09 fork oil level

when the old springs are out do this

http://www.husaberg.org/gallery/v/Membe ... e.jpg.html

with the springs out

oil level can be checked with a hand pump squirter like out of a windex bottle, cut the suction tube off at desired level and pump out exess oil.

if youve filled the forks you need to do a full extension dump, put the caps back on with the rods wound in and let the forks go to full extension there will be some oil trapped between inner and outer tubes that dumps into the fork lower leg at full extension. you can measure with a "no dump" method but the oil level is different.

there is a thread by cimwill about the 09 forks.

something to consider; more than 20 hrs on most fork oil and it starts to break down. 30 hrs max. unless its belray that stuff is crap after 5 min.

lots of info on oil viscosity here

http://www.peterverdonedesigns.com/lowspeed.htm

oil weight is not always related to actual viscosity.

which oil?

Bushie, what fork oil do you use, and what do you use in the shock. A lot of fork oils are expensive are they really better than castrol fork oil. I have always used the WP 5 w, but it is harder to get recently and is it worth it?

taffy what fork oil do you use?

are the cheaper oils not as good?

RE: taffy what fork oil do you use?

motul factory line is reasonable

belray fades very fast and breaks down quick, honda or showa fluid may last a reasonable ammount od hours .. around 15 but it has a dead harsh feel to it. fully synthetic ATF is better than both these fluids IMHO but you have to reconsider the valving because its thicker.

Ive not tried them but torco and motorex fluids have a very good reputation for fade resistance. one guy here has used q-8 and spectro fluids he might comment if they feel good.

in the shocks I use smart performance SPi-3 its pricey but worth it IMHO, very long service life and a great feel to it.

I bought some ohlins 1303 shock fluid from teknik suspension it cost about $70/L with freight. has a nice feel but its crap after 20 hours so price is not allways indicative of performance.

in forks I use a blend of BP hydraulic fluids made from refined base stocks (like the famous delo400,) and mixed to 22Cst. if desired you could have 15cst (2.5wt) or go up to say 68, thats whats in that hillclimb bike in my gallery

the BP fluid is good stuff and cheap, I have 50 hrs on some in my forks and its still good. I am trying some HV22 in shocks but im not sure it will last as good as SPI-3

over here Castrol and BP come from the same place and if you look into it the viscosities of the fork fluids are 15 and 32 Cst... it may be the same stuff as the Bp hydraulic fluid, just tripple the price.

there is also caltex line of fluids in 15 and 32 Cst and a BP synthetic fork lift hydraulic oil designed for use driving around inside freezers that has a VI of 300+. Mobil has various suitable fluids as does just about every oil company. Start with viscocity then choose some to play with and go from there to test the feel and service life.

on the peter verdone site its written something like; do agonize over the choice of fluid, its very important. I have to agree.

HTH

Regarding Q8 vs Motorex, I never noticed any difference and like one as much as the other. The Q8 fork oil 5 is to be found practically everywhere in all manned OK-Q8 petrol stations, there must be 1000 of them but outside Scandinavia I doubt you can find it at all. its among the cheapest stuff you can find as well. Cheaper still is the Biltema fork oil that I haven't seen but is rumoured to actually be Öhlins factory fork oil relabeled as a cheapo brand. (The bottles said to be the same!, the label not.) I have not tried neither the Öhlins nor the Biltema fork oil since i'm happy with the Q8 oil.

Regards

Bushmechanic: The link you point to just goes to the Home page. I'm looking for the procedure and folk oil level speck for the new FE's. Do you have an alternate link?

FYI: I'm continually amazed how dirty fork oil is after the initial break in on a new bike.

the link above should work now,

lotsa junk in the forks I went 50hrs or so without opening them up

nasty gunk in there @50 , 20 hrs min for me.