1982 GS1100G 37 mm fork oil weight and volume.

[Mosquito13]

Tried the search tool but two wordings and three pages deep on each search did not turn up info. Drained with top air caps off over night. Before doing that they held air at 12lb for 24 hours , so i am comfortable that the seals are good. Need to know the weight and volume of fork oil to add. Ordered a manual but it will not be here till after the weekend.

 

[Guest]

Stock fork springs or aftermarket? I would say 10W for stock springs, can't say on the height/volume if you are using air assist. What does your service manual say for stock volume?


Mark

 

[Mosquito13]

Stock springs or what was in the new to me 35 year old bike. 37k miles . May up grade to proggressives and dive in deeper, if fresh oil dosn't slow things down. No manual came with bike, as said got a clymer on order. Need volume in fluid ounces or ml. . Got a most of a qt of spectra 15w left from doing a friends goldwings forks.

 

[Guest]

Stock springs or what was in the new to me 35 year old bike. 37k miles . May up grade to proggressives and dive in deeper, if fresh oil dosn't slow things down. No manual came with bike, as said got a clymer on order. Need volume in fluid ounces or ml. . Got a most of a qt of spectra 15w left from doing a friends goldwings forks.

If you are looking at Progressive Suspension springs then do it right and get Sonic or Race Tech straight rate springs in the correct rate (I recommend the Sonic springs myself). The 15W will be OK if you want to confirm that your fork springs are shot (I assure they are). Download a service manual here: http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/


Mark

 

[Guest]

According to my OEM manual:

Volume in each fork leg - 255 ml (8.62 US oz)
15 weight oil
air pressure - 0.6 kg/cm2 (8.5 psi)

You can replace the stock spacer with a longer piece of PVC pipe to stiffen up the front, but the stock front suspension is pretty soft anyway...

I don't use air because it will push the oil past the fork seal if it's too much pressure (which is easy to do).

I agree with mmattockx to replace the stock springs with straight rate Sonic ones. Get the correct rate for your weight & riding style and you will notice a big difference. I have used the progressives as well & didn't think they made that much of a difference on these big heavy bikes...

http://sonicsprings.com/catalog/index.php

 

[Mosquito13]

Great info and thanks for the links. Long 4th weekend and now I can do all the fluids and some other maintenance( thanks again for link to manuals). The Sonic's spring rate calculator helped a lot, would not have had a clue and would have had to call. Going to try the fresh oil and cutting a couple lengths of pvc over stock spacer in 1/2" increments. See what the weekend shows. For $85 it is a ez jump to fix a scary front suspension. Think I will try a set of their springs in one of the rd's. I thrash those little two strokes and have been running progressives in them for years.

 

[bwringer]

I'm a speedy galoot, and I use Sonic springs (1.1 rate to match my, er, mass) with 10W fork oil.

I found that once I had proper springs in there, I didn't need the 15W fork oil to keep things controlled. 10W gives much better feel and handling, not to mention a less harsh ride.

Also, the AMOUNT of fork oil is mostly irrelevant. You need to set the fork oil LEVEL correctly, and set it the same on both sides. 140mm from the top (with springs out and fork leg collapsed all the way and held vertically) is the GS standard. Overfill a bit, pump a while to get all the air bubbles out, then use a large syringe with a measured piece of tubing to slurp out oil to the correct level.

The Sonic springs really make a huge difference over the limp "one size fits all" Progressives. Even just putt-putting around, you notice a lot less brake dive and much improved handling.

 

[Guest]

(with springs out and fork leg collapsed all the way and held vertically) is the GS standard.

held vertically? you've got to be kidding....

 

[Steve]

held vertically? you've got to be kidding....

Since the proper way to do this involves removing the fork tube from the bike, it's really rather easy to hold it vertically. :-\\\

I will second bwringer's recommendation on Sonic springs and 10w oil. Since the 850 is a few pounds heavier than your 1100, and I have added a bunch more weight to the front (frame-mounted fairing), I also went with the 1.1 rate springs. Brian (bwringer) needs the stiffer springs due to riding style, I need them for the additional weight on the bike. The 10w oil is great.

I also agree that it is the LEVEL that is more important than the amount. Some will say that the level needs to be within 1mm or so from side to side, I'm not so sure it needs to be quite that precise, but certainly as close as you can get them.

.

 

[RichDesmond]

... Some will say that the level needs to be within 1mm or so from side to side, I'm not so sure it needs to be quite that precise, but certainly as close as you can get them..

You're right, anything within 3-4mm is fine.

 

[Guest]

Since the proper way to do this involves removing the fork tube from the bike, it's really rather easy to hold it vertically. :-\\\

I will second bwringer's recommendation on Sonic springs and 10w oil. Since the 850 is a few pounds heavier than your 1100, and I have added a bunch more weight to the front (frame-mounted fairing), I also went with the 1.1 rate springs. Brian (bwringer) needs the stiffer springs due to riding style, I need them for the additional weight on the bike. The 10w oil is great.

I also agree that it is the LEVEL that is more important than the amount. Some will say that the level needs to be within 1mm or so from side to side, I'm not so sure it needs to be quite that precise, but certainly as close as you can get them.

.

there is no way you have to pull the fork tubes off the bike to check and / or adjust the oil level. or even change it for that matter...

proper way or not that would be ridiculous.

