Trans fluid in forks?

[ericzx7]

I'll have to look into that. Sound like just what this bike needs! Thanks.

[t3rmin]

I'll have to look into that. Sound like just what this bike needs! Thanks.

Mine *almost* pulls the front up under hard accel now. Didn't do that before the jetting change. I love this little bike!

[Steve]

As you can see from the responses above, nobody knows what the viscosity of ATF really is. :shock:

I have seen manuals that call for straight ATF or varying ratios of ATF and motor oil in the forks. Since the viscosity is not known, it is hard to tune the damping of the forks. Most engineers are of the opinion that they know best, so you don't need to tinker with their settings, but many of us do not fit their mold of the typical rider, so we have different requirements for the suspension.

Yes, ATF is a decent lubricant and works well in fork applications, but fork oil doesn't really cost that much more, you know what viscosity you have, and you have the flexibility of tuning.


.

[ericzx7]

Sounds nice. And yes, for a 700, its a blast to ride! This one is my wifes bike. Hope she's ready for all of this! lol:-D

[t3rmin]

My wife is currently learning on the 700. Great learner and still a blast for me. ;-)

[ericzx7]

My wife is currently learning on the 700. Great learner and still a blast for me. ;-)

Same here! I forget how much fun it is if I havn't ridden it for a while. Then I ride it , and it all comes back.

[ironb12s]

Tellya what, I've got a buddy who is an ATS, Ford in particular. I'll pose the viscosity query to him, see if he can give an answer... Most likely, different brands are different viscosity.

Might also find the answer at AMSOIL.COM

[Clone]

Ditto on the trans fluid being 7wt. Way too thin for me, I am using 20wt currently and I am liking it:-D

[Steve]

Ditto on the trans fluid being 7wt. Way too thin for me, I am using 20wt currently and I am liking it:-D

Same line of thought, different direction ...
I found 15w to be too stiff for me, so I am running 10w. Isn't it nice to be able to tune? 8-[


.

[t3rmin]

I'd probably want in the 15w area, so I'd mix with 20w motor oil.

[ericzx7]

Ditto on the trans fluid being 7wt. Way too thin for me, I am using 20wt currently and I am liking it:-D

Same line of thought, different direction ...
I found 15w to be too stiff for me, so I am running 10w. Isn't it nice to be able to tune? 8-[


.

I'd probably want in the 15w area, so I'd mix with 20w motor oil.

I like my suspention to be fairly stiff. I guess I will experiment a little, and see how it works out. Its not like I cant change it up, if I don't like it. Great to have all of this input and advice though. Love it!

[Clone]

The oil doesn't really add to the stiffness of the forks much, if your forks won't compress, your spring rate is too high or you are running too much air. The oil is more for the rebound effect, I find that my forks were too bouncy with the thin oil, now with the thicker oil, the ride has smoothed out and it won't fade in the corners when the road is not smooth. If you really want to mix engine oil and atf, to get a wt between 10 and 15, then use a Hydralic/transmission fluid, most agricultural transfluids are about a 12wt, also they won't foam like an engine oil will. You really don't want to be flinging it through the corners and then find that you have lost damping on the forks, it increases the pucker factor a lot.

[Commodus]

Summary: If you're really poor or can't get the proper oil, ATF will work fine.

If not, it's silly to do so.

[tkent02]

I have heard of people putting in ATF in to clean out the forks, it loosens up the old crud that is stuck down in the bottom.

[Nessism]

Factory manual for the two valve 550 bikes calls for 50-50 mix of 10W-30 motor oil and ATF. I used 15W fork oil instead.