daword2011 Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 After looking at the manual it says some special honda fork oil, named css8 or something like that. My question is after looking aroun some it seems that it is 7.5wt oil? Why does honda have to choose a weight oil that is so special -__- question is I'm a big guy at 6'2" 255, could I bump up to a 10wt oil and if so what oil level should I go with when measuring and how exactly do I measure. First track day this Sunday so I am changing all fluids and chain/sprockets before the track day! Also FYI I have Traxxion 1.1 kg springs that I will be putting in when I get there, what do y'all recommend? Never done fork work before, figured changing springs and oil should be easy though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max1 Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 I've always gone for a medium weight oil (10 WT). Most, if not all Japanese bikes opt for the light oil (5WT) It gives the bike a compliant feel, soaks up the bumps on reasonable roads, but you loose a bit of feel on those bumpy corners. While a medium weight will let you feel the bumps a bit more, you gain on the cornering & those unexpected kidney puncher holes. You can go for the light to medium weight you mentioned. Measuring how much you need is relatively easy, the containers are marked with a clear window. I use a plastic jug with the amounts on the side, makes it easier to pour. Doing your forks is easy(ish). if you can con a friend to help, its easier. You got to have a clean environment, any shit that gets in your oil will shorten the seals life. New seals, something to drift them into place, I use an appropriate sized socket with an extension. Getting the forks apart is relatively easy, getting them back together isn't, I've spent hours trying to compress the forks & cap back into place so you can screw on the cap, only to fail at the last second. You have to make sure the forks spring go in the right way & that their going in to the correct side. A workshop manual is a must have. When done, your back, arms & hands will ache to buggery & you will have lost some bark off your knuckles. But it makes that 1st beer tastes good. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted April 10, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted April 10, 2013 WOW I would have to have a couple days of riding it before jumping on the track after all of that work but yeah 10W sounds good for your size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daword2011 Posted April 10, 2013 Author Share Posted April 10, 2013 WOW I would have to have a couple days of riding it before jumping on the track after all of that work but yeah 10W sounds good for your size. well between work commute and the rain i plan on doing oil tonight, chain/sprockets tomorrow after work, coolant and brake fluid Friday, and all day saturday for the little things and the forks. Does anyone know the mm on the measurement for the oil level in the forks? I heard measuring volume isn't the way to go... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Duc2V4 Posted April 10, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted April 10, 2013 Fork oil W rating aside, to actually measure the levels, you need to collapse the forks completely and remove the springs and measure from the top of the fork leg. Generally the manual will tell you the height level in mm. I think that Jamie recommended 130mm for my install. It's best to do this with the forks removed so that you can compress and extend them to help the oil filter through the dampening rod before taking the measurement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer majordomo490 Posted April 10, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted April 10, 2013 Hi, The SS-8 is a 10 weight oil. Plus is a great oil. I did this mod a few years back but used Racetech .95 kg springs. I am not familiar with Traxxion but you must read their instructions.Their heights and levels may change. The fork oil level is 100mm from the top on a fully compressed fork with no springs installed. I put in racetechs and kept the overall length of the spring and preload spacer the same as stock with the stock oil height. I am 6'3 225lbs naked and this setting was way too stiff for me for road use. I found the recommended spring too stiff and if I did it again I would use the next rate down i.e. one step softer than recommended. I ended up taking this spring out. Changing the fork oil/spring is easy. Getting the forks off to do it is a pain - not hard but time consuming. Once you change the oil the first time, changing springs with the front end installed is easy. If your seals are not leaking don't change them. Only use OEM seals the others are crap. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daword2011 Posted April 11, 2013 Author Share Posted April 11, 2013 ok so remove forks, take off caps and take springs out. Drain the old oil and pump kerosene or diesel through to clean out. Then pump clean fluid making sure to get rid of any cleaning solution, fully compress and fill oil until 100mm from top with good quality 10w oil. De-compress, add springs and spacers, put caps back on (pre-load out of course), and mount to bike again... Thats all for a simple oil change? I will probably take the forks off again when i do my steering and front/rear wheel bearings, at that time i will probably take them to a shop to get disassembled and rebuilt, might even send them and my rear shock into James Daughterty if i have the change at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Duc2V4 Posted April 11, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted April 11, 2013 Close, I typically have the fork extended, start filling them with fluid, about half way through the pour, I compress and extend the fork and move the dampening rod up/down a few times, then start filling them again, do that one more time after you put in all the fluid, and then collapse the fork all the way and measure. This is a basically bleeding the fork so that the fluid gets all the way through the dampening rod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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