ATF or fork oil

[aldochina]

I dissassembled my forks on the 350 and was wondering what you guys use for fork oil. I know the manuel says use ATF, but is there a benifit to running actual fork oil. I'm about 220lbs if that has any significance. Do they run ATF from the factory? The stuff that came out of the forks was like a brown color almost. I know ATF is red when new. The %$%* stinks too. Forks are in great shape, the lowers still had most of the clear on them, and the retaining ring under the seal still had the factory white lithium on it. Only reason I took them apart is to have them polished. :D

[88 Turbo Coupe]

I would find out what weight the ATF is and use the same weight fork oil. 15 or 20W fork oil will work too.

[pipeline triker]

What I do is put atf in for a little while to flush out any thing bad, like burned oil gunk or what ever may be in the fork. After you have run atf a few good rides drain them and put some good fork oil in. Makes the fork oil last alot longer. Go with a heavier weight Bel ray or simailer oil.

[Bryan Raffa]

I use atf in my forks ,, its a little thicker,,,witch I like..I change mine in the spring and fall and is alot cheeper

[250rAL]

Fork oil will make the seals last longer.

[Dirtcrasher]

Your a big dude, you ought to be running 15wt IMO.

I was told at the dealer that ATF was the equivalent of 10wt, but, they tell you allot so who knows......

[lndy650]

its called atf for a reason....id say use fork oil or use the specific atf the manual suggests some atfs have a lot of crap in them certian kinds have particals to help transmission clutches grab better you dont really want that in your forks.

[SWIGIN]

its called atf for a reason....id say use fork oil or use the specific atf the manual suggests some atfs have a lot of crap in them certian kinds have particals to help transmission clutches grab better you dont really want that in your forks.

yep, i had a 1972 cb750 and it called for 10w-30 in the forks....wtf?

i guess they didn't really have a true fork oil when those old bikes were made.

my buddy tried 5wt all the way to 30wt in his 350x. he has the terry kit with progressive springs but his trike liked the 30wt the best. don't be afraid to go thick.

[The Goat]

I honestly used 5w30 mobil1 synthetic in my forks because it was all I had lying around.

Seemed to help the little 200x suspension cope with my big butt on it.

[Dirtcrasher]

I agree 100% on going thick - esp if your above 200lbs. The problem is it was tough to find anything thicker than 15wt. They looked at me like I was a nut when I wanted 20wt at the local dealer........

Allot depends on whether you like to cruise around and pop over little jumps or launch 6' high :D

[aldochina]

Its easy enough to change, i suppose i will just go with the atf to start, and then I'll try the 15 weight and see how much of a difference it makes! I like to catch a little air, but i dont think I'll be bombing six footers on the 350. Thats what the XR is for.

[Dirtcrasher]

^ Have you thought about the 83/84 250R internals?? I did that to my 350X and I certainly felt better fork action!

Easy to do, great for heavier "MEN!!" and with new seals/rings/bushings and boots and oil you'll be very happy with them.

I got a set of 84R forks that were bent for 30$ shipped and used the guts, threw away the rest :D

I swear I bought another set, must be here somewhere....

I plan on doing the work to putting 85/86 250R forks on it anyhow. Matter of fact, I should hop on it!!, don't know what I'm thinking as I have all the time in the world right now :beer

Maybe it was the mill but she's all wired up now and ready to BORE!! :lol:

[aldochina]

whats the 85/86r swap entail? will they slide right in the x triples? Off topic, you think the exaust heat sheild gets over 200 DEG. Want to touch it up, and theres no high heat here at work.

[racerxxx]

I just completely rebuilt the 200X forks for my SX conversion and I picked up some Belray 20WT fork oil, I'm pushing 225-230 lbs. I saw the ATF in the "manuel" but opted for the fork oil. Really want to know the difference, look up the MSDS sheets, they spell out everything about what's in it.