Which Fork Oil?

[hongman]

Alright so just decided to bite the bullet and order an Abba stand, mainly so I can sort my 8/9yr old fork oil out.

Local bike shop wanted £45 per hour x 2 for doing the fork oil so an extra tenner for a stand to use forever and do it myself was easily justified with the Mrs :D

I remember reading somehwere on here that fork oils are not made equal - as in two 10w oils may have a different viscosity rating (or something along those lines), and mixing oils may be possible/desired?

What should I go for?

Stock springs, I'm about 8.5-9stone fully geared depending on whether or not I have eaten breakfast :D

Have Haynes so will be having a gander through that at some point, although I have struggled with some section of Haynes before with clarity!

Hoping this will transform the front end for me :rolleyes:

[TamSV]

If you're keeping everthing stock then I wouldn't worry too much about the specifics of the fork oil. At your weight I'd go with Suzuki's recommended 10w. You can mix viscosities from the same manufacturer if you're fine tuning with oil, but with the stock SV setup I think you'd be wasting your time.

I'm going to change oil in my SV forks soon and I'll be using Silkolene 10w because the local bike shop's got a shelf full of it. The non-synthetic Castrol oil that Halfords do would be just as good I'm sure. Even Halfords own brand would likely be OK.

Pretty much anything will be better than the fishy ditch water that'll be in there at the moment. ;)

Good choice with the Abba stand BTW - I use mine all the time.

[hongman]

Thanks Tam.

Well after the Forks, it'll be the Valve clearances I'll be checking, as I have under 3k til 30k and I'm not sure if its ever been checked. Well worth the £106 or whatever. Still only limited to stuff that I can get completed well within a day though, as I wouldnt be happy leaving my bike in pieces outside.

I'll probably use the Silkolene as well, as that is what my local bike shop stocks.

If I wasn't so chicken **** I'd get the GSXR front end but alas, I am too chicken **** :D Its not necessarily the stiffness that I need as I weigh about as much as a bag of sugar but I think I'm having issues with the other settings (reb/comp/damp) that the SV is not adjustable for.

Then again I'm not really sure what is happening, all I know is when I ride it hard, esp round any corners, bumps really unsettle the bike.

[TamSV]

While you have the forks off, it would be worthwhile checking and regreasing the head bearings. If you can do that, and get the SV bits back on, then you could have done a GSXR swap. :D

A more straightforward option, if you're changing the fork oil anyway, is dropping in something like Hagon progressive springs. Apparently that's a big improvement for no more work than you're already doing. I'm mulling that over for my standard SV, but then I'm mulling over lots of things for that bike. :rolleyes:

[hongman]

Off to re-research the gsxr swap now.

Thought about Hagons then decided it wasnt worth it. As I say, I dont believe my issue is with the sniffness of the springs; I did a check using that suspension calc going round and my recommended spring rate is damn near what is already in the SV as stock.

[TamSV]

:D I wasn't trying to talk you into that but it sounds like I was pushing at an open door.

If you do decide to stay with stock then I'm pretty convinced a change of oil will improve things for you. If your current fork oil has been in there for 9 years/30,000 miles then it's done.

[hongman]

Well I started looking, sifting through the pages and pages of scattered information, and lost the will to do it lol. Then I noticed how cheap one can pick up a GSXR nowadays anyway...! But I must not tempt myself.

Will do the oil first, and go from there.

[muzikill]

How about making this a thread with pics to see how you get on? things you discover from a novices point of view are pretty welcome. im considering doing this job soon so i would be interested to see!

[hongman]

You're on.

Time to give something back to the org!

Depending on when Abba arrives & weather permitting it will be either this weekend, or the weekend after next (working inbetween).

[Electro]

Hong my man, i`m having new maxton springs and oil in my bike to sort out my (worse than yours) front end. Yorki Chris told me to get a pair of emulators from the below link to finish off the suspension.

https://www.debrix.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=24-0361-VT

£38 delivered from the USA.

[hongman]

Hey Phil

What do emulators actually do?

[hongman]

Well if I read the bleedin page.

Problem is I'm reallly out of my depth when it comes to tweaking suspension...wonder if I'd just make it worse!

[Electro]

You know s much as me mate :)

The emulators just give that extra bit of tweaking, i`m sure one of the clever guys nr u will assist.

[hongman]

Indeed.

How long did they take to deliver?

[Electro]

6 days give or take, give Richard at Maton a ring for the springs.

01928 740531
www.maxtonsuspension.co.uk

[hongman]

Hmmmmmmmm more expense!

Best leave it for now, hopefully before the AR though.

[hongman]

Abba came :D

[muzikill]

Nice the abbas pretty essential im keeping an eye on this thread

[hongman]

It took me a good 15 mins just to unwrap the thing, but all I had was a blunt pair of scissors. Still, I reckon it would have survived a nuclear bomb the way it was wrapped!

Indeed very easy to use even for a small chap like me with no strength at all, and very stable. Tried it out at work (thats where it was delivered) and it was a revalation being able to lube my chain without asking the missus to help lift the bike on the stand!

This is going to be really embarassing, I'll be doing things backwards and stuff :( But you wanted it from a novice's POV, so it's beno fun if I didnt **** something up!

[Bibio]

hey hong. if you can wait till the GM (if you decide to come) then you can have a go on a fully sorted SV. it will be set up for someone (me) at 10st. that way you can get an idea if its worth doing. granted your only 9st so it will feel a wee bit 'stiff'.

[Bibio]

hahahaaaaaa ABBA stand unwrapping. tiz a game in its self.

[muzikill]

aye, i remember the first time you go 'hup' and pull the stand back with the handle and watching out in case your pride and joy falls over! - still do it everytime.

[hongman]

hey hong. if you can wait till the GM (if you decide to come) then you can have a go on a fully sorted SV. it will be set up for someone (me) at 10st. that way you can get an idea if its worth doing. granted your only 9st so it will feel a wee bit 'stiff'.

I would love that! :D I'll print this page and bring it with me as proof of offer!

I had my work buddy stand on the other side just in case as well, dont want to break my not-dropping-the-bike record!

[Electro]

Where did you get it from Hong?

[hongman]

The stand? Abba direct

[hongman]

Well, perfect day for it today, but didnt get a chance, between the osteopath appointment and taking my son to London so he could take pictures of his teddy bear on a day trip for a school project...:D

Will see what its like tomorrow, will have to go out to buy a jack for the front as mine has gone walkies.

[barwel1992]

I would love that! :D I'll print this page and bring it with me as proof of offer!

I had my work buddy stand on the other side just in case as well, dont want to break my not-dropping-the-bike record!

and at the AR i will let you ride mine with suspension for 17stone :lol: might be a bit "stiff"

just dont crack the throttle open or you will be doing loop de loops lol

[hongman]

I wouldnt be able to ride yours, you've jacked it up! Well, as long as you "catch" me at the end it'll be ok!

[barwel1992]

I wouldnt be able to ride yours, you've jacked it up! Well, as long as you "catch" me at the end it'll be ok!

ahh yes good point, 30mm+ at the rear and its a k3 so the rear is higher any way

forgot your vertically challenged :p