stupid fork oil question

[Turkina]

At this moment, I'm giving my bike a little Valentine's Day TLC and swapping the fork springs for progressives.  Quick question... Is the stock fork oil supposed to be black and opaque as the ace of spades with a metallic sheen?  The Silkolene oil I'm using to replace it is bluish.  Bike only has 1800 miles on it.  Thanks!

Oh... want to know what 8 year old grease looks like?  Doh!  

Bike ->  :kiss:  <-me

[Bob Broussard]

All oils get contaminated with metals from parts wearing. Even the new oil won't look too good after awhile. :mrgreen:

[Turkina]

Well, I sort of finished swapping the springs.  One thing to make sure to do:  Make sure the fork is fully compressed when measuring the oil.  Pushing the fork tube together quickly until it 'stops' isn't quite there.  Due to the fork oil going through the damping holes, you can push the fork together slowly a little bit more.  I can't remember if I did this, so I have to redo the first fork I did  :x

Other tips... Might have to move the handlebars to access the fork cap bolts of you want to loosen them/tighten them while on the bike.  And while the fork is set in the bench vise to work on the end cap, put a wooden block just below (especially while screwing end cap back on) the end of the fork tube.  If you press down and the tube slips a little, the block will provide a place for the fork to set on.  

Just by pushing on a fork tube. you can immediately tell it's stiffer than the stock setup.  But how stiff a suspension is too stiff?

[scratch]

It's too stiff if you don't have enough 'sag'. That is the difference between the suspension supporting the bike's weight, and the bike's weight and your's. Usually, the rule of thumb is 1/2 an inch. Measure the fork tube, as the bike rests on the side stand, from the top of the slider or fork seal to the bottom of the lower triple clamp. Then sit on the bike with full gear on, helmet too, and have someone else measure the distance. The difference between the two measurements should be 1/2 inch. If you don't have someone else to do the measuring, use a zip-tie on the fork tube, slide it all the way down on top of the dust cap(seal) and then sit on the bike and when you get off you can actually see the difference.

Hope this helps!