front end fork oil

kc8aho · New Member Joined: May 03, 2005 Posts: 3

Need help with changing fork oil. What viscosity oil and how much to use, also need to know how to drain and fill. I think I may know how to drain. remove screw on bottom side of fork, and fill from the top, after of course removing the 17 mm allen fork cap screw. Please reply I need help. thanks in advance
Jim

kingwj · Posted: September 24, 2005, 2:48 pm Post subject: Re: front end fork oil

You are right about draining except after you pull the screws you compress the front end to pump out the fuel. There are fiber washers on the screws so look out for them as sometimes they will stick to the fork and not the screw. The oil will shoot out a considerable distance, and can be quite messy. I would suggest some sort of plastic cover taped over the hole to divert the flow. Filling is through the top. You will need to compress the spring a bit to catch the threads but it is quite easy. I used 10 weight fork oil and it is fine for street use. Thicker fluid will give more damping. Make sure to use fork oil as I think it is designed not to foam or lose viscosity with heat. Really quite an easy chore.

Borris · Posted: September 24, 2005, 3:14 pm Post subject: Re: front end fork oil

On mine there is a "PHILLIPS" head screw on the side above the axle. I would take the tubes off to make life easier, and do 1 at a time. (this is how I did mine when I changed my fork seals) Anyways, I loosened the cap a bit so I could turn it by hand, Put a rag loosely over the top, held it with 1 hand on the tube and loosened with the other. (keeps the cap from going to never-never land) Then I took that little screw out on the side And put the lower end into a bucket and pumped it up and down til empty then turned it on its side and repeated step.(I couldn't get the allen bolt out which would've made changing the fork seals easier) When it was empty I flushed mine with a little gasoline and let them sit over night. Before I final filled I put some oil in it, pumped it a few times and drained it again to make sure all the gas was out.

The owner/shop manual I have says to use 10/30 SE motor oil

Different models take a different amount of oil:
For XS650 (UK) XS650 D (US) XS 650SE (UK) XS650 E,F,G,H,SE,SF,S2,SG,SH,SJ,SK, (US)....Use 169 cc (5.7 US fl oz) per leg

XS1B.....223 cc per leg
XS2, TX650....136 cc per leg
TX650A, XS650B, XS650C....155 cc per leg

(Taken from HAYNES manual)

Hope this helps you!

mo650chopper · Posted: September 24, 2005, 7:44 pm Post subject: Re: front end fork oil

Maybe you were lucky but i wouldn't think that putting gasoline in the front forks would be a good idea. The seals and damper parts inside are not made to be in contact with gasoline. Just my 2 cents;)

Borris · Posted: September 25, 2005, 12:56 am Post subject: Re: front end fork oil

Hopefully I have some luck then! I read a bunch of tutorials about changing fork seals and did the job before I ordered a manual. One of them said to flush with parts cleaner, kerosene or gas to remove any possible SLUDGE. Browsing through the manual I see nothing about flusshing them. Possibly another painful lesson learned....

Borris · Posted: September 25, 2005, 12:57 am Post subject: Re: front end fork oil

Hopefully I have some luck then! I read a bunch of tutorials about changing fork seals and did the job before I ordered a manual. One of them said to flush with parts cleaner, kerosene or gas to remove any possible SLUDGE. Browsing through the manual I see nothing about flusshing them. Possibly another painful lesson learned....

kc8aho · New Member Joined: May 03, 2005 Posts: 3

Thanks for all the helpfull info. I will now go to the local cycle shop for fork oil. my owners manual says 20 wt. fork oil. It dosn't give any help as to how to change the oil.

Thanks again,

Jim

kc8aho · New Member Joined: May 03, 2005 Posts: 3

Well I just changed the oil in the forks. Your not kidding about the mess, fluid all over the place. To flush out the sludge I just used new fork oil a couple of times before putting oil in for good. I was told to put in a little more fork oil for a little stiffer ride (only a couple of CC's at a time) and keep track of how much as to have same amount in each fork. Thanks again for the input.
Jim

grizld1 · Posted: September 28, 2005, 5:38 pm Post subject: Re: front end fork oil

Sorry--I was on a 650 Society run when this thread ran or I'd have saved you a little grief; garbage bags held over the lower legs are useful in pumping old oil out.

It's a bad idea to overfill to stiffen the forks (good way to blow seals). If damping is inadequate, heavier fork oil is called for. If there's too much sag and/or the forks are bottoming, preload spacers and/or heavier springs are needed.

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