SRAD fork oil change

[gammaguy]

A flush with clean oil is cheaper than labour to pull them out, then apart.

Done regularly, the old fluid shouldn't have fuck all contaminants in it other than water...And that shit starts getting in to the fluid as soon as you crack the seal on the bottle it's coming out of.

I've rebuilt more forks in my time than many and the main contaminant I found was actually from the bushes where they rub on metal parts and a small amount of rust and water

I suspect Mr Taylor will be along shortly to confirm this

[Drew]

I've rebuilt more forks in my time than many and the main contaminant I found was actually from the bushes where they rub on metal parts and a small amount of rust and water

I suspect Mr Taylor will be along shortly to confirm this

If there's no play, then a flush with clean fluid will get rid of most of the bush dust and everything should be fine.

I'm all for people changing fluid in their suspension as often as their motors. I just don't think that it needs to be quite so costly as a shop might charge.

On right way up forks in particular. (Even though contemporary convention is upside down....so right way up would now be upside down).

[SVboy]

If there's no play, then a flush with clean fluid will get rid of most of the bush dust and everything should be fine.

I'm all for people changing fluid in their suspension as often as their motors. I just don't think that it needs to be quite so costly as a shop might charge.

On right way up forks in particular. (Even though contemporary convention is upside down....so right way up would now be upside down).

I totally agree with this-it is straight forward to do a fluid change on GSXR 600/750 k6 on usd forks, and doing it regularly means you dont have to fully strip forks as often. And yes-doing it yourself is a lot cheaper and encourages you to do it more often. Pity servicing REAR shocks is not so straight forward........

[SMOKEU]

Pity servicing REAR shocks is not so straight forward........

Which is something my Ohlins rear shock probably needs doing next. Is it worth buying some sort of rebuild kit on eBay for the rear shock?

[AllanB]

Which is something my Ohlins rear shock probably needs doing next. Is it worth buying some sort of rebuild kit on eBay for the rear shock?

I change the fork fluid on my Horny - easy job, just take your time and pump out the old stuff. Something I'll do every three years or so must be close to replacing again and it will be a good excuse for me to use that spiffy fork oil measuring tool I picked up some time back

Rear - I'd contact Mr Taylor for a quote and book it in as $ and time permits. He will have all the parts on hand and it will come back feeling new after he has 'fettled' it.

[SVboy]

I change the fork fluid on my Horny - easy job, just take your time and pump out the old stuff. Something I'll do every three years or so must be close to replacing again and it will be a good excuse for me to use that spiffy fork oil measuring tool I picked up some time back

Rear - I'd contact Mr Taylor for a quote and book it in as $ and time permits. He will have all the parts on hand and it will come back feeling new after he has 'fettled' it.

This is good advice.

[SMOKEU]

My workshop manual says "use # 10 oil" for the fron forks. This is the same as 10W, right? For normal road riding there's no need to go for a different grade is there?

[Drew]

My workshop manual says "use # 10 oil" for the fron forks. This is the same as 10W, right? For normal road riding there's no need to go for a different grade is there?

Here's where it gets tricky. The weight of the oil is not the important one to watch for.

What you actually want to use for working out what oil to use, is the centistoke rating. http://mahonkin.com/~milktree/motorcycles/fork-oil.html is a great chart for fork oils.

Knowing what rating you want, is where the good doctor Bob comes in.

[Robert Taylor]

I totally agree with this-it is straight forward to do a fluid change on GSXR 600/750 k6 on usd forks, and doing it regularly means you dont have to fully strip forks as often. And yes-doing it yourself is a lot cheaper and encourages you to do it more often. Pity servicing REAR shocks is not so straight forward........

Given the number of people out there with the finesse of an elephant Id say its just as well they are not as easy..............

[willytheekid]

Given the number of people out there with the finesse of an elephant Id say its just as well they are not as easy..............

And given the fact that Smoku asked for help to change a broken front brake lever a few weeks back, Im absolutely amazed that some on here think its wise to guild him through a front fork rebuild!..when he has, no tools!, no mechanical experiance and an old bike that has repeatedly proven the importance of regular maintenance!, and more so, the effects of NOT doing regular maintenance!
Those forks WILL be a bloody mess inside due to lack of maintenance and age of the bike, just go see rodger and ask him to walk you through the fork rebuild while he does it...he's a nice guy and will happily do so if you ask, and watching an experianced mechanic do a COMPLETE clean out, flush and rebuild would be the best way to learn whats actually involved.
No offence to Smoku, but if a simple brake level replacement resulted in a call for help....then a fork rebuild is not the next step in the do-it yourself learning curve, you assemble them wrong or damage shit during the repair process...its gonna either hurt!, or cost a shit load to get fixed afterwards.


