[ramstein-dh]

Hello

Just got myself a lovely set of Avalanche MTN-8 forks , they had a full service and extra's added on in 2008 by the previous owner.
But what i would like to know how easy are they to service yourself and what is the correct amount of oil to put in them.
Living in the UK would be too costl'y for me to send to Craig , though i did send him some emails a few days ago still no reply.

So just wanted to know if and Avalanche fork owners service them , themselves?
All the info you could give would be appreciated , Like are the top caps apart of the internals or can they just be removed.
I don't want to do any damage you see , i always serviced my own Monster t , 888 and boxxers , but these are a whole different situation.

Thanks allot

Jason

 

[Jm_]

Hello

Just got myself a lovely set of Avalanche MTN-8 forks , they had a full service and extra's added on in 2008 by the previous owner.
But what i would like to know how easy are they to service yourself and what is the correct amount of oil to put in them.
Living in the UK would be too costl'y for me to send to Craig , though i did send him some emails a few days ago still no reply.

So just wanted to know if and Avalanche fork owners service them , themselves?
All the info you could give would be appreciated , Like are the top caps apart of the internals or can they just be removed.
I don't want to do any damage you see , i always serviced my own Monster t , 888 and boxxers , but these are a whole different situation.

Thanks allot

Jason

The easy way?

Turn fork upside, put two pans/bowls under the top caps to catch the oil. Unbolt top-caps. Drain oil. Put in as much oil as comes out! The oil weight would be more of an issue. Usually 7 weight is fairly standard, 5 for lighter riders, 10 for heavier riders. Usually most forks aren't radically different where this is not going to work, but it could take a few attempts. It should be a relatively simple open-bath system, so apart from cycling the fork a few times to make sure all the oil is out, this should work pretty well. It's what I do sometimes when I'm lazy and don't want to do the oil-level method or look up how much oil it takes, plus it's pretty accurate, just be sure to measure it first!

If there is a damping adjuster on the top-cap, chances are it's part of the internals and connected, it doesn't mean it can't be unbolted usually. If there's NOTHING on the top-cap, or just a preload adjuster, then it's usually a good bet that you can just take it off, but then again that leg probably won't have much oil in it, as it's only for lubrication and not damping.

Or are you asking about bushings, seals, and revalving? "servicing" is a pretty vague term. Are you saying oil change or something more involved? The above works for many (but not all) forks.

 

[bullcrew]

As JM said drain and measure it will get you in the ball park...

From the avy site regarding mtn 8

SPECIFICATIONS

ShortcutsHomeNewsTestimonialsfaqsVideo ClipsSponsor UsRider SupportAboutLinksSearch
TYPE............................. Inverted, 28 mm cartridge
SIZE.............................. 43mm

TRAVEL....................... 8"

ADJUSTMENTS.......... Individual compression, rebound (20 clicks ea)

MATERIAL.................. Lightweight 6061-T6 anodized aluminum,

SPRING........................ 0.60 kg/mm coil (rt leg only)

SEALS.......................... Triple lip rubber with separate dust wiper

BUSHINGS.................. Teflon coated bronze

OIL............................... 5 wt synthetic

VALVING.................... Fully revalvable

OPTIONS...................... Alternate spring rates, high speed compression

adjuster, internal bleed,

anti-bottoming system.

TOOLS.......................... 12.5mm shaft clamp,15 & 17 mm wrenches, 43mm seal driver, 14 mm allen wrench

I need to call Craig tomorrow anywase Ill ask for you....

 

[KavuRider]

If and when you get a chance, please post some pics so I can live vicariously through them.
Always wanted the MTN-8...

 

[Sandwich]

seismic and sikocycles are the only people I know of on here that own these forks, or have owned.

Siko has or had a full BMW biglink with mtn-3 and mtn-8 suspension. Lord I'd love to spend a day on it.

 

[ramstein-dh]

Yeah i am just looking at a strip down , clean and new oil , but may not bother now , as the guy i got them from had them totaly rebuilt and what not in 2008 and only used them once or twice.
I took the top cap off and the oil was nice and clean so no point stripping them.

Here are some pics though i want new leg guards.

Thanks for all the advice
Now all i need to do is find a heavier spring

 

[ramstein-dh]

As JM said drain and measure it will get you in the ball park...

From the avy site regarding mtn 8

SPECIFICATIONS

ShortcutsHomeNewsTestimonialsfaqsVideo ClipsSponsor UsRider SupportAboutLinksSearch
TYPE............................. Inverted, 28 mm cartridge
SIZE.............................. 43mm

TRAVEL....................... 8"

ADJUSTMENTS.......... Individual compression, rebound (20 clicks ea)

MATERIAL.................. Lightweight 6061-T6 anodized aluminum,

SPRING........................ 0.60 kg/mm coil (rt leg only)

SEALS.......................... Triple lip rubber with separate dust wiper

BUSHINGS.................. Teflon coated bronze

OIL............................... 5 wt synthetic

VALVING.................... Fully revalvable

OPTIONS...................... Alternate spring rates, high speed compression

adjuster, internal bleed,

anti-bottoming system.

TOOLS.......................... 12.5mm shaft clamp,15 & 17 mm wrenches, 43mm seal driver, 14 mm allen wrench

I need to call Craig tomorrow anywase Ill ask for you....

WOW! Thanks so much , in that case i will rebuild them as it will do them good.

