Fork Bushing Burnishing / Sizing Tool — Full Set

No. All fork lowers have designed-in clearance between bushings and stanchions from the factory — that's a requirement for sliding and oil film formation, not a defect. The RMS burnishing head is sized to the correct serving diameter. It removes excess friction caused by bushings that are too tight or out-of-round. It does not remove meaningful material from the bushing. If your fork has noticeable knocking after burnishing, the bushings were already worn before you started — burnishing corrects geometry in serviceable bushings, it doesn't replace worn ones.

Learn more about the process here

Because it's made differently and works differently. Precision machined in Canada by the person who designed it. The manual process isn't a limitation — it's the point. The resistance you feel through the T-handle is the only reliable signal that burnishing is complete. That feedback doesn't exist in a drill-driven system. For a shop doing this on a customer's fork, there's no acceptable margin for guessing. 500+ tools in the hands of shops and riders world wide, 44 reviews and counting, every one of them said it was worth it.

Possibly. Factory bushing fit varies. Some forks leave production perfectly sized; others don't. If your new fork feels harsh on small hits or requires more pressure than expected to get it moving, tight or out-of-round bushings are a likely cause. Burnishing a new fork before its first ride costs ten minutes and often reveals a fit issue that would have taken months to diagnose otherwise.

The RMS tool is compatible with virtually all MTB forks. The full compatibility chart is above — find your fork, confirm your stanchion size, and order the right head. The only known exceptions are the BOS Obsys, EXT Vaia, BOS Idylle 39 (SC and DC), and the Kyll 39 — these forks use a proprietary bushing format the RMS head cannot service. If your fork isn't in the chart, contact us before ordering.

The Starter Kit makes sense if you're servicing one fork or evaluating the tool before committing. The Full Set makes sense when you need to service whatever comes through the door. A shop that's missing the right head size when a fork comes in either turns the job away or does it wrong. The Full Set eliminates that gap. With foam storage included, every head has a place and the tool is ready for the next job without a search.

What you see at checkout is what you pay. All shipments to the USA and Europe are sent DDP — duties and import fees are included in the price. Only local sales tax or VAT may apply at checkout depending on your jurisdiction. No brokerage surprises on delivery.

The clearest sign is a fork that feels harsh, sticky, or unresponsive — especially at small bumps — and doesn't improve meaningfully after a full service with fresh oil and seals. If the fork feels acceptable right after a service but degrades within the first ride or two, that's a strong indicator the bushings need sizing.

It depends on how sticky the fork feels. If the fork generally feels okay but not great, and doesn't degrade quickly after a service, the +.07mm is likely sufficient. If the fork feels noticeably sticky or harsh, or degrades within the first ride after a service, start with +.10mm. If the fork still has stiction after burnishing with +.10mm, move to +.13mm. The +.10mm gets the majority of forks feeling great on its own.

No. The PTFE bushing material has spring-back after the tool passes through — the bore shrinks back down once the head clears. The larger the +size used, the more spring-back occurs, so the relationship between head size and final bushing diameter is not linear. All three +sizes (+.07, +.10, +.13mm) will result in a final bushing clearance in the ideal range of approximately .05–.10mm (.002"–.004"), which provides the right amount of clearance for proper oil film formation without excessive play.

No. You cannot over-burnish with our manual tool — As you pass the tool back and forth, resistance will gradually decrease until it levels off and becomes constant. That plateau is your signal that the bushing is done. It's normal for upper and lower bushings to feel slightly different from each other — what matters is that they all feel as close to each other as possible upon completion of burnishing, something you can only tell with our manual tool.

Use whichever lower leg lubricant oil your fork manufacturer specifies and apply it to the burnish head before starting. No special oil is needed for the burnishing process itself. Use your manufacture specified lower leg lubrication oil after burnishing when reassembling the fork.