Manitou 4 Manual and more (help !)

[mat]

Hi everyone,
I aquired a Wilier MTB with manitou 4 fork.

I am almost a complete beginner in MTBs maintenance so I would need a little help.

The first thing I want to check is the fork : a manitou 4.

-Does anyone knows where to find the manual on the web ?

-Do I need any special tool (the preload caps seem to work with an allen key) ?

-How do I know if I need new springs/elastomers ?

-How to get new springs/elastomers ?

Any tips on further maintenance to do on such a bike will be most welcome.

I'll post a picture of my new bike soon.

 

[andy.l]

Mani 4's have all elastomers inside,the adjusters on the top should unscrew all the way out,then pull out the elastomers,have a look at them for cracks and bits missing,you may have a variety of coloured elastomers fitted,most mani 4's had red but you may find yellow and blues in there aswell,when youre happy theyre in good condition,clean them off and regrease (dont know if this is necessary but i did it to mine),
if youre still concerned about their condition pm a chap called SLIM on here,he maybe be able to sort some new ones out for you as he gets them every now and again.

hope this helps

 

[mat]

yes, thanks a lot.

That means that there might be no spring at all inside ?

And turning the caps does not regulate anything ?

What kind of grease should I use ?

 

[andy.l]

no,no spring,when you undo the larger blue knurled adjuster the elastomers will all come out(well should do,lol) on a skewer type bar,they will have a white plastic spacer in between them all,make sure you remember which went where.

The fork 'springyness' is made by compressing the elastomers when the blue alloy adjuster is screwed back inside the stanction top.Turning the cap will make the compression greater or smaller so does effect it a little bit,but these forks didnt have that much travel anyways.

I just used some FinishLine assembly grease on mine,maybe others can recommend others.

 

[albatros38]

For the manual tell Manitou at this adress : [email protected]

 

[mat]

Thanks ! I already did, and they already sent it to me !!!

to be honest, I did not expect much from my mail and I am reallly impressed about such a customer support !