Ordered all the parts for my fork refurb from Fowlers (£137)!!
What viscosity of fork oil do you suggest?
My riding weight is about 100kg..
Oh and how much oil should I buy for both forks ??
Thanks in advance
Changed oil on mine k2. I used 10w oil as I am 120 kg :smoke: You will need cca 1.2 litre. :cheers:
That ^^
It's 576ml or something daft per leg, but it's more accurate to do via the air gap.
Thank you both..
I will buy 2 litres of the 10W stuff
Thanks again
I use 10w.
5W oil is the recommended standard from Suzuki, and what the handbook recommends. Many use 10W, personally I preferred the 5W Castrol Synthetic Fork Oil, little dearer but works a lot "quicker" than normal oil, so good for roads that are not so smooth as the fork can react quicker to the bumps etc
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Castrol-Synthetic-Motorcycle-Bike-Suspension-Fork-Oil-5W-500ml/142673285610?epid=15011414387&hash=item2137fd91ea:g:XW0AAOSwRE5acCsz
Putting 10W oil in will make the fork react slower. Practically its not the way to "adjust" your fork movement, use the recommended 5W oil and then use the adjusters on your forks to fine tune how you want them to work / work for your weight.
Oil/Air gap (the way to set them) is 108mm
Unlike motor oil, there is no viscosity standard for fork oil. Brand A's 10W is Brand B's 5W. If you want a apple-to-apple comparison you need to look at the viscositiy the oil has at 40°C (cSt@40°C). SUZUKI FORK OIL L01 (the one recommended in the Workshop Manual) has 15.50 cSt@40°C. As was suggested here, it is a 5W oil. Let's say you replace it with 10W from Castrol. Will that increase your damping? NO! The 10W from Castrol has only 15.00 cSt@40°C. To make matters even more complicated, the Castrol Synthetic Fork Oil 5W has 28 cSt@40°C and in 10W it is 42.00 The 7.5W Motorex Racing Fork Oil has 35.9 cSt@40°C while the 10W Silikolene Fork Oil has 34.90 cSt@40°C.
Here are a couple charts listing a bunch of fork oils and their cSt@40°C http://www.peterverdone.com/wiki/index.php?title=Suspension_Fluid (http://www.peterverdone.com/wiki/index.php?title=Suspension_Fluid) http://mahonkin.com/~milktree/motorcycle/fork-oil.html (http://mahonkin.com/~milktree/motorcycle/fork-oil.html)
You need to check the manufacturers' data sheets to be sure not to get oranges instead of apples.
I am about 100kg and will put in a 22.7 cSt@40°C over the weekend. I expect to use a slightly stiffer compression/rebound setting over the standard settings. Will see how it goes.
A few good words from an experienced suspension guy on fork oil: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXRxxmvBHCQ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXRxxmvBHCQ):
Heavier oil will increase the effective damping, in other words the forks will move up and down a little slower and feel stiffer. Lighter weight oil will do the opposite, allowing the forks to move up and down faster and feel softer.
So, I am heavy and often have passenger and luggage and sometimes it is too heavy for my bike's suspension. With 10w oil I found that I can adjust damping and rebound to cope with extra weight. Not sure is it really a benefit using 10w oil but my feeling is that fork is stiffer.
And one more thing to mix your heads...
Mineral base oils are MOSTLY more gentle to oil seals, but synthetic base oils CAN have additives for longer seal life :stir:
Quote from: T 24 on Friday, 06 July 2018, 01:28 AM
And one more thing to mix your heads...
Mineral base oils are MOSTLY more gentle to oil seals, but synthetic base oils CAN have additives for longer seal life :stir:
:facepalm: now we have one more thing to debate...
Can you get blue and white oil
:stir:
I put candy blue 10w oil in my fork so it moves faster, just like if I used 5w :stir:
I just use 10w in the left and 5w in the right ..... it just saves me having to decide !! :stir:
Quote from: seth on Friday, 06 July 2018, 01:46 AM
Can you get blue and white oil
:stir:
Blue and white is the fastest oil, but black oil is spoilt :laugh:
The way I ride I doubt I will nkotice any difference whatever grade I use..
