SuzukiSavage.com - What type of fluid do I put in my front forks.

gdrseeker Senior Member Offline Addicted!! Posts: 365 Carson Valley NV	What type of fluid do I put in my front forks. 02/10/13 at 00:50:45 I am replacing my fork seals sometime this week. Any suggestions on what type of fluid I should replace in the fork tubes? I haven’t looked in Clymers yet, I would guess they list it there, but I know sometimes there are alternatives and better products.
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Gyrobob Serious Thumper Offline Posers ain't motorcyclists Posts: 2571 Newnan, GA Gender:	Re: What type of fluid do I put in my front forks. Reply #1 - 02/10/13 at 02:51:14 Any standard motorcycle fork oil, or, for way cheaper, ATF.
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Dave YaBB Moderator ModSquad Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 18099 Camp Springs, Kentucky Gender:	Re: What type of fluid do I put in my front forks. Reply #2 - 02/10/13 at 03:17:35 The manual call for 15w fork oil......but Gyrobog is right.....ATF can be used if you don't go buy fork oil.
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Serowbot YaBB Moderator ModSquad Offline OK.... so what's the speed of dark? Posts: 28660 Tucson Az Gender:	Re: What type of fluid do I put in my front forks. Reply #3 - 02/10/13 at 07:46:01 ATF is about 13wt... and will work fine...
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verslagen1

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Re: What type of fluid do I put in my front forks.
Reply #4 - 02/10/13 at 08:51:44

This is one of those things that you hopefully will never have to change again... so choose wisely my friend.

ATF is required for my honda, so I wouldn't hesitate to use it if that's all that could be gotten.

Fork oil can be had in many flavors. So if you're unhappy with the current action now's the time to think about it.

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Re: What type of fluid do I put in my front forks.
Reply #5 - 02/10/13 at 19:22:04

verslagen1 wrote on 02/10/13 at 08:51:44:

This is one of those things that you hopefully will never have to change again... so choose wisely my friend.

ATF is required for my honda, so I wouldn't hesitate to use it if that's all that could be gotten.

Fork oil can be had in many flavors. So if you're unhappy with the current action now's the time to think about it.

Good point Versy! Over on the KZ400/440 site most of the guys are building cafe style scooters,many of them for street or vintage racing. They have used a wide variety of oils in the forks,testing them for many speeds,styles of riding and even weather conditions. It's amazing the difference between types and weights of oils as they function to absorb shock and the speeds they compress or release the tubes.

It appears fork oils/springs/lengths and rake is a complete science to itself.

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Re: What type of fluid do I put in my front forks.
Reply #6 - 02/10/13 at 21:15:40

I run Dexron 3 in mine, have for several years. I'm 230 pounds, BUT, I probably run more than the book calls for volume wise. I drained the forks, collapsed them and filled the tubes to the top. Then extended them, dropped in the fork guts and reassembled. Almost as stiff as a dirt bike fork for a couple years, has gradually softened up as the oil has aged. I'd try Type F but it will compromise the fork seals and mine have been leaky since the day I bought the bike brand new in 1998. Something about pulling the front end off the ground that our fork seals don't like... actually, flying them is fine, they don't like coming back down too well... Roll Eyes

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