What did you do to your bike today?

[Bonz]

The good-old dexron II/III is what I'm talking about. Not those Universal ones that cover all ranges and types of vehicles nowadays.

It is ready it available and I don't buy any of this stuff about aeration because of transmission cannot get air in it for it to work. And the detergents are no different than when this was specified for forks for bikes in the 80s. I'm good to go, and tickled "pink" (or red) for it.

I have seen a study that compared all the fork oils and different fluids and ATF is a 10 weight fluid and there is no downside to using that in our Forks. So many old Japanese bikes used it and to think our forks and seals are any different than Honda or Suzuki or Kawasaki is silly.

Just like guys swear synthetic oil is a waste of money, I think fork oil is a waste of money. The only reason I would use Boutique brand fork oil is if I needed a heavier weight than what ATF provides.

[3Phase]

I honestly don't know about transmission fluid in our forks, there are too many types and viscosities and formulas, especially the new synthetic stuff. None of it should foam unless you try doing motocross and 'airing' out 85ft. table-tops.

The really new formulas may not even contain any oil, they're a bunch of chemicals designed to work in specific manufacturers' transmissions and they aren't general-purpose hydraulic fluids.

In a pinch, I'd go to the dealer and buy fork oil before using modern ATF.

[BA80]

Hey Scott,

It's also fairly high detergent, so I think it can either stay cleaner longer?
YMMV.

T.C.

Also eat at seals that aren't designed to withstand it. Detergent is kinda tough on seals.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Scott,

I use ATF also, but I vaguely remember it being suggested to use DEXRON vs. the Ford version, can't recall WHY, so I use Dexron III. As to Brant's statement about it airating more??? Tranny fluid as you eluded to operates under fairly high temps, and is supposed to be designed to NOT foam under those stresses....otherwise the torque converter wouldn't work would it!? It's also fairly high detergent, so I think it can either stay cleaner longer?
YMMV.

T.C.

[donebysunday]

Engine oil

I found Dark Horse was snickerdy snicking pretty loud when shifting.
Over the years I've found this to be a sign of the oil shearing up and losing viscosity.
I've not put that many miles on this oil change, done last year with Amsoil MC oil.
It seems I needed to change oil so looked around and, ...... Walmart has Supertech 20/50 without anti friction additives, 5 qts. for just under $12.00.
Force of habit or the DEVIL made me put in 24oz. of Amsoil, 8oz. of Pro Long and top it off with the Supertech.
Smooth again, shifts like the hot knife through butter thing.
I'll mark my calendar and my odometer to see when it starts snickerdy snicking next ?

[motoman]

Scott, PJ-1 IS a good option for fork oil. The weight rating may be a little on the light side, but works fine. I opted for Silcolene 15w in the Venturer. 15w was chosen just because over yrs. of use, the dampening orfices get slightly oversized from friction caused by the oil. With several decades of moto-x racing, learned early on that use of ATF was the last option of use, and only used if that was all one happen to have 'handy'. Problem with ATF used in forks is it airiates to much and can cause voids with dampening correctly. Over those decades, I learned that Silcolene was the best option, with Torco being second place. JAT to consider, if nothing else, future use.

All that work you've put into that XJ just makes me tired to read and follow.

[3Phase]

Howard, which ATF do you use, GM, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota?

Dino, mammalian, or synthetic?

I bought a few of bottles of PJ1 10wt and 05wt oil on sale for about $5/quart, it was less expensive than ATF except for the nameless generic bottles in the dollar store.

ATF is not and never has been a constant and it's gone through some pretty radical changes over the years since they had to stop using sperm whale oil. The old stuff wasn't shear stable and it was hygroscopic, not really a problem for a smokin' hot automatic transmission but fork oil doesn't get over 212 degrees to cook off the water. The latest and greatest formula is thinner than the old formula.


Wikipedia | Dexron

[Bonz]

LOL, fork seals and internal materials are no different from bike, really. It's an almost 40 year old bike we ride these days, precisely around when the V65 was in it's hey-day at the tail end of the XS/XJ reign.

Use what works for you for sure and "what Yamaha specifies", I just know ATF is proven in millions of bikes for millions of miles. I run it in my 2001 ZRX 1200 with much more modern forks and the proof is in the pudding, even though Kawasaki (Yamaha too) and the motorcycle industry wants us to go deeper in our pockets to buy their oil. .

[Radioguylogs]

ATF Std for Honda

Honda specifies ATF for my V65 front forks.

I use the Yamaha recommended oils for my Yamahas.

[Bonz]

I'll give a "plus one" to All-American red ATF. Use it in all my forks.

