fork oil

[buck91]

I have heard a lot of talk about running std in place a dedicated fork oil. Any thoughts on this?

 

[Mackelroy]

nevermind, don't know what standard is

 

[abycat]

Do you mean stp? I have always got fork oil from the dealer that sells my bikes. Never had a problem. The amount you use per price is not worth shopping around and risking other oils. Just my two cents though.

 

[Lyman]

I always opt for the heavy duty fork oil. After it breaks down it's better than the stock wt oil.

 

[HerrStig]

Not something I'd want to experiment with.

 

[BigCahuna]

Alot of older bikes ran ATF in there forks. Find out what the factory recommended before you just put any ol oil in there.,,,,

 

[Silk]

I always use ATF, it's SAE 10, I also use hydraulic oil, ISO32 is SAE 10 too.

 

[barryk52]

I use BelRAy fork oil and change it at least every year. I've got 50K miles on an SV650 that still has the original fork seals.

Some of the fork oil changes were due to fitting of stiffer fork springs and installation of modified damping valves (emulators). In any case, I'm convinced that having fresh oil in the forks is a very good idea; they perform better and wear is certainly reduced.

 

[Franklim]

Is Maxima fork oil good for road use ??

 

[Mackelroy]

what is the oem oil in the fork?

That makes a big difference in finding an aftermarket selection.

 

[benjy]

fork fluids vary widely + there is no standard for its thickness vs advertized weight. in other words one manufacturers 10 wt can be lighter than another 7.5 wt. you need the centistoke spec. go to peterverdone/suspension fluids for more insite. if your satisfied with the feel of the forks get the same fluid. cartridge forks require different fluid than damper rods

 

[Smoky14]

http://mahonkin.com/~milktree/motorcycles/fork-oil.html

Here is a chart that may help.
Smoky

 

[Franklim]

Thanks for the link.Just changed to Maxima 15w fork oil on my bike. Nice.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Dude on another forum uses ATF (usually, Chrysler 7176/ATF+4) as fork oil...I told my uncle that, and found he'd been doing the same (ATF or hydraulic PTO oil) for years, on many bikes. He filled the forks of his 1978 Yamaha Triple with ATF+4. (And he;'d love to ride it...but the snowbank in front of the garage is still 4' high!)

Note that ALL Chrysler ATF+4 is synthetic.

 

[Ken2]

The only ATF spec that would matter is the viscosity. The older standard ATFs were close to 10 wt. Modern ATFs like Dex-VI or MerconLV are a bit thinner. Whether it is +4 or Dex or anything else is meaningless--those are mainly about the friction characteristics for the clutches used in those transmissions.

Yes, new fork oil can work better than old, nasty fork oil. A lighter viscosity will give less damping; a higher viscosity will give more damping.

I wish motorcycle makers would switch to the centiStoke spec and stop using the poor "weight" spec.

 

[Cardenio327]

I use Mobil 1 ATF in mine.

Factory service manual has an icon with 'ATF' pointing at the forks.

 

[BusyLittleShop]

Suspension Oil Charts in cSt

 

[Cardenio327]

Originally Posted By: BusyLittleShop
Suspension Oil Charts in cSt

Thanks for the great chart. I see Mobil 1 ATF is almost identical in viscosity to Showa 888. Isn't Showa owned by Honda?

 

[BusyLittleShop]

Originally Posted By: Cardenio327


Thanks for the great chart. I see Mobil 1 ATF is almost identical in viscosity to Showa 888. Isn't Showa owned by Honda?


You're welcome... I can't establish ownership but 50% of Showa's business is with Honda...

 

[Silverado12]

I think Harley's front suspension is Showa too.