fork oil

[03svrider]

i have an 81 gs450l that i'm doing new fork seals, springs, and oil. my suzuki factory manual says "#15" oil and the clymer says half atf and half 10w40. does the suzuki factory mean 15 weight fork oil and i assume suzuki's suggestion would be the best one to go with?

[Clone]

Just go and buy yourself a bottle of Belray fork oil, you can get it in a number of different weights, one bottle should do you two fork oil changes, I use 20 because I like a fairly stiff fork.

[lurch12_2000]

i have an 81 gs450l that i'm doing new fork seals, springs, and oil. my suzuki factory manual says "#15" oil and the clymer says half atf and half 10w40. does the suzuki factory mean 15 weight fork oil and i assume suzuki's suggestion would be the best one to go with?

Yes, that should read 15w fork oil. I used 20w fork in my 1100G last year but switched this season to 10w for what seems to be a softer ride(less jitter). Used 8 ozs each change.

[bonanzadave]

Lets whip this dead horse !! \\/

I want to drain my forks and add new oil........
How do I drain them without taking anything apart (except the drain screws) and making a big mess ? Last time I did it, when I pumped the forks, the oil shot 1/2 way across the garage.

Ok, After I drain them......
How do I fill em and check em ? Last time I had the caps off I just dumped 8oz in each fork.

Sorry 03svridery for the partial thread jack

[lurch12_2000]

Lets whip this dead horse !! \\/

I want to drain my forks and add new oil........
How do I drain them without taking anything apart (except the drain screws) and making a big mess ? Last time I did it, when I pumped the forks, the oil shot 1/2 way across the garage.

Ok, After I drain them......
How do I fill em and check em ? Last time I had the caps off I just dumped 8oz in each fork.

Sorry 03svridery for the partial thread jack

My story:
do one fork at a time otherwise the front end has a funny way of collapsing off the stand.
take an old 12 oz plastic soda or water bottle and cut the top half off but leaving one side a few inches higher (as a squirt shield)
poke a hole in the plastic to hang off the lower fork with a wire under the drain plug.
I put 4 and 8 oz marks on the drain bottle so I could tell how much drained out and how long to keep pumping the forks to get approx 7-8 ozs out.
The half you don't cut keeps the oil from squirting sideways 3 feet out onto the garage floor or some other object that you have to clean up.
note: one of my forks squirted but the other just dribbled.
keep doing until it barely drips every 10 seconds

I used a small offset funnel and pre measured 8ozs in another cup for filling.

Others have some type of measuring stick but the springs are supposed to be out for that.

[catbed]

to drain them, i'd get some sort of deflector shield (scotty?) so as to stop the oil from squirting too far. i took bwringers advice and got a 2 stroke oil measurement syringe thingy. measure 140mm or whatever, cut a length of tubing, attach it to the syringe, and slurp the excess oil out of the forks.

[80GS750]

so whats the best way to fill them???

[Mark M]

so whats the best way to fill them???

Already mentioned. Make sure of how the level is to be measured. Usually it is with the fork tube fully collapsed and no spring in place. Then overfill and use the syringe (as described by Catbed) and measured tube to suck out until the proper level is achieved.

Mark

[Steve]

Lets whip this dead horse !!

OK, here ya go ...

[80GS750]

sorry guys i still just dont understand....

[kichigai]

Fork Seal Replacement Information

Check out the link below for typical instruction. Your forks should be simular.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A0p2OH6FmI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHSdasWIHVw&feature=related

Here is another method of replacing the fork seal with the tubes still on the bike.

http://www.sportrider.com/tech/146_9906_fork_seals/index.html

Personally, I recommend removing the fork tubes from your bike and rebuilding them one at a time.

Hope this is helpful.