i've been reading a bunch about fork oil, but the only question that remains is the weight of the oil.  Are we just supposed to put standard 10-15w gear oil in or is it specifically fork oil for foaming issues or anything like that?  Again, I read a ton of threads and they just gave the weight not if they specifically designed for forks or not.  Thanks in advance.

You can pick up special fork oil at your local motorcycle shop

but is it the same as standard gear oil??  Will I be throwing my money away on "special" oil that does nothing?

Get the fork oil, motor oils may have harmful detergents that may mess with the seals or tube coatings. I don't know this for sure, but wouldn't skip in this area.

aye. i wouldnt mess with teh forks. however, no proven issue with using auto oils in the engine, ive got many thousands of miles, on many bikes using auto oils

Gear oil is way to thick.Motor oil doesn't lubricate that well until it's warm.I bought 2 quarts of 15w at my dealer for $5.I believe it was Rotella,but it was fork oil.It feels different between the fingers than motor oil.Motor oil seems to have a little stickiness to it compared to the fork oil.

Quote from: ben2go on June 18, 2008, 11:10:50 PM
Gear oil is way to thick.Motor oil doesn't lubricate that well until it's warm.I bought 2 quarts of 15w at my dealer for $5.I believe it was Rotella,but it was fork oil.It feels different between the fingers than motor oil.Motor oil seems to have a little stickiness to it compared to the fork oil.

between the 'not yet warm' and the 'two finger test' , ya, things can get weird. i'd go with fork oil, buy a couple quarts, keep it cool, dry, away from light, and know it's there for the next 2-3 years. i mean, it's not like you tear into your forks every 2 months i hope.

good luck !

Suspension oil is close to ATF, which in turn is high detergent motor oil. So, like whatever, cant miss with any of those ... but what weight ?? no clue.
Cool.
Buddha.

Thanks guys, thats what I needed to hear.  I think i'm going to go 10w as I'm only 160 and throw in my prog springs thanks to sikdmax (52 buks shipped!!)  and a .75" spacer and call it a day.  I just didn't know if fork oil is a different kind of oil and apparently it is.   

Quote from: bombadillo on June 19, 2008, 07:29:24 AM
Thanks guys, thats what I needed to hear.  I think i'm going to go 10w as I'm only 160 and throw in my prog springs thanks to sikdmax (52 buks shipped!!)  and a .75" spacer and call it a day.  I just didn't know if fork oil is a different kind of oil and apparently it is.   

Got em? Sweet!

Im gonna replace mine with 15w but thats because I already had the progs in there and it was feelin a lil soft still, and Im about 190.  Good luck!

I know that a lot of fork oils contain "additives to help condition and protect fork seals". Sounds like marketing jargon, but it could have some truth to it 

better safe than sorry!

I figure fork oil is something that is changed pretty rarely, so I can get some regular fork oil (not the super duper, high performance, sythetic blended with platinium fork oil) even if it costs a little more than 10W motor oil

Fork oil is different; suspension performance is rather important as it affects traction and handling.

Change your fork oil every two (2) years; you'll really feel a difference after a fork oil change; it's so much smoother.

Quote from: SIKDMAX on June 19, 2008, 08:09:21 AM

Quote from: bombadillo on June 19, 2008, 07:29:24 AM
Thanks guys, thats what I needed to hear.  I think i'm going to go 10w as I'm only 160 and throw in my prog springs thanks to sikdmax (52 buks shipped!!)  and a .75" spacer and call it a day.  I just didn't know if fork oil is a different kind of oil and apparently it is.   

Got em? Sweet!

Im gonna replace mine with 15w but thats because I already had the progs in there and it was feelin a lil soft still, and Im about 190.  Good luck!

I'm 200# and I run 15w with prog springs.Worked like a dream but showed the rear shocks short comings.The front would take a bump and the rear would squat hard because the front was so much stiffer.So I added a 97 Kat shock.This is just my experience with the prog springs.

I got the only brand my shop had which wasn't cheap.  12.95 a quart.  I'm gonna put it in in the next few days and ride the wife's rebel till its done.  I've got a pretty tight work and home schedule right now so it sucks I can't just get out and do it now.  I decided to go 10w as my weights only 160 and i'm gonna try to just use the springs and washers with no spacer and see how it goes from there.  Its only a 5 minute job to get those caps off anyway, And I can always add a .75" spacer later if its still too soft.  Can't wait for the katana shock to come now.