What tools do you need for dirt bike suspension? | The Shlog #333

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]Hey guys, welcome back to another shop vlog or schlog here at Highland Cycles, our little dirt bike shop here in western Colorado, where we work on pretty much just dirt bikes and every now and then an RZ350.

[00:00:13]Uh generally I will not work on street bikes, but that one's a special thing uh cuz it's a sexy and a two-stroke and b owned by a good friend, so that's happening. And sometimes an adventure bike, too. So, uh but basically just dirt bikes and we do lots of cool stuff here.

[00:00:28]We also, if you're new here to the channel, we also do all kinds of race videos. We have a race team that we're uh trying to get up to national pro level.

[00:00:38]Um all kinds of stuff is going on here.

[00:00:40]We do review videos, all that stuff. So, make sure you check [clears throat] out the rest of the channel uh if you just got here for the first time. Also, subscribe to the freaking channel. Just subscribe. It's free. It's so nice. It helps me out. It's awesome. I love it.

[00:00:52]On this schlog, we are taking this 2024, I believe it's a '24. It's either '24 or '25. I'm pretty sure it's '24. TE 300 and we are going to do all kinds of things. We've got a TSP head and ERM to install. We'll use the ERM to reflash the thing. Uh we are servicing front and rear suspension. We are putting a new piston in it.

[00:01:15]I think that's it.

[00:01:17]Although he told me anything I find, just do. Um he just wants the thing back into shape. Uh he rides the living crap out of it.

[00:01:25]You can tell by the way it looks cuz of how it is.

[00:01:29]Uh he uh loves to ride motorcycles, rides the crap out of it, enjoys it, wants it back to its new-like um functioning. So, that's what we're going to do uh here and if you want to join me, make sure you stick around. Again, please check out the rest of the channel. Please consider subscribing.

[00:01:46]And uh yeah, we're going to get after it.

[00:01:48]Ooh, he's got the Taco Moto uh pump and everything.

[00:01:53]That's cool.

[00:01:55]All right, guys. Got the tank off and yeah.

[00:01:59]It's super dirty like I expected, so we are now going to take it outside and uh wash this all off, get it all nice and clean and happy so we can go to work in a nice clean environment. Um and some of you are going to be like, "Oh, finally."

[00:02:13]Whatever. Anyway, um yeah, I'm excited uh get this thing all shined up and happy and then we'll bring it back in and start ripping this top end off and get it ready. And I just noticed he's got the TSP expansion chamber. I call it an expansion chamber, exhaust expansion I don't know. That thing, exhaust power valve cover helps smooth out power and all that. Um and he likes it a lot, so um he also is running this, which I've got feelings about.

[00:02:42]He loves it though, that's the important part. Um he's a mountain biker uh at heart and he took his pedal off. That would really freak me out, but uh he loves it and he knows that I give him a ton of crap about it, so that's the best part. We're good enough friends that he can take that and know that, you know, we can still be friends. Anyway, all right guys, got her all cleaned up and shiny and happy. Got the head off. Let's take a look here. Um definitely running rich like most stock TBIs.

[00:03:11]Pretty normal um for them to be spoogy, rich, and whatever. Um obviously there are things you can do like adjust TPS and all that stuff. Uh but what we are doing is we're going to do that, too, but we're uh like I said earlier in the video, we're installing uh TSP head and got the ERM with a good tune.

[00:03:32]I've noticed that what the TSP maps do is they clean up the bottom. Usually lean out the bottom a little bit and uh clean that up a lot so it's not as spoogy. Also nice and crisp off the bottom. But then actually they add gas to the top because these bikes are actually generally a little lean on top, which is scary to me cuz I as a guy who likes to ride up in the RPM range some when I can, when I'm feeling tough enough for it. Uh I like that to be um rich. Plenty rich up there. In fact, I'd rather be too rich up there so I don't blow anything up. Just a thing that I figured I'd just mention because I don't know if I ever have. These things suck >> [laughter] >> the oil injected for doing top ends cuz this blocks this from coming out. You have to loosen all this stuff and slide it back.

