rez Posted September 28, 2007 Share #1 Posted September 28, 2007 Is fork oil really a specially blended product specifically designed for the application or is it simply a straight weight oil. At approx. 3 times the price of any regular/quality oil....I begin to wonder. Or is it a marketing thing.....driving up the price because of the word 'motorcycle' and 'fork' ???? Could i just use a straight weight #10 oil ??? I can't believe that the forks on our bikes are so sophisticated that such a highly priced product is required. I appreciate comments and suggestions. Someone in a previous thread even suggested using a multigrade synthetic 0W20 or 0W30 ??? I am in the process of installing progressive springs and am wondering what oil to use. Thanks! rez Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeS Posted September 28, 2007 Share #2 Posted September 28, 2007 Its a special Oil, comes in 5, 10, and 15 wgt. You should change it about every 3 years. Maby less depending on milage. Some people never change it. Every time I drain mine it looks, black and bad !!! Take good care of your Front Suspension, your life depends on it !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeS Posted September 28, 2007 Share #3 Posted September 28, 2007 I put in progressive springs, last December. I decided to put in 15 Wgt fork oil. Works OK, however next time I change I will go back to 10Wgt. The 15 seems a little to stiff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denden Posted September 28, 2007 Share #4 Posted September 28, 2007 In the early days of the Venture, there was a bulletin to dealers. it said if a customer complained of a rattle noise from the forks, to replace the fork oil with automotive 10w30. I have Progressive Susp. fork springs, and have tried a lot of different weight fork oil. 15 wt. was a little too stiff. 10 wt. let it wallow a little in hard cornering. I was going to try mixing a quart of 10 wt. with a quart of 15 wt. to get a middle weight (12.5 wt.?). But JasonM tried Mobil 1 synthetic 0W30 and said it was a good in between, so I tried it. Been using it for years, maybe 20k miles. A good compromise, nice ride, and good for hitting the twisties hard. Real fork oil has anti-foaming additives, also stuff to help keep the rubber seals pliable. But I've had pretty good luck with the Mobil 1 0W30. One nice thing is that it doesn't get thicker at low temps, so on a cold morning, the ride is the same as on a hot day. Regular fork oil can give you a stiff ride (at first) on a cold morning. But I DO need to replace my fork seals now, I'm just starting to get a little oil left on the fork...the seals have been in since 1996 and have 55k miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyHorse Posted September 28, 2007 Share #5 Posted September 28, 2007 I tried Mobil 0w-30 seemed to soft for me alot of bounce out of the fork which I did not like in turns. Now I weigh about 260 lbs I dont know if that has anything to do with it. I went with 15wt fork oil and seem to like that so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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