Fresh Fork Oil. It's that time again!

[Tufbusa]

I took the time to freshen up my forks on my track bike (GSXR1000) today. It's actually about a three hour job for me. By the time I strip the plastics (stop for breakfast), remove the forks (Make myself a Starbuck's latte) replace the seals (Feed the dog) and fresh oil it takes up a good three hours.

This is a friendly reminder to all, if your prized busa is a track day weapon you should service the forks every year. If you are a street guy, you should service your forks every two years.

Brakes are the same. Fresh fluid every year for track guys and every two years for street only.

Changing fork oil and seals is really very easy if you have general mechanical skills. You only need a few tools. Someone should do a "How To" thread with photos or maybe a dvd with step by step instruction. If anyone knows of instruction or a youtube video on this subject, please share!

 

[m_ridgeway]

Is two years a time frame or and use based idea. My bikes an 08 but only had it a year now. Would you change it now or get another year of use on it?
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[Tufbusa]

If your bike sat for a year before you purchased it, I wouldn't get excited about servicing the forks until after the second season of use!

 

[mike1180]

There is a thread about it here.
I added a copy as a pdf at the end, as the pics kept disappearing.
https://www.hayabusa.org/forum/maintenance-do-yourself/57010-fork-service-how.html

 

[mike1180]

Hey Tuf:
Thanks for the heads up about this.
An often overlooked job that will pay off in the long run.

 

[Tufbusa]

You are more than welcome Mikey!

Do you know if anyone has put together a do it yourself video of fork seal replacement?

 

[IG.]

Something I haven't done. Just couldn't bring myself to do it. Maybe next winter. I remeber I changed the fork oil on my Katana years ago, and the front felt much more compliant.

 

[TruWrecks]

Great! Can you up and do mine?

 

[IG.]

BTW, is it possible to change the fork oil without taking the forks off? I guess not because you gotta turn the forks upside down to drain old oil, right? Or maybe stick a tube down there and pump the oil out?

 

[Tufbusa]

Great! Can you up and do mine?

You bring that puppy down sometime Doug and between the two of us and a bottle of Jack Daniels we can GetRdone!

 

[Tufbusa]

BTW, is it possible to change the fork oil without taking the forks off? I guess not because you gotta turn the forks upside down to drain old oil, right? Or maybe stick a tube down there and pump the oil out?

They have to be removed and disassembled in order to replace the seals as well as get all the old stuff out and cleaned up.

I pull the upper cowling/headlight assembly off which makes it an easy chore to remove the forks.

 

[IG.]

OK. Thanks. Sounds like a pretty involved procedure. Why replace seals if they don't leak? Is it because if the fork is disassembled they are no longer good?

 

[Tufbusa]

OK. Thanks. Sounds like a pretty involved procedure. Why replace seals if they don't leak? Is it because if the fork is disassembled they are no longer good?

You can reassemble the forks without replacing the seals. However, the seals are cheap, about $12 each and it could very well save you problems further down the road. If you do the work yourself you can replace seals and oil for a total of about $40.

 

[TruWrecks]

You bring that puppy down sometime Doug and between the two of us and a bottle of Jack Daniels we can GetRdone!

I might show up with just the forks.

 

[IG.]

I guess I am a bit intimidated taking the fork apart. I rememeber doing it with Katana, and it took me a bit of effort to figure everything out. I couldn't replace the seals though - had to take it to the shop because I didn't have the seal driver, and wasn't too sure of how to remove the seals without damaging anything.

 

[mike1180]

You are more than welcome Mikey!

Do you know if anyone has put together a do it yourself video of fork seal replacement?

No I don't know of a video.
Good chance for you to get on the silver screen.

 

[Tufbusa]

I guess I am a bit intimidated taking the fork apart. I rememeber doing it with Katana, and it took me a bit of effort to figure everything out. I couldn't replace the seals though - had to take it to the shop because I didn't have the seal driver, and wasn't too sure of how to remove the seals without damaging anything.

You won't need a seal driver for your busa forks. I understand about the intimidation thing if it's your first time. Maybe we can find a volunteer to video the process?

 

[skydivr]

Are you volunteering SteveO? I would be to bok bok chickin to try that myself...

 

[Merlot]

Which type and what grade of fork oil do you use????

 

[Tufbusa]

Which type and what grade of fork oil do you use????

This is my opinion on fork oil.

Our suzuki forks come with 5wt oil which is probably the best if you live in a colder climate and ride year around. If you live in Florida or Texas where the winters are mild and the summers extremely hot, I'd recommend a heavier oil never exceeding 10wt.

You can purchase inbetween oil such as 7, 7.5 or 8wt. You can also mix 5wt with 10wt to create any particular wt that suits your needs.

I used 8wt in my Gixxer forks I recently serviced. The reason I use heavier oil is on those hot summer days the oil can get pretty dang hot, expecially when you are working them hard on a track day. You'll find most suzuki forks are weak on rebound. On a hot day you can crank the rebound all the way in and still not have enough. By using a little heavier oil it allows more rebound control.

On our aftermarket Ohlins forks we always use 5wt no matter how hot it may be. These high dollar aftermarket forks have valving that allows fine tuning and are designed to use light oil.