?? I thought I was on your ignore list??

 

[bwringer]

held vertically? you've got to be kidding....

If you don't want to remove the forks, then just be careful about where you slurp the oil from. On my fork oil level tool, the tubing is zip-tied to a stiff wire so I can be somewhat precise about where I draw the oil from. Slurp from the middle and it's the same as if you're holding the fork leg vertical. Subtract a few mm and slurp from the back.

 

[cowboyup3371]

there is no way you have to pull the fork tubes off the bike to check and / or adjust the oil level. or even change it for that matter...

proper way or not that would be ridiculous.

?? I thought I was on your ignore list??

Unless you are going to change the seals which means you have to change the fluid at the same time

 

[RichDesmond]

there is no way you have to pull the fork tubes off the bike to check and / or adjust the oil level. or even change it for that matter...

proper way or not that would be ridiculous.

?? I thought I was on your ignore list??

It's not ridiculous, it's the best and most accurate way to do the job. It's also very easy. You can have the tubes off the bike in 10 minutes.

 

[Guest]

It's not ridiculous, it's the best and most accurate way to do the job. It's also very easy. You can have the tubes off the bike in 10 minutes.

so if I want to see how 20mm higher fork oil level is going to behave you are suggesting I take off the front wheel pull the forks out and ad oil, reassemble. Or if I want less rebound damping say so I go to 10w instead of 15w same drill?
how about when I pull the emulator to ad a turn, or back off 1/2 a turn? gotta take out the spring, going to lose a little oil.
it ads more than 10 minutes, I still don't see the point, I could do the trigonometry instead.

I can see the argument if I was changing seals anyways, ( i would check again after installation for a base line. then again after a good ride because sometimes the oil level drops after complete overhaul) but for playing around ...... for me, no way.
still think its a little ridiculous but then I don't have Sonic Springs...

 

[RichDesmond]

so if I want to see how 20mm higher fork oil level is going to behave you are suggesting I take off the front wheel pull the forks out and ad oil, reassemble. Or if I want less rebound damping say so I go to 10w instead of 15w same drill?
how about when I pull the emulator to ad a turn, or back off 1/2 a turn? gotta take out the spring, going to lose a little oil.
it ads more than 10 minutes, I still don't see the point, I could do the trigonometry instead.

I can see the argument if I was changing seals anyways, ( i would check again after installation for a base line. then again after a good ride because sometimes the oil level drops after complete overhaul) but for playing around ...... for me, no way.
still think its a little ridiculous but then I don't have Sonic Springs...

If I was just changing the level a little I probably wouldn't pull forks off. If doing a full change to change weight, I would. No need to mess with oil at all when adjusting emulator (I use one of those 4 prong grabbers to pull the emulator out, and pulling the spring out slowly doesn't lose enough oil to worry about) so no need to pull forks there either.
Doesn't matter what kind of springs you have.

 

[Guest]

If I was just changing the level a little I probably wouldn't pull forks off. If doing a full change to change weight, I would. No need to mess with oil at all when adjusting emulator (I use one of those 4 prong grabbers to pull the emulator out, and pulling the spring out slowly doesn't lose enough oil to worry about) so no need to pull forks there either.
Doesn't matter what kind of springs you have.

aH Hah!..... so I'm not on the wrong planet after all

I pull the emulators out with my pully tool as well, but I have my calibrated suction stick (piece of tape) that I recheck oil levels after.
I change oil every couple of years as well, (when I do brake fluid). nice to have drain plugs in the forks, newer bikes don't.

 

[RichDesmond]

aH Hah!..... so I'm not on the wrong planet after all

I pull the emulators out with my pully tool as well, but I have my calibrated suction stick (piece of tape) that I recheck oil levels after.
I change oil every couple of years as well, (when I do brake fluid). nice to have drain plugs in the forks, newer bikes don't.

Even on bikes that have drain plugs I rarely use them. I do fork oil changes when I put a new front tire on. At that point I have the wheel off (and on some bikes the fender too) so it's just a few more bolts to loosen and the forks are in my hand. Actually faster and easier to do it that way than waiting for it to dribble out of the drain hole.

 

[Mosquito13]

All great stuff. . . messed with a couple.differnt lengths of spacers and the fresh 15 weight i had on hand. Front end still sucks . So going to order up a set of the 1.0 springs.Thanks again for the link. Seals are still good . in the maunual it talks about flushing the forks . what product to use is not mentioned. Mineral spirits ? Then blow it out. I got the long weekend to mess with it ... Figure 10 days with the 4th before new springs show up and i will get to bolt everything toghere. It looked to be 35 year old fork oil when i did the initial drain.

 

[RichDesmond]

All great stuff. . . messed with a couple.differnt lengths of spacers and the fresh 15 weight i had on hand. Front end still sucks . So going to order up a set of the 1.0 springs.Thanks again for the link. Seals are still good . in the maunual it talks about flushing the forks . what product to use is not mentioned. Mineral spirits ? Then blow it out. I got the long weekend to mess with it ... Figure 10 days with the 4th before new springs show up and i will get to bolt everything toghere. It looked to be 35 year old fork oil when i did the initial drain.

Some ATF works well to flush. Pump the old oil out (fork leg inverted) put some ATF in, cycle the forks through their travel a few times and pump it out.