My new JH600

**Franki** · 09-02-2011, 08:38 AM

Hey Pfaelzer, keep reporting on your updates and mods. I have many eager friends waiting. haha.

**euphonius** · 11-02-2011, 11:01 AM

Originally Posted by Pfaelzer

Hi euphonius,
Check my post about the front-springs. I sent the data, which I took of the original spring to Wilbers in Germany and also talked to a guy there. After clearing details, they suggested the springs I got now. I even didn't have to change the spacer. Hard to tell - you should come and ride my bike to feel the difference. I find it great. It somehow is always a compromise however. You want it firm on-road, but god travel off-road. To me, this choice fits well and I can share the details.

As to the oil: CAREFUL! If you go up too much, you will see your front-end less responsive and "jump" over bumps. I have now 7.5, but I think of reducing it to 5.

Cheers and have fun,
AW.

Dear Pfaelzer, Lao Jia Huo and other Jialingistas,

Has anyone in Shanghai begun tinkering with the various fork oils to stiffen up your JH600 front end? I'm very keen to do this, but haven't even the first idea of how to begin. How do you get the old fork oil out? How much to put back in? How to put it in? What oil to use? And so on!

And about those progressive springs -- I'd be delighted to go with the same springs that Pfaelzer ordered from Wilbers but wonder if that mod should precede or follow all the tinkering with various fork oils.

Help!

thanks and cheers!

**Barry** · 11-02-2011, 12:14 PM

I planned to change my fork oil in winter as well, have a bottle of fork oil sitting in my apartment for months already. Motul 10.

**ben2go** · 11-02-2011, 05:41 PM

I don't know what the JH600 comes with as far as fork oil.Most used a standard 10w fork oil.You could try 15w or 20w fork oil.Shouldn't be hard to get anywhere.I upgrade the springs in my bike(not a JH600) to Progressives and put in mobile 15w fork oil.I'm not sure about the oil level for the JH600.Remove the front wheel and fender,then remove one fork from the triple clamps.Next remove the cap on top of the fork.Beware,the spring puts a lot of pressure on the cap and it will go flying if you don't put downward pressure on it.Also,don't let the fork collapse or oil will go everywhere.After the cap is removed,dump the contents in to a bucket or drain pan.The spacer,spring,and oil should come out.There maybe a washer or two in there also.Make note of how things came out,they have to go back together the same way.Once the oil has drained completely,reassemble with new springs and fork oil.If the oil level in the fork is set to high,it will blow the fork seals and wipers.

**euphonius** · 11-02-2011, 05:55 PM

Dear ben2go,

Thanks for the excellent tutorial. This really deepens my understanding.

Cheers!

**ben2go** · 11-02-2011, 06:28 PM

Originally Posted by euphonius

Dear ben2go,

Thanks for the excellent tutorial. This really deepens my understanding.

Cheers!

You're welcome.Glad I could help.

**Pfaelzer** · 11-05-2011, 04:41 AM

Hi,
when I changed the springs to progressive from springs from Wilbers, I followed their INSTRUCTIONS. It is quite detailed and gives you a clear picture of what to do.
In terms of oil volumeI measured the level and also the actual amount of oil, which I poured out of the fork as you can see here.

I read somewhere, that the amount of oil inside of the tube controls in a way also the travel.

Not enough: The fork will bottom out rough
Too much: You will not use the full travel

The air inside of the tube should compress to avoid bottom out - but not too early so you do not give up travel.

I didn't play around with different oils yet - for this I should ride the bike more often and so far I am quite happy with the suspension settings as they are.

What bothers me a bit at the from is however that at sudden full decompressions, going fast over an obstacle and the front lifts up a bit, I am getting a hard mechanical sound as if a kind of rubber buffer is missing when the fork hits its limit with the front wheel in the air and the fork is decompressed. Here maybe a different oil could help. There is not much pre-load on the springs as you can see at my pictures.

Thanks to all for sharing their experiences. I hope more will come up. Let's asl hope that the valve problems (which seems to be really a shaft problem) does not apply on all the bikes. So far I didn't hit the 10.000km mark on my JH600.

Cheers,
AW.

**euphonius** · 11-05-2011, 10:43 AM

Dear Pfaelzer,

Many thanks for the detailed record of your fork maintenance and upgrades. This is really useful, and helped me today when discussing my fork with a repair guy here in Shanghai. We've found a very nice little shop in Jing'an District that already had factory training on some Jialing-Honda bikes, and now has sold its first JH600 (MCM member joker346 aka Victor), which means we Shanghai-based Jialing owners now have another option for service.

This shop has Motul fork oil (15w) in stock, and the owner closely echoed your method in describing how we would firm up my fork. They also made quick work of a dangerous fuel leak in Motokai's bike.

A very nice discovery, especially for those of us in Puxi.

Oh, and get this: there is NOTHING on the floor of the shop, and all tools are in proper places! It's almost as spotless as ChinaV's or your garages! OK, not quite that good, but I'd give them an A+ for a Chinese shop.

Shanghai Huageng Motorcycles is located at 508 Yuyao Lu at the corner of Taizhou Lu (余姚路泰州路) in Jing'an District. Owner Yang Jie can be reached at 021-6276-8570 or 139-0181-1185 but doesn't speak much English.

Don't believe me that a motorcycle repair shop can be neat and tidy? Check it out!

Yes, that's Motokai in his suave day-glo Jialing waterproof shell!

cheers!

**Pfaelzer** · 11-07-2011, 12:09 AM

Hi Jeff,

thanks for the pictures - nice workshop. How did your fork discussions go? I used a rather light oil, but considering this knocking noise when the front is suddenly fully decompressed, I might think changing to W15 next and see how this goes.

Cheers,
AW

**euphonius** · 11-07-2011, 12:34 AM

I'll be doing this repair in the tomorrow, and will let you know how it goes. No idea whether 15W is the right viscosity, but the mechanic says it'll make a huge difference and give much better handling.

I've been thinking about this a lot since Lao Jia Huo suggested that the mushy/divey fork might have been a factor in my getoff in Kunming last summer. I just spent a month in California riding my old KLR650 (which is the only other motorcycle I've ever ridden), so I'm starting to have a better sense of how differently a suspension can act. (My KLR's forks are a lot better than the rear spring/shock, which is super soft and mushy and will be replaced next visit.) The weight of the KLR is similar to the Jialing, but the front end feels much lighter, and lifts off the ground rather easily -- something the JH600 would never do!

I'll let you know how it goes!

Will you be spending any time in Fujian this winter?

cheers!