Supertee123
Member
Any recommendations what weight oil to use,I know OEM is close to a 5W but over time viscosity will drop so would I be better off on a 10W oil,I ride in road,any thoughts on this .
Thanks folks.
Thanks folks.
Any recommendations what weight oil to use,I know OEM is close to a 5W but over time viscosity will drop so would I be better off on a 10W oil,I ride in road,any thoughts on this .
Thanks folks.
This ^^^^ Forget about 5W or 10W oil, use the viscosity that best matches the OE suspension fluid.Neither. Here’s a link to a good explanation on fork oil. I followed things the best I could with Redline oil and got good results on my 2014 non-es. Towards the bottom it lists various manufacturers and their wt.
Hi Tabasco1) What do you weigh ?
2) Is the valve stack stock ?
3) Are the forks totally stock ?
4) How many miles (Km) on your stock springs?
5) In the past have you found the front end to be soft / great / firm ?
6) How many miles (Km) between your fork oil changes?
Also dont forget you can get different ride characteristics not only with the weight of the oil but the + or - in oil volume and the air chamber left in the top of the fork. This aspect will also hinge on how specific and exacting someone is with this "volume".
IMOP, With 37 years motorcycle service experience, I suggest that you not just throw the volume of oil a manufacture tells you to use and ride down the road. What I mean is, if a manufacture tells you that a fork holds XXXXX oil, dont just measure this out, pour it in, put the top cap on and go ride. What I would suggest is the XXXXX is a really good starting point. Work this in and get all the air and 'froth' out of the oil once its in the leg. Then measure the volume. 99% it wont be correct, sometimes is WAY off. Then dial in if you want stock height or you would like to change the performance a little by adding or taking a bit of volume in / out.
For example, the last time I tore down my forks to clean, re fresh, and oil change I worked for several hours to get all the air out of the rebound side of the fork. After this period of time I was 99% I had all the air out. I let it sit over night to rest. The next day I checked it again and spent maybe 30 minutes with this same fork and I did get a few more small bubbles out. After all this I was able to use the proper tools to check and re check the volume. If I had not worked on getting all this air out the oil volume would have been way off... (going back to the settings I made notes of would have been way off... it would have been wrong and the ride characteristics would have been screwed up.)
Tabasco front and rear suspension is OEM standard,this will be my second fork rebuild from 80000km now 125000km so well overdue.1) What do you weigh ?
2) Is the valve stack stock ?
3) Are the forks totally stock ?
4) How many miles (Km) on your stock springs?
5) In the past have you found the front end to be soft / great / firm ?
6) How many miles (Km) between your fork oil changes?
Also dont forget you can get different ride characteristics not only with the weight of the oil but the + or - in oil volume and the air chamber left in the top of the fork. This aspect will also hinge on how specific and exacting someone is with this "volume".
IMOP, With 37 years motorcycle service experience, I suggest that you not just throw the volume of oil a manufacture tells you to use and ride down the road. What I mean is, if a manufacture tells you that a fork holds XXXXX oil, dont just measure this out, pour it in, put the top cap on and go ride. What I would suggest is the XXXXX is a really good starting point. Work this in and get all the air and 'froth' out of the oil once its in the leg. Then measure the volume. 99% it wont be correct, sometimes is WAY off. Then dial in if you want stock height or you would like to change the performance a little by adding or taking a bit of volume in / out.
For example, the last time I tore down my forks to clean, re fresh, and oil change I worked for several hours to get all the air out of the rebound side of the fork. After this period of time I was 99% I had all the air out. I let it sit over night to rest. The next day I checked it again and spent maybe 30 minutes with this same fork and I did get a few more small bubbles out. After all this I was able to use the proper tools to check and re check the volume. If I had not worked on getting all this air out the oil volume would have been way off... (going back to the settings I made notes of would have been way off... it would have been wrong and the ride characteristics would have been screwed up.)