fork oil

[fenton]

please can anyone tell me how much fork oil to put back in the forks after a rebulid on a ntv600?


thanks fenton

[ntvnick]

From the Honda workshop manual - 405 cm3 - which will give an oil level 182mm below the top of the fork leg. The level is measured with the fork tube fully compessed and without the spring installed.

Honda specify ATF for the fork oil, has anyone used anything different? I have just received new fork tubes for mine and will replace them, plus the head bearings once the children have gone back to school.
A thrash up to Birmingham and back in July did for one of my seals and the bike has been off the road since. I did order a used set of forks off ebay, but they never arrived and I wasted a month before my money was refunded. I have been hacking round on my XBR in the mean time.

Nick

Nick

[dpmiller]

ATF is far to thin IMHO. I'm using engine oil, and am considering welding up one or more of the damper ports in the forks to tighten them up more...

[fenton]

i was just thinking of using standerd 10W/30 fork oil is that not up to the job ?

[dpmiller]

Not for me. I'm pretty big and tend to throw the bike around a bit tho...

[honda]

HONDA gives various levels accordingto the model. 10w fork oil recomeneded for all models. 15w made mine far too hard and would have knocked the arms out of you plus the front wheel would not stay on the ground. 5wt left it very dive(y)
J models 182 air gap 405cc oil
K,M,P models 123 air gap 466cc oil
S,T models 106 air gap 482cc oil
Make sure thee is no wear in the bush's, if in doubt replace them. It is possible for the inside of the lower leg to be worn also and there is no way of fixing this.
Use genuine seal kits with new dust seals as those cheapy plastic/hard crap will leak even on real good legs wiithin a month or two.
Cheers honda

[derbyshirebill]

I played around with fork oil mixes. I found the standard ATF or 10w too thin and the front wheel would flap around.
30w was far too thick and apart from being hard on the wrists the wheel would hop.
I'm on a mix of about 15-20w now. I don't notice the front suspension much now- in my book that means it is OK
Cheers, Bill

[derbyshirebill]

Oh, and see the thread below about fork springs and oil- the P model is the same as the later ones, not as shown in Haynes.

[dpmiller]

Now if Honda had actually put compression and rebound valves into the forks instead of a couple of 1/4" holes, then oil choice would be a whole different ballgame.[rolleyes]

[Jake]

Hi Fenton,

Opinions will always differ about fork oil type.

I’ve tried 20w oil but found the suspension too hard.

I prefer 15w and and have had no problems with handling. I also raised the settings on the rear suspension too ensure the front wheel stays ‘on the ground’ and bars did not twitch or wobble at speed.

Changing suspension settings on the rear was done gradually by taking the bike on the road and altering the settings through trail and error…. It’s a fussy procedure to keep stopping and starting to alter the rear suspension (best done on a Sunday morning) but once done it was worth the effort…..

I ended up by testing the bike on the motorway, too ensure the bike was stable in windy conditions and when overtaking lorries etc.

Jake.

[fenton]

i think i will just put the oil in that i had left over from my mc21 rebuild i think it is 15w i let you know how i get on........................

[tweaker]

Thanks for the thread guys .. my NTV dives a bit too much for my liking and I was thinking of putting in 10W (did wondors on my XJ and helped the Deauville too), but after the words of wisdom above I think i'll mix some 10W and 20W to give myself something in between

- Tweaker

[tweaker]

derbyshirebill said:

I'm on a mix of about 15-20w now. I don't notice the front suspension much now- in my book that means it is OK

Hi All - As of last night i'm on a 50/50 mix of 10W and 20W - much firmer . Reckon my mix must be pretty similar to Bill's now. I'll find out for real whether the front end is as I like it this weekend when I blat up from Bedfordshire to north Manchester and back ;D.

All the best all, and ride safe

- Tweaker

[McF]

This is a good thread, I trust Fenton got the info he needed. On the topic of Fork dive and the various remedies offered, is it not better to start with the springs? Most of us are riding bikes that have probably seen some hard use for at least part of their lives, and they're not getting any younger either (the bikes, not the riders). Soft Front springs are more likely to be the cause of diving front ends. Solution is not as cheap though!

[fenton]

yep thanks all! got the info needed but i had a think and have used atf just to give me a benchmark if it turns out to soft i will work up the oil viscositys till i find a setting that i like.