[00:04:20]It's not the end of the world, but it is still annoying because it still doesn't even really want to come out of there.

[00:04:26]It's still a battle. Um I think that's kind of they had to do like there's not really any other room for the oil tank and it's got to be it's, you know, in here, down here a little bit, even there. Uh so it holds enough oil to make it make sense.

[00:04:41]>> [snorts] >> But it's not my favorite. Look at the cylinder off. We'll take a look at the cylinder and see what it looks like. It should be really good. Um the TBI oil injected bikes have been super solid, no issues like the old TPIS.

[00:04:52]Uh next I got to take all the power valve stuff off uh crankcase pressure sensor's got to come off and then um yeah, then we can come out.

[00:05:01]All right, guys. We got the uh top end off or the cylinder off, I should say.

[00:05:06]Um this all looks good. Some heavy carbon build-up on that sucker, so um there's even like a there was a little piece of carbon sitting on there. Um should have showed you guys that before I uh took the cylinder off cuz it bumped and fell. I don't think it fell into the motor. It was soft.

[00:05:29]Anyway, I touched it and it was soft, so >> [music] >> even if it fell down in the crank, it'll be just fine. It'll chew it up and spit it out, so um it was not metal.

[00:05:37]>> [laughter] >> Uh that's for sure. So, there we go. Got that sucker off. Now let's take a look at this cylinder.

[00:05:43]To be raggedy.

[00:05:45]Raggedy rag rags.

[00:05:47]Raggedy rag raggedy and and take a look in here.

[00:05:59]Looks really good.

[00:06:06]Nothing out of the ordinary.

[00:06:10]You can still see a lot of the crosshatch in there.

[00:06:14]So, that's looking good.

[00:06:16]Power valve is moving pretty good. We're definitely going to clean this up though cuz that's like kind of gross.

[00:06:23]Um part of the service, part of the reason we charge what we charge is we take these apart and clean them really good cuz it's uh yeah. They get lots of stuff built up, so you can see here how much I moved that to get it up and out of the way.

[00:06:41]Again, it's not that big. I tried Some I know I sound like I complain a lot sometimes about things that take a little bit more time. It's just I'm so used to >> [music] >> not having to do that and and actually being so used to the fact I absolutely love uh KTMs because you don't have to take any throttle body or back in the old days carburetors off. You could just take the cylinder off and back on. So, you get kind of used to it and then when you got to move things you don't normally move, you get kind of but whatever. Um I'll quit complaining.

[00:07:14]Um but it's and it like and in fact, in not complaining, I'll tell you it's actually really [music] easy. It's two bolts or four bolts. Bolt here, bolt up here, two bolts right here and then it just slides back and out of the way, so all right. Put you guys down. I'm going to take this apart. I've got full videos, guys, of how to do this step by step. This is not that video. This is just a shop vlog, so all right. We got everything all cleaned up and happy. Love our vapor blaster for that. Super super stoked about that piece of equipment because these things are gnarly to clean otherwise, so got that all clean. Going to reassemble top end again. I've got lots of videos on this. I'm not going to bring you in right now. Uh we're going to get this all back together uh and then we'll get the um new piston and everything from uh Actually, let me bring you Let me show you that, guys. Pretty cool. Uh Two Stroke Performance now sells everything in one box, which is really really handy.

[00:08:14]Um I like things like that. I'm willing to Honestly, I'm even willing to spend a little more money.

[00:08:19]It's not. It's actually cheaper because, you know, they do a discount for buying multiple things, but I'd be willing to pay even a little bit more to have everything in here. We've got the ERM.

[00:08:30]Uh what do we got here?

[00:08:32]Oh, piston, >> [clears throat] >> gaskets, everything. So, and you know, cylinder head, high compression cylinder head, so really nice. You can just go click click click click click and it all shows up.

[00:08:46]And it's expensive. It's a lot of money, but it's really really handy.

[00:08:50]Um yeah, have everything in one box and not have to worry about it, so I'm going to get to work on this, get this back together.

