Just wondering if fork oil works better than ATF in front forks?
Power User
Roostin Away
Just wondering if fork oil works better than ATF in front forks?
Power User
Roostin Away
Yes, it deffinatly does. Back in the 80's, there were limited manufacturers that made fork oil, and it was hard to get. Thats why the many of the 3 wheeler manuals recommended atf. Now days oil has come a LONG ways since then. There are a bunch of companys now, the one I perfer best is Bel Ray. It is very good stuff. If you are a heavier rider, you could use 20wt, or a lighter weight or want that stock feel go with 10wt. I believe ATF is considered 7wt, just for future reference. Is this for your 350?
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Power User
Roostin Away
Yes it is.I recently had them apart for new seals.Put in what manual said to use.I have Progressive springs on the way.I have some 10wt and 30wt.Recently saw a lot of posts on fork oil.
Power User
Catch me if you can
IDK what you weigh but I'm 200lbs on a good day and I run 20wt. ATF is like 10wt.
Even the level/height changes the action but we aren't Ryan Villapoto and don't have 2 mechanics. I can't be bothered to play with heights rather than just dump in the recommended ounces of oil.
If you wanted to tune and play with that then you have more time than me! I'll play with upside down forks in the future
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Originally Posted by jays375
Depends on the forks, and how they are valved which is a fancy word for how big the holes are that the oils squishes through. Honda recommended ATF in their old stuff though its a little light for some riders in some applications. Way too light for Yamaha's. Tried it in an 85 TriZ for trail riding and the forks were constantly clunking out to full extension with almost no dampening.
I never had trouble finding fork oil in the 70's and 80's. Probably not as many variations as today, but any shop had it on the shelves. The purpose of special fork oil (or ATF) is that it doesn't foam up when squished back and forth through holes. Hydrualic jack oil is pretty much 30 wt fork oil.
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