I still say may 4 pots are way better than my 6 pots.. :hat:
Then you need thinker oil to help stop it diving I'd use some of that yellowy/Brown oil that goes black when it's worn out.
:cheers:
Quote from: Speedy1959 on Friday, 06 July 2018, 02:52 AM
The way I ride I doubt I will nkotice any difference whatever grade I use..
I still say may 4 pots are way better than my 6 pots.. :hat:
Does it stop better with flyscreen or without it? :devil:
With obviously, it's an airbrake after all!
Now then, do you get more engine braking with normal or expensive petrol? (I already know the answer to this)
I know you know the answer! Obviously it depends does it run external fuel filter or not! :cheers:
Oh no, it's much more boring that that I must admit :onya:
6 pots, 4 pots or are we just crackpots. must be an answer.
The later :happy1:
Speak for yourself, i'm perfectly sane for a given value of teapot.
Quote from: Hooli on Friday, 06 July 2018, 10:32 PM
Speak for yourself, i'm perfectly sane for a given value of teapot.
:rofl2: :rofl2:
Here's a comparison between fork oils:
https://transmoto.com.au/comparative-oil-weights-table/
When I changed the fork oil I wasn't sure what to use (Suzuki spec their own L01) so I picked what I thought would be a mid weight oil with Silkolene RSF 7.5wt.
As you can see in the table the Suzuki stuff comes in at 15.5Cst, whereas the Silkolene is up at over 37Cst, so way too thick.
Next time I did the fork oil I used the Rock Oil SVI 05 which is a bit heavier than OEM at 22Cst, and transformed the handling, particularly the rebound which with the thicker oil made the front feel like it was barely touching the ground under acceleration.
Andre's post is very useful & informative. I put 10w oil in mine when I changed it, namely because a lot on the old forum were doing it & recommended it. Then barmy & Alphadave said I should have stuck to 5w. Bugger, done it wrong. But no, Andres post explains it really well, as it happens I used Castrol 10w which has the same Cst rating as Suzuki 5w - both 15.
Cool, now I'm good with the oil I put in & can safely go get some more & use it next time. Thanks Andre.
Quote from: Dusty ST on Friday, 06 July 2018, 11:35 PM
Here's a comparison between fork oils:
https://transmoto.com.au/comparative-oil-weights-table/
I think their data about Rockoil maybe a bit out dated.
https://www.rockoil.co.uk/cm/images/pdf/techdata/SVI_Suspension_Range.pdf
I just bought the SVI 7.5 and now thinking should I change to SVI 5...
Me and the passenger are around 110KG + 10KG topcase, any suggestion ?
I'd stick to the SVI 7.5; hasn't changed much. If you don't like it you can always change again :)
When I renewed my springs (Hagon) they supplied the Rock Oil SVI 10 which I must say I didnt care for..
A few days ago I removed it and replaced with Rock Oil SVI 7.5 which is just right .. Not too hot.. Not too cold, but just right.
I think I need therapy !
We all need therapy Simon :)
My therapy session is scheduled for tomorrow. 200-300 km should do the trick 'till next session :boogie:
Quote from: rollerfish01 on Wednesday, 15 August 2018, 12:03 AM
Quote from: Dusty ST on Friday, 06 July 2018, 11:35 PM
Here's a comparison between fork oils:
https://transmoto.com.au/comparative-oil-weights-table/
I think their data about Rockoil maybe a bit out dated.
https://www.rockoil.co.uk/cm/images/pdf/techdata/SVI_Suspension_Range.pdf
I just bought the SVI 7.5 and now thinking should I change to SVI 5...
Me and the passenger are around 110KG + 10KG topcase, any suggestion ?
jeez! I'm more than you & your passenger (and luggage)
without riding gear on! My poor bike - it's always 2 up with me on it.
😂😂 I know that feeling KiwiCol
I alone ame more than that includding the top box and I run 10 in my forks