[00:08:56]Um Might bring in see if I can actually get a good shot of how I do these circlips, these stock circlips. Um I know people hate them and I used to hate them, but once you do enough of them and you get the technique right, it's actually not too bad, so there we go.

[00:09:16]Make sure that pin is all the way in.

[00:09:18]Now I'm going to take I don't know how to do this very well so you can see it, but the clip, I'm going to aim the opening down and I'm going to take this uh left clip and I'm going to put it just on the edge of this recess here.

[00:09:40]I'm going to hold my thumb, my crooked bent thumb, over it so nothing can hopefully go flying. I'm going to come in here and we're going to uh do that.

[00:09:57]And then with the edge of this clip, push it in like that. Tiny little scratch there, that is no big deal. It's not going to hurt anything, trust me.

[00:10:06]>> [laughter] >> I know quite a few of you guys have scratched them way worse than that, so chalk off.

[00:10:13]Time to service this sucker.

[00:10:15]No big deal, nothing crazy here. It's just going to replace the seal, bushing, dirt scraper, all that on this lovely linkage WP shock, which I've got lots of videos about that, so make sure you check those out if you're interested in doing this yourself. It's honestly super super easy if you have all the tools. You need some tools, but not too many. And I'll go over those actually what we need. Um when I get down, I'll put them all out here on my Omni wall cart. Shut up.

[00:10:45]Shameless plug to Omni wall. Guys, these guys make all our wall stuff, this amazing cart, and the stuff I have in my house.

[00:10:54]Um super super nice for keeping things organized, so um there's a link in the description if you want to buy some stuff, save a little bit of money. I get a little bit of money, everybody's happy.

[00:11:03]You get an amazing product that's made all in the United States of America, every last piece. The steel's US steel, all the work is done in the US, all the powder coating, everything. So, really really really love the company. Uh yeah, going to get after this thing.

[00:11:17]>> [music] [music] [music] [singing] [music] [music] [music] >> Boom, there we go. Shock rebuild ready to rock and roll.

[00:11:59]All right, guys, let's go over the tools we needed for that. So, an assortment of Allen's. I don't know, this is probably a five, that's a four.

[00:12:08]This is a tiny little guy just to help push down the needle that's uh in well, in the shaft. Um anyway, so it moves air and then fluid through it when you're uh pumping it up.

[00:12:19]Then we've got our bleed cup from DRC.

[00:12:24]Uh this little spoon pick helps get the little um circlip out.

[00:12:29]This is to push the seal head down. Um flat blade, whatever. You got to have a flat blade to click on things, whatever.

[00:12:35]It's awesome. Seal uh bullet.

[00:12:39]Uh spanner wrench to Hang on.

[00:12:42]Let me clean that up.

[00:12:44]Spanner wrench to turn the pre preload adjuster, 19 mm wrench to get the uh nut off the end of the shaft, and a dead blow. This one's from Tusk. Actually, I really like this thing. It's cheap and works great. Uh and then obviously a cup of coffee to keep you energized.

[00:13:04]Then the one thing that a lot of people do not have is a nitrogen tank, but if you have a shop in town that's like me at least, they'll fill your nitrogen for free. That's what I do. If someone builds a shock, does their own thing, bring it in here, I will put nitrogen in it for free. If you're around the area and you want to do that, come on by. Um if you uh don't have that option in your at your in your town or whatever, maybe buy a tank um and a regulator and all that stuff, and then you be the guy that does it for free uh to help people out, or maybe you just charge people a little bit enough to help pay for all the stuff. So, anyway, thanks, guys. Um anyway, there you go. Pretty simple situation. Now we're going to flip this bike around, get the forks off, and do those. All right, guys, so now it's time for the fork seals. We've got the forks over here. Already got them kind of sort of apart. Uh I'm not going to show you the ins and outs of the fork seals cuz I've got lots of videos already doing these.

[00:13:55]Um so, please search out Highland Cycles KTM fork seals if you want to figure that out. Um or whatever bike you have because chances are I've done it. But I am going to set up the time lapse like I did before for the shock, and then at the end we'll discuss all the tools that I used for this. So, if you need to buy tools, you can get some tools and uh do this stuff yourself. That's kind of part of my mission in life is to get people doing some of their own work on bikes, even though yes, it takes money out of my pocket.

