Refilling fork oil in dirt bike.?

Question

I have a '93 KX 250, and the forks started leaking just a little bit. I did the trick where you shove a piece of film up in the seal to clear out the dirt, but now I need to replace some of the oil that was lost.

I have a manual, but it has a long drawn out procedure involving taking the forks off the bike, all the way apart, etc.

Isn't there any simpler way to just add a little bit of oil to compensate for what was lost without going through a whole teardown/rebuild?

I heard you can just add a little bit of oil through the top air hole, is that true?

If so, how can you know if your putting the right amount to top it off right where its supposed to be (or acceptably close)? Is there a way to measure, or do you just add a bit till it feels right or what?

Answer 1

If you've got oil leaking out of a seal, and the dirt is getting into the seal, then you need to replace the seal.  Period.  We're talking about your front suspension on a bad a** bike, you don't want to skimp on $40 worth of parts that will keep you from breaking your neck.

You also need to replace the fork oil because dirt will act as an abrasive and quickly damage the fork.

You have to remove the fork to service it because the threads can't take the spring preload pressure, much less the additional pressure of being static loaded on the bike.

Don't try adding oil through the air hole, fix the problem.

Answer 2

Very good awnser, also read your manual again. It tells you every thing you need to do. Your oil in a motocross bike fork is very fine tuned. Read untill you understand it!