Does anyone know 79 GS1000L fork oil capacity

[albertaphotog]

If anyone knows what the fork oil capacity on a 79 GS 1000L is I sure would appreciate knowing. I have a Haynes manual that tells me 240, a more comprehensive manual on the Bikecliff site that says 245 and a tutorial on the same site that says 251. I'm inclined to go with 245 but it would be nice to be sure. Thanks for any assistance. Duane

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. albertaphotog,

The fork related guides on my website refer to my particular 1980 GS850GT (251 ml). I always end up setting the fork oil level to 140 mm using a small plastic bottle pump. You'll see pictures in the Install Progressive Fork Springs guide and the Fork Seal Replacement guide. You can vary the amount of fork oil a little depending on the ride you want. The important thing is to get the same level of oil in both forks, within 1 mm. Let me share some GS lovin'.

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[albertaphotog]

Thanks for your reply and welcome. I can't begin to tell you how helpful your site as well as GS Resoures has been to me. I really don't know what I would do without these resources. I called Suzuki service centers in my area trying to find my answer and they only have specs going back to 93, haha. I went with 245 based on the manual you have on your page. I sure find the Haynes manual that I have to be lacking in a lot of areas.

[DPage]

I like setting the fork oil level by height from the top of the tube, not measuring volume, because the forks have to be completely dry for the volume measure to be accurate. Just set a Softsoap pump to the right length, then pump out the extra oil in the tubes and you get the exact same level on both. The tubes have to be straight up for this, just ziptie them to the leg of a toolbench or chair.

Since you have an "L" model, the tubes are longer and the distance from the top of the tube to oil level is longer as well. According to my Clymer manual, that distance is 160MM (6.3 inches) for an 850L, and even longer, 260MM (10.2 inches) for a 1000L. Start by pouring in a little more oil than the manual recommends, then pump out the excess with a preset Softsoap pump (in your case, 260MM).