Marozochi 48 cc issue
 

i have been having a problem with my fork performance deteriorating over time. What I have determined is the Oil in the lower leg gradually gets forced into the cartridge which increases the preload on the floating piston.
I have tried different oil levels in the cartridge, the last time around I came across some info that led me to believe I was under filling the cartridges.
As an example of what I experienced, I just returned from a two day Enduro where I rode 100 miles each day. By noon on the second day I was deflecting off every pebble. Guys that shouldn't are pulling away from me while I struggle to stay upright.
I guess the obvious answer is the cartridge seals are leaking? I don't find that to be the case when I am working on them. Will replacing the cartridge seals cure the problem? One would think.
Am I missing something? I know experienced riders who do their own suspension work that say it's rare to replace those seals?
At this point I am pretty disgusted.
I would like to get the problem ironed out for good and get both ends serviced and revalved.
I would prefer to use a local tuner however the only one I know with experience on Morozochi is Stillwell, who gets mixed reviews. I am not sure if anyone near me has experience with Rieger shocks.
I am leaning towards sending them off to Richard Wilson who I believe has a lot of experience and good reputation. The downside is extra downtime, shipping costs and no local support.

It may not be the forks.

My bike was doing the same thing.
My suspension tuner went through my rear shock, then dynoed it. When the shock got hot, the readings were all over the place. He found the the shock bladder was leaking. Oil was mixing with the gas.

Interesting that you should say that, I was just reading about that elsewhere on the forum.

2011 gas gas 300 with 48mm race forks
 

I also have the front forks deflecting of the small bumps and rocks. I have let the oil out and turned comp all the way out and they are still too stiff. they have 4.6 springs and Im a +50 expert rider 185 lb. Im thinking the springs are mis marked as 4.6.

Too aggressive rebound will caus the same issue.on my 13 i found slowing rebound significantly helped.try 6-10clicks in/clockwise from stock on the bottom of forks to settle it down

Some options :

- Change oil frequently, 40 hours or so
- Do some hard landings with a jump to bleed the cartridge :D
- A friend of mine proposed to open the rebound lower screw (upside down) and push the rod with smg till it bleeds the excess oil as a service interval remedy... haven't tested it yet :confused:

Changing oil frequently means every 10 hours or so. The Marzocchis will not stand long intervals and deliver decent performance.

I have marzzochi 48 on ec 250 2014. Is complicated to change oil on forks? I need new seals every time?

It's more complicated than changing oil in open chamber forks, but not very complicated. No, you don't have to change the seals to change the oil.


Regarding the forks being too harsh, even with the compression clickers all the way out, we are quite a few that has revalved our compression stacks with a decent result. Also, adding a shim to the rebound stack gives good results.

I suggest you read the jumbo thread about these forks.
http://www.gasgasrider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=11075

There you will find the answers to (almost) any question :)

There are also a couple of other threads with good info. Please use the search function.