not an oil thread1!!! (mobil 1) - nklr

[RichardM]

I think the last message got lost. Sorry if this is a repeat.. My front suspension feels unusually soft. Maybe it was a slow degradation and I just didn't notice until now. Maybe it was an immediate thing and something's broken. I don't know. There are no signs of oil leakage. Do I need to disassemble and repair something / overhaul them? Should I just install Progressive springs and new oil and be done with it? The bike (A14) has 11k on it and the forks haven't been serviced in any way. RM <-- forkishly ignorant and needs help... PS. Who has a good deal on the Progressive springs?

[monahanwb@yahoo.com]

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., "RichardM" wrote:

> My front suspension feels unusually soft. > The bike (A14) has 11k

on it and the forks haven't been serviced in

> any way. > > RM

Why don't you do the cheap fix and drain the fork oil (easy), then add about 390 ml (or thereabouts, exact accuracy is not as important as the gurus would have you think) of fork oil in each tube? You might like it. It should cost about $7. Bill forkin em here in Nippleopolis CA

[RichardM]

>Why don't you do the cheap fix and drain the fork oil (easy), then >add about 390 ml (or thereabouts, exact accuracy is not as important >as the gurus would have you think) of fork oil in each tube? You >might like it. It should cost about $7.

I've thought about that. It's pretty cheap to try, and it may make me happy for a few months while I pay the bike off. What weight oil is in there now? What weight oil should I try with the stock springs? I want to get the bouncing under control without over-dampening the front end. Is that 390ml per fork tube? RM

[Swede]

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., "RichardM" wrote:

> What weight oil is in there now?

Should be 10 wt.

> What weight oil should I try with the stock springs?

I'd try 10 wt. first, see if it helps, if not, go to the next, 15 wt.?

> Is that 390ml per fork tube?

Si. I think?

> > RM

[Dale Johnson]

Hey RM, remember when you sat on my bike and said it sat lower than yours?.. I had never changed the fork oil.. @ about 29000 miles, well 2 weeks ago I drained the stock muck and replaced with 15wt and also put in 6in spacers (pvc pipe) instead of the 5 inch stock ones.. MUCH better, I am back up where I am supposed to be.. Dale

[RichardM]

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., "Dale Johnson" wrote:

>2 weeks ago I drained the stock muck and replaced with 15wt and also >put in 6in spacers (pvc pipe) instead of the 5 inch stock ones.. >MUCH better, I am back up where I am supposed to be..

Stock springs? How is that 15wt stuff? Harsh on the freeway?

[gyb@sprynet.com]

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., "RichardM" wrote:

> My front suspension feels unusually soft. The bike (A14) > has 11k on it and the forks haven't been serviced in any way.

Soft or bouncy? Changing the fork oil with heavier stuff will increase the damping, which may seem to make the forks stiffer, but really doesn't (unless you make the damping so hi that it interferes with the spring action). This will slow the motions of the forks (both up and down), so the bike wont dive so quickly. It will still compress the same amount, it'll just be more controlled. On my street bike, that was enough to make a significant difference in handling. If the forks compress too much, especially if you bottom them easily, new springs is the only real solution. Gustavo

[RichardM]

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., "The Squasher" wrote:

> SO would a straight 30 or 40 wt oil be better then a multigrade

oil? Just

> asking.

Everything Devon posted agrees with what I believe to be true about multigrade oils and additive packages. In extreme push-the-oil-beyond-the-limit circumstances, a synthetic nondetergent monograde oil provides the best lubrication money can buy. Trouble is, such an oil is completely unsuitable for any normal consumer application. The mass market retail monogrades probably do provide superior lubrication since they have no viscosity modifiers to get broken down over time, nor are they subject to the shear instability that plagues viscosity modifiers and causes the effective viscosity to drop at high pressures. Will they make your bike last longer? Maybe, maybe not. Cold start oil flow is an issue for moto engines as well as cage engines. You could say that Kawi has a good reason for specifying multigrade oils. You could also say that they are full of shit - after all they also wrote the specs on the oil sight glass location, the rear sub-frame bolts, the chain-driven counterbalancer subsystem, the pot-metal shift lever, and the noodley forks. RM

[RichardM]

> Soft or bouncy?

Both. Not enough damping (it oscillates a bit after weight shifts) and the spring is too soft. I seldom bottom it, though. Tonight I'm dumping in the correct amount of 15wt oil. I know that I should also get new springs but I'm in cash conservation mode for the next few months. For $8 worth of fork oil I think it'll help quite a bit. RM

[Dale Johnson]

Dick, You should make your take out the spacers and throw in some longer pvc, the poor mans spring upgrade Dale

> bit. > > RM