Thanks again

Jason

 

[KavuRider]

seismic and sikocycles are the only people I know of on here that own these forks, or have owned.

Siko has or had a full BMW biglink with mtn-3 and mtn-8 suspension. Lord I'd love to spend a day on it.

I know, I want that bike...in a bad bad way...

Here are some pics though i want new leg guards.

Thanks for the pics!! I appreciate it!
Man, that fork is crazy.

I had a 2003 Monster and Super Monster...but that's like a RockShox Dart compared to this thing. Awesome.

 

[ramstein-dh]

Hello

Craig just got back to me , and said download the DHF manual as they are basically the same.
I can't make sense of the oil , could somebody please explain this too me.
As i know on Marzocchi monsters , you measure the gap from the top of the compressed stanchion with the spring removed.
This sounds the same but a little different in a way LOL!
Maybe i'm just thick

cheers

Jason

 

[niceyearjiejie]

Thanks for sharing.

 

[RogerH]

Congratulations on a truly Bad Ass sets of forks!!

Had the pleasure to ride Seismic's MTN's a couple of times a few years ago. The most solid front end I have ever felt! Not very lightweight, though! I think he sent them to Craig for service once. It was pretty costly, because they needed some repair and new components or tubes or something..

If you are used to service forks yourself, I don't think there are any problems.

I took apart my DHF one time, to change the seals and bushings. They didn't need it after three seasons, but I was quite curious too see what they looked like on the inside! The service manual on Avy's site are really good at explaining every step. The only tricky part was the bottom compression valve assembly. It threads through the dropout, and holds the cartridge. The manual states that you use a pnumanic impact wrench, but I got by, with using a electric version to loosen it up. (like the one you use for changing car wheels) Maybe not recommended for assembly, though. Check the torque!

As for the wearing parts like seals, bushings and lower-gaurds. They are standard parts from MX bikes. Craig can guide you to what model no. you should be looking for.

Good luck!


Edit: About the oil level. It's the same principle as any open bath fork. Usually measured from the top of the compressed leg. The exact level is a bit of a tuning issue. Lower from the top = more linear spring rate, higher oil level = less air chamber = progressive springrate.

There is a tool that makes setting the oil level very easy:

 

[ramstein-dh]

Thanks for all that info RogerH , that is a real help , yeah i also like to see what's inside al i could see at the top was white plastic things and a spring in the right hand leg.
Well i have neither of those impact drill's or a torque wrench LOL!
Were would i get one of those oil tools from.
I'm currently in the process of getting a spring made by eibach , i hope it is cheap , or the same as $125.00 what Craig quoted.
I don't use paypal you see so no way of getting it from Craig.

Thanks again

Jason

 

[sikocycles]

All 70 some pounds of her. May need to kick it old skool this summer and take her back to Plattekill

 

[ramstein-dh]

All 70 some pounds of her. May need to kick it old skool this summer and take her back to Plattekill

WOW! Looks amazing , just wondering about the rebound on these , as the guy had them re-valved will this affect the rebound?
As mine seem to be doing very little , or is it mid valve or something like that , as i have only ever used 2002 monsters and the rebound went very slow to very fast , these seem to be normal when screwed all the way out and when you screw all the way in there is very little difference

 

[RogerH]

Yeah, the external adjustments are mostly for fine tuning. If you change the springrate alot, the rebound may need revalving. Maybe you could get some instructions on how to modify the rebound shimstack? I have not alot of experience of that...


Sicko! Awesome oldskool machine! Big Link was THE dreambike back in the day! You should get it dusted off, and built up!!

 

[sikocycles]

Yeah, the external adjustments are mostly for fine tuning. If you change the springrate alot, the rebound may need revalving. Maybe you could get some instructions on how to modify the rebound shimstack? I have not alot of experience of that...


Sicko! Awesome oldskool machine! Big Link was THE dreambike back in the day! You should get it dusted off, and built up!!

I will this year. I have the parts jus tneed to put them on and ride it. I saw the mountain a few times last year and will do the same this year

 

[ramstein-dh]

Yeah, the external adjustments are mostly for fine tuning. If you change the springrate alot, the rebound may need revalving. Maybe you could get some instructions on how to modify the rebound shimstack? I have not alot of experience of that...


Sicko! Awesome oldskool machine! Big Link was THE dreambike back in the day! You should get it dusted off, and built up!!

Ok so there rebound adjustments have only a very slight difference when adjusted?
Also the site says 20 click adjustment mine has 28?
Going to try and fit them next week as i have never fitted a mx headset before.
Yeah the bushings are 43mm Showa bushings and the same as the seals.
So is there no way of loosening the bottom caps with an allen key?
I guess they are that tigh you may need an impact wrench , hope not

Thanks for all the help

 

[RogerH]

I'm not sure about the MTN rebound. Only have experience working on the DHF and DHS shocks. You will have to ask Craig about the rebound range...

On the DHF, the bottom cap/compression valve is hexagonal. So you need a big socket. The manual shows exactly how you work on it!

 

[ramstein-dh]

I'm not sure about the MTN rebound. Only have experience working on the DHF and DHS shocks. You will have to ask Craig about the rebound range...

On the DHF, the bottom cap/compression valve is hexagonal. So you need a big socket. The manual shows exactly how you work on it!

Yeah the same is on the MTN-8 has a big hex socket.
I have been told the compression is high speed so a car park test will do nothing.
Wonder if this is the same with the rebound and i can notice the compression.