SuzukiSavage.com - fork oil?

batman Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 3806 osceola new york Gender:	fork oil? 09/01/16 at 11:56:20 Being not to organized ,I can't seem to find my Clymer's and need to know how many cc's of oil to use in draining and refilling the forks.I know you can use ATF but I'm not changing seals so I'd like to stay with oil,this leads me to the second question,what weight do I use ?
Back to top	my old work mates called me MacGyver IP Logged

verslagen1

YaBB Moderator
ModSquad

Offline

Where there's a
will, I want to be
in it.

Posts: 28886
L.A. California
Gender: male

Re: fork oil?
Reply #1 - 09/01/16 at 12:06:06

The answer in the tech section, fork seal replacement...

slavy wrote on 10/24/05 at 23:11:37:

If You play Your cards right it is a piece of cake.

You will need a piece of PVC pipe with an inner diameter 38mm to drive the new fork seal. You can get it in the plumbing section of almost every ACE or Home Depot
Put a jack under the bike and remove the fr. wheel and fr. fender. Unscrew the top fork caps. Remove one of the forks.Put the cap back and tighten it lightly. Turn the fork upside down and put it into a vise.DO NOT SQUEEZE THE TUBE. Squeeze where the axle goes. Take a long allen socket. Install it in the allen bolt that will be facing up and wack it nice about 10 times/this will loosen the tight threads. If You have an impact driver , use it to take the darn bolt out. Pull the fork from the vise and let it drain in a pan. Pull the dust seal up, using a small screwdriver. Using the same tool pop out the retaining clip that is under the dust seal and holds the fork seal. Grab the Alum. part with one hand and the chrome tube in the other and slide them in opposite direction as many times as it takes to take the assy apart. Slide the old seal out. Install the assy back. Using the PVC pipe install the big washer that is under the seal. After the metal washer is installed all the way in, install the new seal the same way /MAKE SURE THE LETTERS AND NUMBERS ARE FACING UP/. Install the retaining clip and the dust seal. Turn the fork upside - down and fill 441 ml /14.9 oz/ thru the bolt hole on the bottom. put the alen bolt back in the hole and tighten it good. Repeat the procedure with the other fork. Have fun !

And I was kinda careful when I measured it the 1st time.
the second fork I just poured it in till it was the same level, about an 1" down for the top with spring in.
you're gonna loose some anyway.

Back to top

Versey's Place
Tech Section Index

IP Logged

ohiomoto

Serious Thumper

Offline

SuzukiSavage.com
Rocks!

Posts: 2772

Re: fork oil?
Reply #2 - 09/01/16 at 12:33:41

As for slavy's instructions...what's with pouring the oil in the bottom hole???? Couldn't make that job any harder! LOL

Obviously I like to fill my forks from the top. And I also prefer to simply fill the oil to a measured distance from the top and verslagen1 did. And 1" sound about perfect to me. When I raced motocross, I always used a syringe with a scale on the side to set each fork to exact spec (i.e. 120mm form the top) but I just eyeballed it with on our forks using the coils as my guide.

If it bottoms out, add a little oil to each leg, if it locks out too early in the travel, take some out. You won't hurt much other than performance if you are low on oil, but you don't want to overfill.

I used ATF because it works fine. If I were buying fork oil I would use between 5 wt and 10 wt. I doubt anyone could tell the difference between the two with our crude damping units.

Back to top

IP Logged

cheapnewb24 Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 1373 Virginia Gender:	Re: fork oil? Reply #3 - 09/01/16 at 20:53:03 You'd better not get ol' cheapie here started on fork oil.
Back to top	2004 Suzuki Savage, Riding since fall 2015. IP Logged

cheapnewb24 Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 1373 Virginia Gender:	Re: fork oil? Reply #4 - 09/01/16 at 20:56:09 I think it was supposed to be a certain number of inches from the top (with the springs out???)??? I don't remember for sure.
Back to top	2004 Suzuki Savage, Riding since fall 2015. IP Logged

Ruttly Serious Thumper Offline Thumpers Rule Posts: 5109 Manteca , CA Gender:	Re: fork oil? Reply #5 - 09/01/16 at 20:59:56 Newbee do you have a Clymer manual. Cause that doesn't sound right.
Back to top	The Topic Terminator IP Logged

Ruttly Serious Thumper Offline Thumpers Rule Posts: 5109 Manteca , CA Gender:	Re: fork oil? Reply #6 - 09/01/16 at 21:14:45 Spring removed , fork collapsed , add 14.91 oz , call it 15 oz easier to measure , that's out of the manual ! ATF works great ! And it's cheap too!
Back to top	The Topic Terminator IP Logged

cheapnewb24 Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 1373 Virginia Gender:	Re: fork oil? Reply #7 - 09/01/16 at 21:22:41 Ruttly wrote on 09/01/16 at 20:59:56: Newbee do you have a Clymer manual. Cause that doesn't sound right. Not on me... It's somewhere.... Just gotta find it. Maybe I'd be in better shape if I always had that thing handy... You know... having to put the engine back in and stuff.
Back to top	2004 Suzuki Savage, Riding since fall 2015. IP Logged

cheapnewb24

Serious Thumper

Offline

SuzukiSavage.com
Rocks!

