Fork Oil

[Afast03nNJ]

It's time for fork maintenance and I'd like to know what everybody is using. I'm looking for a nice smooth ride with good control. Yamaha say 10W oil, but is anybody using anything else and how is it performing?

Thanks!!

Tom in NJ

 

[Scab]

I don't know, but I found this: forkoilstuff

Yes, I am a student of the 'Iggy school of search.' (on this one, I tried " +oil +fork ")

 

[Toecutter]

I got some Silkolene 10W from Gary Mc Coy, University Motors 866-551-6478 along with the seals and stuff.

 

[Mike-H]

I think you should consider weight (yours, passenger if you carry & anything else you might always carry on your bike) before you decide on the weight of fork oil to use.....

 

[exskibum]

I put Honda's fork oil in mine when I installed the Wilbers springs -- mixed the 10W and the 5W in equal parts to get a 7.5W equivalent.

 

[twowheelnut]

Oh boy.... here we go! Each oil manufacturer's published viscosity is different from the next... The stock (pre '06) Kayaba oil is somewhere around a 5 weight per their racing unit in OC. It was recommended for my Wilber's set-up that I use 7.5 weight and the brand I used - Motul - is way to heavy for my needs. I will be changing this out to a 5 wt. by Motul soon.

 

[Pending]

I'm using 7.5 FUCHS Silkolene Pro RSF. Some other to consider might be: HondaPro, Bel Ray, Maxima, Golden Spectro, PJ1, Redline just to name a few.

 

[Geezer]

I use Silkolene 2.5 with Wilbers springs. Lots of good reading here: Fork Oil Chart

 

[Afast03nNJ]

I think you should consider weight (yours, passenger if you carry & anything else you might always carry on your bike) before you decide on the weight of fork oil to use.....

I'm usually solo, don't even have the bags on that often.

Oh boy.... here we go! Each oil manufacturer's published viscosity is different from the next...

I'm well aware of that, hance this thread. Thanks for the info on Motul.

 

[snikr]

I got some Silkolene 10W from Gary Mc Coy, University Motors 866-551-6478 along with the seals and stuff.

I used Silkolene 7.5w when I put the Wilbers springs in and it worked out great for me.

Tom

 

[Afast03nNJ]

UPDATE:

The dealer by me suggested Maxima 5W to replace the Yamaha 01 stock fluid. They told me it was pretty much a direct replacement. A quick look up on the viscosity index web site of fork oils confirmed that.

So I did a flush and refill of my forks with Maxima 5W oil. The stock oil was pretty dirty after only ~9K miles.

The bike rides pretty much the same as it did before the flush, which is a good thing, being I liked the way it rode and handled prior.

So if anybody is curious as to what fluid to use to keep the stock "new like" ride, the Maxima 5w will do just that.

 

[boogahboogah]

Whatever Klaus wanted to put in there ... He's in Englishtown NJ.

Could give him a call to see what he puts in when re-springing the front forks.

[SIZE=36pt]RUN-N-LITES[/SIZE]

P. O. Box 40

Tennent, NJ, 07763 USA

732-786-9777 phone/fax

877-786-6543 toll free

 

[dobias]

boogahboogah,

I'll bet Klaus uses Wilber's own 7 1/2 weight fork oil as they recommend.

Just what is the actual viscosity of it is, is anyone's guess. When asked what his oil was in centiStokes, Wilber, himself answered, "try it, you'll like it."

As an example of the uselessness of the American oil weight designation, Silkolene's 2 1/2 weight oil is the same centiStoke viscosity as Yamaha's 10 weight fork oil.

dobias :glare:

 

[Bounce]

Silkolene full synth 7.5 weight next time 'round. Current running it in 10 wt and it's too stiff with the Wilbers front springs.

 

[Geezer]

boogahboogah,I'll bet Klaus uses Wilber's own 7 1/2 weight fork oil as they recommend.

Just what is the actual viscosity of it is, is anyone's guess. When asked what his oil was in centiStokes, Wilber, himself answered, "try it, you'll like it."

As an example of the uselessness of the American oil weight designation, Silkolene's 2 1/2 weight oil is the same centiStoke viscosity as Yamaha's 10 weight fork oil.

dobias :glare:

And the Yamaha 10w is what comes stock in the FJR.

 

[Charlie Hoss]

It's time for fork maintenance and I'd like to know what everybody is using. I'm looking for a nice smooth ride with good control. Yamaha say 10W oil, but is anybody using anything else and how is it performing?
Thanks!!

Tom in NJ

:blink: Oh boy!! Here we go again. I read everything I could find on fork oil a few weeks ago when installing a set of Wilbers springs. When I DID decide on a particular oil, I couldn't find it locally. Finally picked up a couple for qts (ltrs?) of Belray 5 wt, the non-synthetic version, and it seems to work fine using factory compression and rebound settings. Just took it to EOM for 2700 miles, 2-up, and the ride and handling were very good.

 

[FJamR]

I'm running Bel-Ray H.P. 10 weight and the same amount as stock. I weigh 200lbs and I love the results. Here's what it looked like after 6k:

https://californiavtxriders.com/forum/album...hp?pic_id=17560

https://californiavtxriders.com/forum/album...hp?pic_id=17561

 

[boogahboogah]

Hey FJamR, the links you posted were abbreviated & don't work (the ... in the middle is a dead giveaway). Any chance you can right-click copy & then right-click paste ?

Thanks!

( I rode my bike to trailer week too...)

 

[FJamR]

I did copy the links that way, don't know what happened? Try these

https://www.californiavtxriders.com/forum/a...hp?pic_id=17561

https://www.californiavtxriders.com/forum/a...hp?pic_id=17560