made of a grade of stainless that didn't work well in the wet. If you are thinking of swapping out the front end, there are an infinite variety of options and many of them are much better than what Suzuki fitted.
For example there's a neat caliper fitted to the EX500 Kawasaki (and a whole bunch of other bikes) that is commonly used to replace a stock caliper. The result is a huge improvement, but it requires a new bracket to be designed and fabricated.
If you go that route, you would also need a different master cylinder and let's face it, a 5 year old one is going to be a better bet than a 30 year old.
SV650 calipers will also fit with a little work, as would a bunch of others. Budget is always a constraint and balance between all the things you change is important. For example no point in having fantastic brakes and worn out forks or a super hot motor and crappy suspension.
And don't forget that if you have a drum front end, Michael (Mercury) Morse at Vintage Brake can reline your brakes with modern high friction linings.
Choice, choices, choices.
I can't tell if yours has a drum on the front as stock or if it was replaced with a single disk or.......
In principle, a single disk will be fine. BUT the disks of the time were thick heavy and made of a grade of stainless that didn't work well in the wet. If you are thinking of swapping out the front end, there are an infinite variety of options and many of them are much better than what Suzuki fitted.
For example there's a neat caliper fitted to the EX500 Kawasaki (and a whole bunch of other bikes) that is commonly used to replace a stock caliper. The result is a huge improvement, but it requires a new bracket to be designed and fabricated.
If you go that route, you would also need a different master cylinder and let's face it, a 5 year old one is going to be a better bet than a 30 year old.
SV650 calipers will also fit with a little work, as would a bunch of others. Budget is always a constraint and balance between all the things you change is important. For example no point in having fantastic brakes and worn out forks or a super hot motor and crappy suspension.
And don't forget that if you have a drum front end, Michael (Mercury) Morse at Vintage Brake can reline your brakes with modern high friction linings.
Choice, choices, choices.
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- Supreme UFOB
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I'm right in the middle of getting a gt550 front end on my t500. You do need the gt trees. Search for posts by Diamondj. He goes over the process and options.
Teasers post got me thinking about the rotor. Is there a better alternative to stock that will bolt up? I was planning on just putting new seals and honing the gt550 caliper and master cylinder.
Teasers post got me thinking about the rotor. Is there a better alternative to stock that will bolt up? I was planning on just putting new seals and honing the gt550 caliper and master cylinder.