Posts: 1373
Virginia
Gender: male

Re: fork oil?
Reply #8 - 09/01/16 at 21:28:10

Here's a quote:

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1311892806

Digger wrote on 08/17/11 at 21:12:06:

verslagen1 wrote on 07/28/11 at 22:25:00:

441 ml /14.9 oz......

Or, for my bike (see signature) at least, when the level is 75mm (2.95") from the top of the fork tube (when the fork tube is vertical and the spring is out). Here is my fork oil level gauge, btw:

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee201/Digger109/ForkOilLevelToolE.jpg

The Vice-Grips prevent the ruler from falling into the fork tube.

If you can't easily get the fork tube vertical, just measure the oil level in the middle of the tube.

IMHO, the level measurement method is a more accurate means of assuring the proper amount of fork oil is in the forks than is adding a measured amount of said oil.

Clear as mud?

Back to top

2004 Suzuki Savage, Riding since fall 2015.

IP Logged

verslagen1 YaBB Moderator ModSquad Offline Where there's a will, I want to be in it. Posts: 28886 L.A. California Gender:	Re: fork oil? Reply #9 - 09/01/16 at 22:07:20 Ruttly wrote on 09/01/16 at 21:14:45: Spring removed , fork collapsed , add 14.91 oz , call it 15 oz easier to measure , that's out of the manual ! ATF works great ! And it's cheap too! While it's cheap, you can't pick your viscosity. I wanted a little heavier than stock... 15wt.
Back to top	Versey's Place Tech Section Index IP Logged

Dave

YaBB Moderator
ModSquad

Offline

SuzukiSavage.com
Rocks!

Posts: 18100
Camp Springs, Kentucky
Gender: male

Re: fork oil?
Reply #10 - 09/02/16 at 04:09:41

ATF has been a suitable substitute for dedicated fork oil for a very long time. When I was growing up the internet did not exist, and in order to get dedicated fork oil the local motorcycle shop was a 2 hour round trip....and I made less than $ 2 an hour at my part time job. ATF was something you could buy easily at the local gas station or auto parts store.

ATF is not and exact viscosity replacement - but for most folks it will work just fine and they will only know the difference if they experiment with other weights and have a keen sense of what the forks are doing while they ride. If your local roads are smooth and well paved, the average rider likely won't be able to feel any difference.

Back to top

Someday I will be old......But not today!

IP Logged

ohiomoto Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 2772	Re: fork oil? Reply #11 - 09/02/16 at 06:25:21 The right tool for the job... Or the poor man's tool for the job... Or the "I don't have time to chase down stupid tools"... All of the above will work. Or the super lazy way... Put the springs in, lower the bike enough to bottom out the forks, dump oil in each fork until you have X number of coils showing. That's how I roll these days.
Back to top	IP Logged

Ruttly Serious Thumper Offline Thumpers Rule Posts: 5109 Manteca , CA Gender:	Re: fork oil? Reply #12 - 09/02/16 at 06:48:11 Versy ATF is what l always start with if I like it I leave it the only bike I had to change was the SR500. I want equal dampening front to rear, changing fork oil is the easiest way to achieve that . When installing progressive springs follow their instructions on oil level
Back to top	The Topic Terminator IP Logged

verslagen1

YaBB Moderator
ModSquad

Offline

Where there's a
will, I want to be
in it.

Posts: 28886
L.A. California
Gender: male

Re: fork oil?
Reply #13 - 09/02/16 at 07:54:23

ohiomoto wrote on 09/02/16 at 06:25:21:

Or the super lazy way...

Put the springs in, lower the bike enough to bottom out the forks, dump oil in each fork until you have X number of coils showing. That's how I roll these days.

Me too... and then go read gary's fork tuning thread and fine tune it functionally.

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1421689358

Back to top

Versey's Place
Tech Section Index

IP Logged

LANCER Serious Thumper Alliance Member Offline Savage Beast Performance Parts Posts: 10667 Oklahoma Gender:	Re: fork oil? Reply #14 - 09/02/16 at 07:54:33 Oil ? Fork oil ? ? What is that for ? Should I replace my rubber BB's with that ?
Back to top	IP Logged