Wilbers fork springs installation

[outbackoz]

Hi people,

Finally received my Wilbers shock & fork springs - shock install looks ok but is there any info available for installing the fork springs, particularly recommended fork oil type & weight, oil volume, position of preload adjustors etc?

Thanks - can't wait to get all fitted!,

Nick

Outbackoz

ADMIN Note: Been seeing a lot of people spelling it with a "u" incorrectly. It's Wilbers with an "e".

 

[FJRPierre]

Here are a couple of useful links wiith pics. I think if you search the forum you will get more as well.

https://www.fjr1300.info/howto/forkdis.html

https://www.fjr1300.info/howto/sp.html

 

[twowheelnut]

Hi people,
Finally received my Wilburs shock & fork springs - shock install looks ok but is there any info available for installing the fork springs, particularly recommended fork oil type & weight, oil volume, position of preload adjustors etc?

Thanks - can't wait to get all fitted!,

Nick

Outbackoz

Klaus should have included that info with the springs. If you don't have it, call him.

 

[Ignacio]

"100mm" was included in my documentation--indicating 100mm of space above the oil fill. You should look at that since Klaus may have written a different figure given that you provided your weight on the form.

Viscosity and choice of fork oil is your discretion. I went with the 10 weight Fuchs myself.

 

[twowheelnut]

You Fuched yourself?

 

[Geezer]

You measure the oil level with the fork tubes off the bike, held upright, no spring in the tube and the tube fully compressed. Most people report that Klaus recommended 100 mm air gap from the top of the fork tube to the top of the oil. I just stuck a small metal ruler down the tub and used it sort of like a dip stick.

I am a little under 200 lbs in full riding gear. I used Silkolene PRO RSF 2.5W fork oil and it works very well for me. The weight numbers are not standard and vary dramatically from brand to brand so you need to consult the table found here Fork Oil Chart to determine how your favorite brand compares.

 

[ionbeam]

Did anyone purchase Wilbers Fork Oil? Klaus recommended 7.5W Wilbers oil. If you did purchase from Klause, did it come in an unlabeled can in a brown paper bag? Was it Klaus Oil, straight from the backyard chem lab? Maybe some kind of German product that we could decipher?

FWIW, I went with Yamaha 7.5W oil. Dunno what the viscosity actually is but so far seems to work very well. I have yet to take it for a long, hard ride and get it all hot and bothered Could be a different story then.

 

[PapaUtah]

The front suspension is helped dramatically by simply getting out the gunk mama Yamaha puts in there from the factory and then refilling to the factory spec. I changed the oil in the Cobalt Cookers forks this weekend(in about 1.5 hours, 2.5 hours less that it takes Radman! )

By my measurements the factory was about 3.9 ounces shy per leg on the fill if the manual is to be believed. I refilled with Yamaha’s 7.5wt oil to the factory manual specification (22.9 ounces). The improvement in performance is noticeable. Much smoother ride up front, less compression and rebound damping needed, and no more fluid noises from the forks. Ride height appears to be improved also, but I didn’t measure. The reduced air gap may have helped that.

What came out of the forks resembled water, very dirty water. I think the factory may fill with 0wt oil from the lowest bidder. The 7.5wt going in looked very different.

 

[beemr]

Just finished installing my Wilbers front springs. I read the posts about the "lazy way" to install the springs and flush the fork oil but decided that the all-out method of removing the struts was best. Glad I did - it was a theraputic rainy afternoon working on the bike. The online instructions were a big plus. Now all I need is for the weather to clear up so I can try out the full Wilbers treatment (I installed the rear Wilbers last month)

Thanks to all for some excellent "how-to" instructions and words of wisdom. Isn't it interesting how what seems like the hard way (i.e. removing the front struts) is actually the easy way in the long run...

Beemr

 

[Rogue]

Mine was "90mm, SAE 7.5 oil"

I used Motul 7.5.