Toasted fork bushing?

[rmcr250r]

Taking apart forks on my 09 too freshen up the oil and put new seals in. When removing the bushings the 2nd one that is removed came out without having to spread it over the grooves. Does that mean its shot? it just moves freely on the inner tube, appears to be wear on the tube but i cant tell for sure.

[grayracer513]

The upper bearing fits in a groove in the top of the inner/lower tube. The bearing surface is on the outside of the bearing, and it runs against the outer/upper tube. The lower bearing sits in a pocket in the lower end of the upper tube, under the seal. The bearing surface of that is on the inside, and it bears against the inner tube. Once it slides out of the pocket in the upper, it expands, so it naturally becomes loose on the tube. The true clearance can only be checked with it in place.

Clearance can be checked with a dial gauge or feelers. A lot of guys will replace the bearings if the copper coat on the backing is rubbed through. Wear on the lower tube should be detectable with a vernier or digital mike.

[rmcr250r]

This bushing is not staying in its pocket its just sliding up and down the tube. The bushing in the other fork snapped into that pocket.

[grayracer513]

When in doubt, just replace it. They aren't that expensive.

[rmcr250r]

It doesn't seem right to me. The wear on the tube is odd and not like the other one i did. I really dont know how its shot theres maybe 50hrs on the bike and the seals were not leaking in this one were as in the other fork the seals were leaking and the bushings appeared to be in better shape than these ones. Wish the local dealer stocked these parts now im gonna have to wait another week to get some laps in.

[rmcr250r]

I think im makin up stuff in my head now. I just watched the rockymountainmc video and the same bushing acts the same as what im experiencing. If anyone can confirm if this bushing is not supposed to snap into place im just gonna put these forks back together and call it a night.

[grayracer513]

They don't always fit in place all that tightly, and once assembled, they really can't move much if at all. If the tube doesn't seem loose when assembled, don't worry too much about it, at least for this week.

You might want to see if Dave at SMART Performance can do for you regarding new ones