Fork Oil Change Made Easier

[RaYzerman19]

I gotta stop doing stuff for free!!!

 

[Intech]

I gotta stop doing stuff for free!!!

Hey Ray Ray,

I just added the Motion Pro oil level tool to my inventory. It was only $20 from Amazon and with Prime free 2-day shipping! I have always used the small Starret scale.

When it comes to servicing forks I guess I am anal as I always completely disassemble and thoroughly clean the crud from the inside. Judging from what I see in my forks I should probably do it twice a year!

 

[LKLD]

Funny, my Motion Pro will be delivered today.

Not certain I'll tackle doing it until I come back from a trip I'm taking next month. I want to be sure it's not in pieces right before I leave. :grin:

 

[RaYzerman19]

Mine says Traxxion on it.. hint, clean it after you're done, rinse with alcohol. The syringe seal can't stand fork oil long term....... wondering if a Viton O-ring might work..... haven't looked into it yet.

 

[TomInPA]

I got a turkey baster from Walmart for $2.59 and put a circle of painter's tape at 110 mm. I sucked oil out of the forks until it only sucked air, and that is even to me. You can get as fancy as you want, but filling oil to a set level is not rocket science.

I think I'll come over to your house next time I put fork oil in so you can get your money's worth out of that fancy gadget.

 

[hppants]

Think I'm going to order the M/P tool too. Thanks for the tip.

 

[mobilemike]

Do you suck the old oil out with a large syringe or are you pulling the fork tubes once a year? Probably a dumb question but the last bike I changed fork oil on had drain screws on the bottom and didn't require removal of the tubes.

You drain the oil normally. That device lets you set the oil level accurately after you have re-filled them.

Thanks, that's what I was afraid of. I was hoping that there was an easier way to drain the fork oil than spending hours pulling the whole front of the bike apart. Remember the old days when you would just remove a drain screw at the bottom of each tube, pump the forks a few times, replace the screw , fill the forks and you're done.

If you want to drain your forks and fill by the volume method you could drill a drain hole in the back of the fork. Provided they are not USDs of course.

Once disassembled and cleaned. Measure, drill and tap a small drain hole just above the floor on the rear side of each tube. I did it on my bandit forks for fluid changes between disassembly and clean schedule. If you change your your fork oil more often you get less gunk build up that requires a full disassembly.

 

[John d]

I have always just used a tape measure. Stick it in, and see if it's right, add or pour out oil - easy peasy. By the time I find a special tool, I'm done, plus there is no special tool cleanup.

I would like to know if anybody has ever used mobilemike's idea on the FJR. It's SOP on my Norton.