fork oil change
 

Hey,

Have got the opportunity to change my fork oil while on the road but am up in the mountains high from anywhere. Can anyone tell me if this is advisable, i heard I might need spare seals.

Thanks, finian

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hi finian, how old is your XT600E? surely it doesnt need fork oil yet? i was thinking of changing mine to a heavier oil to make the front end less "bouncy" on the road. or change to progressive springs maybe. you may need new "O"rings on the fork caps.
by the way your mum sent me that cheque cheers mate, have a good trip,


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dave

[This message has been edited by DAVSATO (edited 04 July 2003).]

Hello Finian, go home and do the fork oil change there quietly. Don't start messing with it under way unless it's really necessary.

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Fred, XTZ660, Holland.

Well, I´m always in the middle of nowhere so have got to change it sometime. It´s a 96 model. What grade of oil are you thinking of Dave? Was also thinking of progressive springs, let me know if you find a cheap supply. I know you can order them direct from White Power.

Thanks,

Finian

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If you haven't changed the oil in a LONG time. You will probably notice a huge improvement in the damping with the oem parts will just fresh fluid.

However, if its very dirty and your just draining it with out disassembly, you may need to change it once again very soon. To properly flush all old fluid and debris. Fluid is not very expensive.

BUt, I know fresh fluid always makes any suspension feel like new again.

Thanks,
Todd BEllew


[This message has been edited by Todd Bellew (edited 06 July 2003).]

Hein Gericke has multigrade [10W20] fork oil which works perfectly with WP progressive springs. In winter it behaves like 10W [comfort!] and in summer and with strong abuse like 20W [damping!].
What do you mean Fianaian that you are always in the middle of nowhere? Do you live in the bush or are you on a trip rtw?

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Fred, XTZ660, Holland.

Hi,

Yes am on a trip at the moment and won´t be going home for a while. To do a proper fork oil change and disassembly should I order any parts (ie. seals) other than oil before starting then?

Thanks, Finian

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I'd say no, just let the old oil out and put the new in. Make sure you unscrew the screws that hold the fork legs in the upper anchor plate before unscrewing the caps, and that you measure the air chamber with fork legs closed.

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Fred, XTZ660, Holland.

Hi, just make sure that the dealer gives you the right set of seals...

My 1VJ´s fork imitated a waterfall with suprising likeness after mounting the wrong seals.

The change however is not that hard, but there is an error in the Clymer manual in the assembly portion.

The oil seal and the dust seal are NOT to be mounted on top of each other under the clip.

There is only room for the oil seal.

Mount the oil seal, then the clip and then the dust seal.

(this is on an -86 1VJ of course!)

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Rikard the Swede

i use my bike almost all the time on good roads, and i want to get rid of that "off road rebound" in the forks, makes me seasick in town!!
what would work best, progressive springs, heavier fork oil or must i do both at once?

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dave

Progressive springs give you the best of both worlds, comfort on normal roads and sturdyness on rough roads. I can advise multigrade fork oil like the 10W20 from Hein Gericke.

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Fred, XTZ660, Holland.