[00:14:27]Uh and I guess some other mechanics' pockets. Sorry, everybody. Um but I feel like it engages you more with your motorcycle, which then makes you a better rider, makes you a better human, all the things. So, uh yeah, let's set this thing up, get these done, and then uh yeah, we'll talk about what we used.

[00:14:52]>> [music] [music] [music] >> Right on, guys. Fork done, ready to rock and roll. So, let's go over the tools that you need to do that job.

[00:15:14]Uh fork seal driver, these are Tusk.

[00:15:16]Bullet, I think this is Motion Pro.

[00:15:19]Fork cap, also Tusk. I think you can buy these as a kit uh from Rocky Mountain ATV. Shout out to Rocky Mountain ATV, biggest sponsor of the channel. Use the link in the description. Uh helps us out, helps you out. Um you actually get entries to win our YZ 144 up until the 30th of April, so um that's pretty awesome. But uh yeah, I think they sell this as a kit where you can just buy this. So, those are super specific. This is also very specific. This is a Tusk um fork cap tool that goes into here.

[00:15:50]So, also very important. Uh I like having an impact. You need a 22 mm socket to take the bottom nut off, or bottom bolt I guess technically.

[00:16:01]>> [clears throat] >> And um you got to be careful. There's a little plastic um clicker down there, and you got to make sure it's like lined up with the points of the hex before that goes on. Otherwise, you'll break it, so make sure you do that.

[00:16:12]Then we've got uh ratchet and size 17 mm socket, that's to go with that.

[00:16:20]Um nice sharp flat blade, that's to get the circlip out, and then also press it back in.

[00:16:26]Um this is our tool that we make. I really like this thing. It's called a clicker coozy. Goes onto here, so when you flip this thing upside down, you don't damage the clickers or anything up there. Really nice, available at highland-cycles.com.

[00:16:41]This thing is pretty cool for getting the fork seals apart from the tube. Goes in there, twist it. Works really well, keeps marring up the tube. 8 mm wrench to install this. You saw that I used my Leatherman Skeletool to take it out cuz this is steel. These ones are steel, and so you're not going to mar it up and just just break it loose and take it off. But to go back on, I use a six-point uh eight hex.

[00:17:07]Um I think that's it for these forks.

[00:17:11]Pretty simple, pretty straightforward.

[00:17:13]Oh, also, you'll need a vice. I didn't mention that on the the shock. A nice vice is really nice, nice uh copper soft jaws, really nice. Um You need a graduated something. This is a ratio right. That's a graduated thing anyway, to pour the right amount of fluid in things, but there you go.

[00:17:33]That's the tools you need. So, I'm going to go put this thing back together, take it for a spin. We've got the ERM all on it and everything, so uh take it for a spin, make sure everything's good.

[00:17:41]All right, guys, so took the Husky for a ride. It rips. TSP stuff is amazing.

[00:17:46]Cannot recommend it enough. If you would like to support us and buy TSP stuff, you can call me. I can drop ship it anywhere on Earth. Well, okay, that's not true. I can drop ship it in a lot of places, mainly in the United States. Uh cuz I really don't know where they all ship. I mean, they're from Australia, but anyway, if you want one, give me a call.

[00:18:04]I'd love to help you out. I get to make a little bit of money, you get the same great price, you get the same great product, everything's awesome. So, that's going to be the end of the actual work on this schlog, guys. Uh but I'm getting ready to film a video with this little thing and that little thing. If you know anything about what that is, comment below. I'm excited, really excited to do this. I'm not going to talk about it. Tease you guys so that you subscribe to the channel, you hit the notification bell, and you make sure you come back and tell your friends about the channel and all that good stuff because it means a lot to me that you guys watch these videos. It really really does. Uh and I love making this content. I love helping people out, and I love uh being on the internet. It's a lot of fun.

[00:18:46]It's a fun place to be, so anyway, I love you guys. Thank you so much for joining me, and uh yeah, we'll see you guys on the next one.