Just after some advice here.

Im fitting Legend fork cartridges this weekend but didnt want to do do a fork rebuild. Its only got 5000kms on it so don't see the need to replace seals and sliders. However the instructions and all the YouTube content says that all the old oil and crap in there needs to be fully cleaned out, spotless perfectly clean and washed out. My question is why does it have to be so clean and would a water based degreaser be OK. Im guessing I can wash it all out with water and then blow it all out with compressed air.

Any advice here would be helpful. Ive done this before with Gold Valves and a Suzuki DR but the was a full rebuild and modifying internals so full disassembly. I was trying to do this on the quicker and easy side.

Thanks in advance

Leachy

Going to do my suspension upgrades over the wet season.

Tossing up what route to go, was going to do true progressive springs and some sort of emulator valve, as I'm not sure if I can stretch to true cartridges. Mind if I ask what they cost and from where ?

I have to allow for the two new wide glide tubes to lift the bike a bit.

I too deliberated on fitting gold valves and springs or cartridges. Ive used the gold valves before in my DR 650 with great success. It is a cheaper option but a bit of fiddling around. I had a trip to the USA  for work so picked them up for US$750 with a bit of tax from Revzilla. Just had them delivered to where i was going to be. Theres a few places here in Aust. They sell the Racetech gold valves and matching springs. Ive read / watched as much as i could and there is no real comparison between these two options. Ive heard that the progressive is better than the standard HD but they are a bit harsh. Legend seem to be the next step up in price and performance. Ohlins are meant to be better and again more but they need to be matched  to you  i guess it depends on your budget, but i also have a sports tourer bike if i want that sort of riding.

Ill keep you posted. Hopefully take it for a test ride sunday morning.

if the old oil is black / grey then its worth the extra effort to clean spotlessly otherwise it will not be good for the new sliders

if the oil comes out 'clean' then you may be ok

Brakecleaner works best cause it dries well. best to avoid using water

If my forks I'd be cleaning properly

my $0.02

I was going for Wilber springs, set to my weight. 1.2 kg/mm if I recall, fitted in the longer tubes, and I think they are protac emulator valves or something similar, plan is to send em to Melbourne so they can do the setting up, so they come back ready to go.

Nitron 12 1/2 inch rear shocks to keep the same geometry.

Yeah I couldn't find anything that compared progressive springs and emulator valves to cartridge units either.

Hopefully as you have had that set up you may be able to give some sort of comparison, even though different rides.

I would probably clean out all the old oil too, avoid water. You should be able to flush em out in situ, the lower cap screw should let it drain if your lowers find have the drain plug, you have to strip the internals anyway, don't you ?

Use kero or white spirit to strip out the old oil and crud, and then some metho to wash out the kero dregs so you can clean and dry the lowers, use shop wipes, they need to be lint free. I would then give it a few small rinses with some of the new fork oil to ensure the lowers are clean and eliminate any possibility of cross contamination.

Sounds like a long process, but will only take maybe 15 minutes to do both, as you can flush one as the other drains.

Hope it all goes smoothly for you, and looking forward to hearing how they go.

Cheers

Ken

It bike is a lot firmer up front, the is very limited dive under braking. I weigh about 83kg and the cartridges are on the lowest preload setting, I wouldn't want it any firmer on those rougher roads. It was not harsh or rougher in anyway but it did make the bike feel "sportier". It made the front and rear feel connected, there didn't seem to feel like there was a delay in hitting bumps. The suspension could react faster.. i was running over the cats eyes road markers and you couldnt really feel them, but less sharper bumps you could. Theres a lot more road feel back, so you know what is happening. 

Gold valves with the right springs and oil could maybe give you a better result, if you had the time to continuously fiddle around with all the combinations that would give you,. Someone with experience would make it easier than trial ans error.

I would spend the money and do it again but it does change the feel of the bike its a lot sharper. It would also highlight crap rear shocks.

And thanks for the update and feedback.

Will see what the difference is on cost and see.

Cheers

Ken