Change Fork Oil Every 6000 miles ...?

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Moto Guzzi specifies changing out the fork oil every 6K. This seems excessively frequent to me. Even the maintenance intensive Ducati's I owned spec'd either 12K or 18K, can't remember. Ducati used Sachs forks. Guzzi used Marzocchi at the time they made my motorcycle.

I'm considering only doing it every 12K.
 
Originally Posted by 02SE
If you change it at all, you'd be doing better than most M/C owners.
True. For most, only time the fork oil gets changed is when the seals go bad.

I am lucky, my Shadow has drains on the forks, making it much easier to do. I can change it without removing the forks.
 
Originally Posted by LoneRanger
Moto Guzzi specifies changing out the fork oil every 6K. This seems excessively frequent to me. Even the maintenance intensive Ducati's I owned spec'd either 12K or 18K, can't remember. Ducati used Sachs forks. Guzzi used Marzocchi at the time they made my motorcycle.

I'm considering only doing it every 12K.

Wait till you drain it and see how nasty that fluid looks/...
 
Were they decent enough to put drain plugs on the bottoms of the forks so you can easily service them? The only bike I've owned with that feature was a 87 Honda XL600R.
 
I would change the oil to see what it looks like. New, clean oil is happy oil.
 
Removal the tubes from the triple clamps or disassemble the tubes like you are going to replace the seals type of disassembly?
 
As said, most bikes only get the fork oil changed when the seals need replacing. Since the forks have to come out, I'd do it at the same time as you fit a new front tyre (tire), and then every second tyre (tire) change after that. The factory fork oil is always disgusting for some reason, makes your hands stink for days if you forget to glove up first!
 
My 2009 Superglide shop manual says to change at 50,000 miles. No leaks or weeping and it rides fine. I had the dealers 40,000 mile checkup last month and they said to wait until 50,000 miles to change the fork oil. It's at 40,000 now so I'll change it at 50,000.
 
I don't know what forks you have...but some have a drain above the axle, you need to remove the front wheel to access.
 
Originally Posted by CT8
Removal the tubes from the triple clamps or disassemble the tubes like you are going to replace the seals type of disassembly?


Cartridge forks require removal from the triple clamps, and partial disassembly of the forks, but not quite as in-depth as seal replacement. They aren't that difficult, but they do require specialized tools.

The old damper rod forks often have drain plugs, making oil changes easy while still installed on the bike. The downside is that they don't work as well as cartridge forks.
 
Originally Posted by CT8
Removal the tubes from the triple clamps or disassemble the tubes like you are going to replace the seals type of disassembly?


Yes
 
Do they specifiy steering head bearing service too? Sometimes these things are on the same intervals. 6K seems pretty quick and I would look for other reasons to do it such as things needing to be examined when apart. i would probably at least do the first one with a tire change as someone mentioned. HDs do have a much longer interval than any metric that I have owned. And, yeah, the old drain plugs sure made life easier.
 
The grease in the steering head bearings doesn't deteriorate as quickly as the fork oil, so service intervals are generally much longer.

As far as HD's, the irony is that they've used "metric" suspension (Showa, the main supplier for Honda) for a long time.
 
I usually change the fork oil once every 20-25k km.
Every time I change it I say that once again I neglected it..it is full of metal shavings, seen clearly with a strong flashlight. No hard use of the bike, seals and scrapers also working perfectly. Normal wear.
 
Originally Posted by LoneRanger
No drains. Requires disassembly of fork.


I feel your pain. Harley USED to have a drain from what I understand, no more. However HD doesnt recommend any fork oil change but does recommend front fork rebuild (with new fluid) at 50,000 miles.
 
Originally Posted by alarmguy
Originally Posted by LoneRanger
No drains. Requires disassembly of fork.


I feel your pain. Harley USED to have a drain from what I understand, no more. However HD doesnt recommend any fork oil change but does recommend front fork rebuild (with new fluid) at 50,000 miles.

HD done away with the fork drain screws in 2006. My 2009 Superglides owners manual and shop manual says to "replace" front fork oil at 50,000 miles. I'm assuming replace means to change. Not a mention of a rebuild or any parts being replaced except fork oil. Having said that, when I reach 50K I'll probably do the rebuild since the forks have to come off anyway.
 
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I think that HD 50k drain interval is even crazier than the 6k interval. HD specs a 20k interval for '00 Road King, which seems about right for that bike, maybe 25k at the high end, by then it's pretty nasty looking. At 50k, no way that oil resembles anything most of us would even remotely consider using in our bike. But I guess you have to keep in mind how many HD's ever hit 50k, maybe 5-10% of them?

Any OP, you seem pretty meticulous with you maintenance habits, I'd say continue with your gut and try to push that interval out after the first change. 12k really isn't that much. Think there's any chance Guzzi is thinking most of their users aren't going to do that many miles in the first place, therefore they're just addressing the first fork oil change?
 
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