Well, this sucks. To get to the fork spring you need a special tool (Kawasaki part # 57001-1744) which runs about $180. It's a 33mm rod guide case wrench for Showa 41mm forks. Unfortunately, all the aftermarket tools, which aren't much cheaper, are 35mm wrenches for Showa 43mm forks. Looks like I'm headed to the dealer in the morning.

Edit: It looks like Race Tech part # TFCH 06 ($43) + a 35mm or a 1 3/8" crowsfoot wrench ($12) will get the job done. K&L Supply appears to sell the same part for less (part #35-8379, $25), but I've yet to confirm it's the same size as the Race Tech tool.

Struck out at my local Kawasaki dealer's service dept. They don't have the tool.

 

post some pix

 

Forum Info

http://www.kawasakiversys.com/forums/74-how-forum/133770-shock-front-spring-compressor-diy.html
http://www.kawasakiversys.com/forum.../forums/74-how-forum/131522-shock-front-changing-fork-oil-gen-1-2-probably.html

 

Thanks, but that's not relevant to the 2015+ models. Different forks.

 

Forum Help

Reference was to tools, the manual has step by step instructions, what it lacks is alternative tools required. The MK-3 has been done by members here, but the post was lost during a crash. If you aren't confident then taking to a dealer may be money well spent.

 

My local Kawasaki dealer doesn't have the necessary tool so they're not capable of doing the job. Wasted 45 minutes with them this morning. The tool needed is basically a 33mm Allen socket with a hole in the middle for the rod. I have one on order.

This tool is not used for the previous generation Versys.

 

For 2015 Kawasaki switched to a 41mm Showa fork. Here is a pic of the issue. That 12-point female nut has to be spun out. There's no other way to get to the spring. This nut takes a 33mm male bit to unscrew.

Here is the Race Tech part mentioned above. It's 33mm on one size, 35mm on the other.

 

Mk-3


I guess you didn't read that thread http://www.kawasakiversys.com/forum...-forum/131730-gen3-versys-650-%96-front-fork-oil-change.html?highlight=33mm+nut which is a 2015 650 ABS.

When you do this could you post your how to , I will add that to the existing thread. Sad the dealer isn't able to do it.

 

Nope, didn't catch that one.

 

SOMEONE posted up that they used a 'lug-nut' from a large truck (semi?) to do that....

 

33mm lug nut from a tractor trailer outfit

 

Yeah, I'm thinking a 33mm truck lug nut welded to a 1" nut. That way I can torque it with a 1" crowsfoot wrench attached to my torque wrench. Has to be torqued to 90 Nm.

I was going to weld two truck lug nuts together, but good luck finding a 33mm crowsfoot wrench.

The Race Tech part shown above might be a problem because it has rounded corners on the 33mm side. The nut is shallow so those rounded corners could cause slippage.

 

Well, I had luck getting my left fork apart, and getting the spring replaced. Here's a pic of the tool I had welded up. The black nut is a truck lug nut that's 33mm outside diameter. The silver-colored nut it's welded to is 1.25" diameter. The 33mm side is the side that drops into that female nut, called a rod guide case. I had about 2mm shaved off the end to get rid of the rounded corners so that it seats well.

To the left you can see I have an extra nut of each. If anyone wants them, you can have them for my cost (about $4) + postage.

There's one weird thing I noticed regarding fork oil level. I have a hard copy of the factory manual that says to measure the air gap with an empty fork. Then, I have an e-copy of the same manual that says to measure the air gap with the spring, spring seat, adjuster guide rod and rebound spring all installed. The e-copy is correct. The 473 mL fill gives the correct air gap when you measure the gap with these parts installed.

 

...There's one weird thing I noticed regarding fork oil level. I have a hard copy of the factory manual that says to measure the air gap with an empty fork. Then, I have an e-copy of the same manual that says to measure the air gap with the spring, spring seat, adjuster guide rod and rebound spring all installed. The e-copy is correct. The 473 mL fill gives the correct air gap when you measure the gap with these parts installed....

Glad you posted this. When I "did" my Gen 1's forks that was how the MANUAL said to do it, so I was surprised to see my Gen 3 MANUAL say to do it empty of parts which I was pretty sure was WRONG.

 

Yeah, I was really confused that Wilbers called for a 195mm air gap and Kawasaki says 63mm (left fork). My retailer (BeemerShop) was equally confused. They called Wilbers, who also couldn't explain the extreme difference. I discovered that the difference was parts-in (Wilbers) vs parts-out (Kawasaki) when measuring.