Fork Oil

[Dr Nick]

Forks are off to be powdercoated and old forkseals are fooked so needs some new ones and some new fork oil, the hornet is very very soft on the front so what weight fork oil should i go for?


Thanks
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is that it

[ZRX61]

What weight was in there originally? Go up one grade....

[stinkwheel]

The oil just controlls the damping, the springs will still compress the same amount no matter what oil you use, just at a different rate.

Why not try experimenting with some bigger spacers on top of the springs, effectivley increasing the preload? You can make your own by cutting slices of blue alkathene water pipe with a hacksaw or just stack a pile of 2ps on top of the spring.

Progressive springs are good.
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[Frost]

15 would be best. 20 is too much for the road, and it's probably got 10 in it at the moment.

[mr.z]

What stinkwheel says, keep the standard stuff and stack some suitable sized change in there... about 4/6p in each? ()

or do both, maybe more frequant seal changes and harder ride, good for twisties, bad for potholes and cruiseing (i'm guessing so anyway)..

I think progressive springs can be got for <£100 which isn't bad for the huge difference they are supposed to make
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[satans_BIG_helper]

On average ive noticed a set of progressive springs cost between £50 and £80... as ive just ordered some for my GPZ750 fighter project....

[mchaggis]

Higher damping will slow the suspension response, making it feel harder. It'll also reduce the time the suspension bounces for at all.
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[Kickstart]

Hi

Trouble is that thicker oils do not work as well. Bit of a bodge really.

It you want to stiffen the front end slightly then fill the forks with slightly more oil than standard. More oil means a smaller amount of air, and it is the air that needs to compress when the forks compress.

All the best

Keith
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[satans_BIG_helper]

you dont want the heavy grade fork oil in on a bike thats on the road.... it will quite literally cause u to get ur teeth knocked out its pretty lethal doing that.. unless you weight like 30 stone

[bish777]

10 weight is about the best all round for most ive found.
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GSXR1100J

[Big Pete]

more preload (spacers) will decrease the static sag (the amount of fork travel used by the bike/riders own wieght), heavier oil will increase the damping (slower response after a bump) and will mean the forks effectively lock up over small high speed bumps. Automatic transmission oil (ATF) is usually about right for most forks and its easy and cheap to get. I would advise a bit of extra preload (5-10mm depending how big you are) and try some extra oil, start with 20cc additional oil in each fork and put in some more if needed. Extra oil effectively increases the spring rate of the forks (makes them stiffer) because it reduces the airspace in the stanchion. If this is a problem (or you have the cash to spare) heavier springs can be obtained from the likes of Maxton (do a google) HTH
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