Fork Oil Replacement Advice- What Works in Lieu ?

E

EncinoBoy

Full member
Location
British Columbia,Canada
Not having a motorcycle shop in my 'hood and needing to change old fluid what works and is commonly
available rather than the expensive small volume "motorcycle fork oil". I'm sure the oil is not NATO/Mil Spec
magic but allied to hydraulic systems. Collective Brain-Trust Assemble !

*no age old comments about extra virgin olive oil please
 
Engine oil and fork oil use different viscosity measurement methods. 10 wt fork oil is thinner than 10 wt engine oil, at any temperature. The suspension industry cannot even agree on a universal standard of measurement, each company’s 10 wt is of different viscosity.
 
I recall using ATF at one point way back in my stone age years. I prefer to use a dedicated fork oil and know what I'm getting ... it's not like we need multiple litres of the stuff.
 
My rationale is that I would have to order fork oil on-line and then wait for it in the mail...and at a hefty
cost per cc. I want something readily available at the local auto parts store or hardware that uses the same
formulation. No oil company stayed in business making telescopic motorcycle fork oil in small containers
alone. More oil thread just like Ducati bevel owners from 20 years ago...single grade vs. multigrade ...
 
I’m not sure dedicated fork oil was around in the Laverda era? Back in the day Honda specified ATF for their forks. It’s largely bollocks because after about a week in the fork leg it turns to foul smelling grey pissy gunge that bears no resemblance to what you put in.
I should think most peoples fork oil is years old .
 
Fork oil suits seal life, even Arctic seals. Replacing the fork seals is a huge pain; that's typically when you replace the fork oil unless you're sorting other damping issues. Seals wear out Approx every 10 years if you're lucky. I used ATF decades ago, but there are now lots of different types of ATF, so who knows how that goes. A litre of fork oil is $20 here, and that's every 10 years. Do you live a 1000 km from a bike shop or so far from postage, I get stuff from around the world in a week.
 
I can remember Penrite rep explaining mixing 20w with 10w for 15w as they didn’t make a 15w. Shell rep told me that same 10w40 engine oil was also sold as 10w fork oil & motocross/ racing gear box oil. He also reckoned the top two motor oils were exactly the same but one was sold at a higher price for customers who wanted the best oil money could buy…🤔
 
Schurminater said:
Ah so does the suspension raise when you turn on the ignition Paul?😁
Click to expand...
:ROFLMAO:My experience of Citroens is that they raise up when you start the engine, the ignition alone won't do it. But some adventure bike manufacturers (Triumph and H-D, maybe others) have adopted a similar idea and have bikes that lower for you to get on/off them easier...then rise up again for riding. Wait until the bikes get older and that goes wrong..😬
 
stevepm2011 said:
:ROFLMAO:My experience of Citroens is that they raise up when you start the engine, the ignition alone won't do it. But some adventure bike manufacturers (Triumph and H-D, maybe others) have adopted a similar idea and have bikes that lower for you to get on/off them easier...then rise up again for riding. Wait until the bikes get older and that goes wrong..😬
Click to expand...
Citroën with hydraulics of course raise when the motor is running because the hydraulic circuit needs to be pressurised.
They were excellent cars unfortunately phased out because of progress and uniformity.
Paul
 
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