Fork Oil Tip

[davidsymons53]

I change the for fork oil on my bike. I didn't like the idea of the oil getting everywhere when I loosened up the drain bolts. I had some plastic bags left over from newspaper delivery so duct taped a bag each fork. When I loosened the the bolts I did get a few drops onto the cardboard under the bike, but when the bolts were out I used another piece of duct tape to lift the bag up over the drain hole. As you see in the pictures the oil drained into the bags and made for a very easy cleanup.





David

[motoman]

Works for a 'shade tree' fork overhaul.......looks to be ATF.........not a good choice for correct, smooth, consistant dampening........but works, after a fashion...

[BA80]

That's what I'm using. It works just fine.

It's actually a higher quality oil and about the same weight.

Besides, there's a 55 gallon drum of it here at work and it doesn't cost me anything.

[cywelchjr]

That's what I'm using. It works just fine.

It's actually a higher quality oil and about the same weight.

Besides, there's a 55 gallon drum of it here at work and it doesn't cost me anything.

I'm not sure it's a higher quality oil than the good dedicated fork oils, and certainly not as well matched to the job (just as fork oil is not as well match to the job of running an automatic transmission). I personally run silcolene in mine, and it actually looks a little like transmission fluid, but it's not, and it has some different formulations specific to the job it's doing in the forks just as transmission fluid does for the job it does.

This said, I used to repurpose fluids that came in bulk when I was poor in the army (as vs poor out of the army where I don't have access to the bulk stuff ). Never very much stuff, but topping off a transmission or rear end etc. Some guys went overboard, with putting mogas (the crap military gas we used in jeeps) in their cars, I wasn't going to do that to my car, and also felt that was going too far, as taking 10 to 15 gallons of gas a month is a lot different than 8 oz of 90wt trans grease once a year or so, and maybe a cup or two of 50% antifreeze if I was in a bind, but I usually replaced that when I had a chance to go to the store, and this was all only overseas, where getting the stuff on our own was very hard, cause germans for the most part are NOT allowed to work on their own vehicles, they are required to pay a mechanic to do everything, and can't even buy parts etc, so getting anything but gas was very difficult.

[davidsymons53]

It is 15 weight fork oil I bought at our cycle shop. I was surprised that it was red.

David

[Nubian]

I ride year round, what weight synthetic oil should I use in my forks?

[cywelchjr]

I ride year round, what weight synthetic oil should I use in my forks?

What part of the east and how is the bike going to be configured? I believe you are running without the fairing and such right? Depending on where you are, most of the U.S. outside of the snow belt would probably do fine with 10wt, although I run 15wt but that's with my fat butt and a vetter fairing a full dress kit on the bike and with air pressure still in the forks. If you drop the air pressure out of the forks you might also want to go up to the 15wt, but if you keep the air in there the 10wt should be fine. BTW, the 81H came from the factory with progressive springs in the forks.

So if they are OEM springs, not only should the be the length for non-air (even though they are air, it's not really air that determines it, it's standard or special), but they should be wound at a different rate at the different ends of the springs.

[davidsymons53]

I use 15 weight because I am a "big fella", a quote from my orthopedic surgeon.

David

[cywelchjr]

I use 15 weight because I am a "big fella", a quote from my orthopedic surgeon.

David

I fit that too, and have a BIG fairing on the front of the bike as well. Plus with the vetter bags on the bike, both me AND the bike have big butts .

[Nubian]

What part of the east and how is the bike going to be configured? I believe you are running without the fairing and such right? Depending on where you are, most of the U.S. outside of the snow belt would probably do fine with 10wt, although I run 15wt but that's with my fat butt and a vetter fairing a full dress kit on the bike and with air pressure still in the forks. If you drop the air pressure out of the forks you might also want to go up to the 15wt, but if you keep the air in there the 10wt should be fine. BTW, the 81H came from the factory with progressive springs in the forks.

So if they are OEM springs, not only should the be the length for non-air (even though they are air, it's not really air that determines it, it's standard or special), but they should be wound at a different rate at the different ends of the springs.

I thought the progressive's were an upgrade. Did I waste money, could I have just added some spacers on the originals?
Upstate New York, 6'2" 220lbs, ride double occasionally. Any second now will mount original hard saddlebags and a portable Saddlemen's BR3400 trunk bag for long road trips and may add original fairing later on, much later on.

[cywelchjr]

I thought the progressive's were an upgrade. Did I waste money, could I have just added some spacers on the originals?
Upstate New York, 6'2" 220lbs, ride double occasionally. Any second now will mount original hard saddlebags and a portable Saddlemen's BR3400 trunk bag for long road trips and may add original fairing later on, much later on.

With the originals you NEED the air pressure for the bike to handle properly. With the aftermarket progressives they are setup to handle the weight of the bike mostly without air, but with the H model the only way to adjust the preload is to add a spacer to the fork or add air as there is no preload adjustment like the earlier standard forks had so you can adjust your sag, which is done on the 80 and later standards by adjusting the air pressure in the forks (same as is done on stock specials). I have air ride front and rear on mine as I put the XJ rear shocks on which are air shocks, which made for a greatly improved ride and handling.