trouble with fork

[sham56]

Just bought my first suzuki, a 1971 t500. Im having an issue with the forks-they seem to have no travel, they're very stiff. when i put on the center stand they extend about an inch or so but when off riding or pushing down the have no movement feels like I have a rigid front end. anyone know what my issue is? thanks

[tz375]

Could be a number of different things. A few thoughts are:

Bent fork leg
Legs twisted in the triples
Rust
Too much oil
Dings or dents in the sliders

I'd start by checking the legs to see if they are parallel in the triples, then I'd drain the oil and if that looks goo, see if the fork work with no oil. If they are still stiff, I'd pull both legs and check for straightness and then strip them to see what's going on inside.

[sham56]

thanks for the help. one of the forks was dry and the other was overflowing with oil. drained and refilled working properly now.

[Fritz500]

thanks for the help. one of the forks was dry and the other was overflowing with oil. drained and refilled working properly now.

Sounds like the previous owner thought he would save time by putting all the oil in one fork instead of two...