Has anyone managed to improve the performance of these forks, I'm thinking different springs, oil or levels.?
Are you referring to the Marzocchis that feature on the 2001/2002 750 Sport ie? Cos they are weird - rebound damping in one fork, compression damping in the other. Mind you, I know one racer who reckons that they are not at all bad for what they are. I never liked them though.
The carby 600 forks are the same, I have a set here. I think Al has played with both types before, he may be able to help.
No loz, I've a 97 carb just changing the oil in them, and generally tinkering. Thanks lumbux and also for you post on frame numbers.
Oil SAE 7.5 fill the specified amount 380cc after they are fully drained.......Should be OK for road riding..........I have both Marzocchi and fully adjustable Showas, all in overhauled condition........I guess the Showas are only marginally better.
I had my frame crack - a common problem. I think I may have had the last replacement frame that Ducati gave away for free. IMHO, the cracking was caused not only by a design fault but also by the constant hammering from the over-harsh forks, so I used much lighter fork oil in mine once I had the new frame fitted. I'm no racer but I reckoned it improved them no end.
The Marzocchi forks are a piece of p*ss to strip and overhaul......bugger all effort required compared with the Showas. The main thing with the Marzocchis is to get all the old oil out.............it's very easy to leave enough in them for them to be overfilled......I experimented with mine and added just 10cc extra to each leg and they are now rock hard.
You're right Al they are easy to strip, Haynes gives a measurement from the top of the leg as well as a volume.
I reduced the viscosity of the oil in mine to a mix of 2.5 and 5.0 wt. They actually worked then and gave a nice plush ride. If you want them to be firm rather than hard, go for 5.0 wt. IMHO, it's the 7.5 oem fork oil that makes the frames crack, as the frames flex rather than the forks...
Ok, so a 5 weight oil, just need to know how much to put in each fork, I've got non adjustable forks on my 2003 750SS ie ... Thanks Ian
Might be different, hopefully somone will know the correct amount and let me know, certainly much appreciated as its holding up the front fork rebuild at the moment... Cheers Ian
Thanks Alan, yes I think that's it, I might go for the 5 weight oil instead of the 7.5 weight...thanks ever so much for posting that, I owe you a pie and a pint ...haha...
I'm good with that info, reckon it'll be ok Alan Thanks for going to the trouble of taking the pic and posting, really very much appreciated... All the best Ian
Maxton rebuild them but it's expensive - £560 plus VAT. Here is the info they sent me, this is for the 600SS but I assume the forks are roughly the same.... FORKS The forks on the early 600SS are very different to other forks, they are made in Italy by Marzzochi and instead of having springing and damping in both legs they have a spring in one leg and damping in the other. This system is a very poor idea and the cartridge in the damping leg is also a very basic design, which means there is no way of making the forks work with the original system. We convert the forks so that they have springing and damping in both legs, we do this by machining the forks to take Maxton GP20 cartridges which are adjustable for rebound damping. Because the internals are very different we also machine new fork tops. The Maxton cartridges costs £405.00, these include springs to suit your rider weight. To service the forks and install the cartridges costs £130.00. We also fit new seals as part of the service these cost £25.00 per pair. ALL PRICES EXCLUDE V.A.T.