I have done a good amount of reading about fork oil/snake oil, and ATF rates at about a 10 weight oil and has less tendency to thin out if/when hot from what I have gleaned as well.

[3Phase]

Have you or anyone else used trans oil in the forks ?
I do .

I bought a couple of bottles of oil last year for the forks and the rear shocks and I haven't opened either one of them yet.

I'd use cherry juice if I didn't have the correct oil but even sticking with domestics it's not a simple substitution:

Chrysler ATF, ATF+ to ATF+4
Ford Type A, F, FA, Mercon
GM Dexron original recipe or extra crispy Dexron MMXVII or whatever the latest synthetic brew is numbered

How about trans medic seal rejuvenate to keep the seals working well ?

I've never used it, I change the seals when they leak or get another transmission that doesn't leak.

One more, anyone ever put a grease nipple in the neck and pumped the neck full of grease to lube the steering head bearings ?

I was going to do that but the bearings are different sizes and have different seals/shields so one fitting won't reliably deliver grease to both bearings.

I thought about using two fittings along with a few other combinations, then I thought about the extra grease oozing its way out of the frame head onto the forks, the front tire, the brakes, and I put down the drill and walked away from the steering head.

The truth is, the book wants the bearings repacked and adjusted every two years or 10,000 miles but I think that's a little excessive. For me, that'd be, like, every time I change the front tire but a big part of repacking any bearing is cleaning and inspecting the bearing along with the race and you can't really do that with the lower fork tree in the frame.

[BA80]

Have you or anyone else used trans oil in the forks ?
I do .
How about trans medic seal rejuvenate to keep the seals working well ?

One more, anyone ever put a grease nipple in the neck and pumped the neck full of grease to lube the steering head bearings ?

I've used trans fluid in the forks and in the XJ shocks I run. It works OK but it's not heavy enough for my liking.

I run on weight heavier oil than it calls for both and it's much better ride and handling characteristics. It's actually cheaper than trans fluid too.

[donebysunday]

Changing the fork oil and seals was one of the things I was going to do before the XSSE rally last year but I ran out of time, then I ran out of enthusiasm.

Naturally, I have discovered there's more to it than a simple slider swap but after I finish the forks (notice the positive note there ) I have to clean and grease the steering head bearings, then set the preload. The linked brakes, the computer, and the extra control wiring make the XJ's front end more complicated to work on than the XS.

[B]The bent forks haven't seen daylight for a while and there's a patina of oil on the sliders that I didn't notice when I stored them.
[B]The air assembly is good but the Schrader valve got bent in the wreck, I'll use the assembly from my new XJ to test the forks.


[B]I washed everything, then aired up the forks to ~15 psi and inverted them to keep the fork oil on the seals while I worked the sliders.
There's an oil ring on both stanchions. I'll wait and check them again later.


The rear shocks have to be flushed and the oil changed too. The shocks work, they hold air pressure and the damper wheel turns but they sound 'springy' like a Pogo stick when I bounce them, like they're low on oil or something. The XJ shocks I put on my '80G don't sound like that so they have to be checked before they have to be chucked.

Have you or anyone else used trans oil in the forks ?
I do .
How about trans medic seal rejuvenate to keep the seals working well ?

One more, anyone ever put a grease nipple in the neck and pumped the neck full of grease to lube the steering head bearings ?

[3Phase]

Changing the fork oil and seals was one of the things I was going to do before the XSSE rally last year but I ran out of time, then I ran out of enthusiasm.

Naturally, I have discovered there's more to it than a simple slider swap but after I finish the forks (notice the positive note there ) I have to clean and grease the steering head bearings, then set the preload. The linked brakes, the computer, and the extra control wiring make the XJ's front end more complicated to work on than the XS.

The bent forks haven't seen daylight for a while and there's a patina of oil on the sliders that I didn't notice when I stored them.



The air assembly is good but the Schrader valve got bent in the wreck, I'll use the assembly from my new XJ to test the forks.



I washed everything, then aired up the forks to ~15 psi and inverted them to keep the fork oil on the seals while I worked the sliders.
There's an oil ring on both stanchions. I'll wait and check them again later.



The rear shocks have to be flushed and the oil changed too. The shocks work, they hold air pressure and the damper wheel turns but they sound 'springy' like a Pogo stick when I bounce them, like they're low on oil or something. The XJ shocks I put on my '80G don't sound like that so they have to be checked before they have to be chucked.

[Bonz]

That sounds like a god plan Scott. You are doing a yeoman's job getting that bike ready for the summer!