...yes, to those of us with some spanner experiance a fork oil swap out is not that challenging, but to a young chap with little to NO experiance...sorry team, gotta disagree with the "encouragement" thus far
...Im just looking out for the kids safety...not his wallet!

[Robert Taylor]

And given the fact that Smoku asked for help to change a broken front brake lever a few weeks back, Im absolutely amazed that some on here think its wise to guild him through a front fork rebuild!..when he has, no tools!, no mechanical experiance and an old bike that has repeatedly proven the importance of regular maintenance!, and more so, the effects of NOT doing regular maintenance!
Those forks WILL be a bloody mess inside due to lack of maintenance and age of the bike, just go see rodger and ask him to walk you through the fork rebuild while he does it...he's a nice guy and will happily do so if you ask, and watching an experianced mechanic do a COMPLETE clean out, flush and rebuild would be the best way to learn whats actually involved.
No offence to Smoku, but if a simple brake level replacement resulted in a call for help....then a fork rebuild is not the next step in the do-it yourself learning curve, you assemble them wrong or damage shit during the repair process...its gonna either hurt!, or cost a shit load to get fixed afterwards.


...yes, to those of us with some spanner experiance a fork oil swap out is not that challenging, but to a young chap with little to NO experiance...sorry team, gotta disagree with the "encouragement" thus far
...Im just looking out for the kids safety...not his wallet!

AND OTHER ROAD USERS IN THE PATH OF BADLY MAINTAINED / DANGEROUS VEHICLES. If anyone ( not targeting any one person ) is silly enough to risk their own well being or even life through abysmal maintenance etc then there is no hope for them. But its the innocent road users in their path that I would feel sorry for. I also wonder aloud how much of said nonsense has over the years conspired to ramp up ACC levies? It easy in that respect to blame the Government and everyone else when clearly the motorcycle community at large has plenty of its own failings.....

I beg to differ a little about fork oil changes and inspection etc. Especially with cartridge type forks. The devil is very much in the detail and I make no apologies in saying that experience is everything. As is having a high degree of finesse and not cutting corners

[Robert Taylor]

Which is something my Ohlins rear shock probably needs doing next. Is it worth buying some sort of rebuild kit on eBay for the rear shock?

You will pay more that way. Rebuild parts for Ohlins here in NZ are cheap and you get to support locals who plough their small profits back into the local community, for the good of the local community.

[willytheekid]

AND OTHER ROAD USERS IN THE PATH OF BADLY MAINTAINED / DANGEROUS VEHICLES. If anyone ( not targeting any one person ) is silly enough to risk their own well being or even life through abysmal maintenance etc then there is no hope for them. But its the innocent road users in their path that I would feel sorry for. I also wonder aloud how much of said nonsense has over the years conspired to ramp up ACC levies? It easy in that respect to blame the Government and everyone else when clearly the motorcycle community at large has plenty of its own failings.....

I beg to differ a little about fork oil changes and inspection etc. Especially with cartridge type forks. The devil is very much in the detail and I make no apologies in saying that experience is everything. As is having a high degree of finesse and not cutting corners

+1

Ive gotta give it to smoku, he bought an aging sport bike that had obviously had a...well used life...and he's got the thing nearly all sorted!, from swing arm bearings, engine and carbs all sorted and list goes on and on...hes done bloody well!

Its a really nice bike, and he's a nice guy, hence I don't want things to go pear shaped, so I firmly believe he should learn some of the more useful daily mechanical skills such as general maintenance etc, before even attempting such things as front fork rebuilds etc...and not having the correct tools is also a huge factor towards a possible mistake
...use the professionals and there decades of acquired skills , theirs certainly no shame in getting the job done perfectly!, and for a reasonable price.

[SMOKEU]

+1file:///usr/share/doc/HTML/index.html

Ive gotta give it to smoku, he bought an aging sport bike that had obviously had a...well used life...and he's got the thing nearly all sorted!, from swing arm bearings, engine and carbs all sorted and list goes on and on...hes done bloody well!

Its a really nice bike, and he's a nice guy, hence I don't want things to go pear shaped, so I firmly believe he should learn some of the more useful daily mechanical skills such as general maintenance etc, before even attempting such things as front fork rebuilds etc...and not having the correct tools is also a huge factor towards a possible mistake
...use the professionals and there decades of acquired skills , theirs certainly no shame in getting the job done perfectly!, and for a reasonable price.

I only do what I know I can do on my own, including: engine oil and filter, engine coolant, brake fluid, spark plugs, air filter, fuel hose and filters, chain lube and adjustment. That way I don't get part way through something without being able to finish it, because I'd rather be able to ride my bike to Roger than to have it in bits and then organise a trailer/truck/van to take it over there.