Changing Fork Oil

[ArizonaKid]

I just changed the oil in my wife's F650GS and I'm wanting to do it on the Tiger, but in searching the site here someone mentioned that you have to dismantle the front end and "dump" the oil out the top of the fork tubes.  What's that all about?  There's a drain plug in the very bottom of each tube and like most (all?) other fork tubes, I'm thinking all you to is unload the front end (wheel off the ground), remove the drain plug, drain the oil, put the plug back in and fill the fork from the top with the correct amount of fork oil.  You don't really have to dismantle the front end and remove the fork tubes from the triple clamps do you?



And by the way, how much fluid (quantity) do these things require?

[Bob Burnett]

I think that you might find that the bolt you are refering to is not a drain plug but a screw that holds the internal damping mechanism.



When I changed the fork oil on my first Tiger (2000 model) I removed each fork leg and turned them up side down and let the oil run out then pumped the slider in and out for a few minutes and about as much oil came out again.



Oh and when you refill the legs they have to be compressed IE off the bike and to get the correct oil quantity you measure the level fom the top of the fork tube.



Again when refilling you have to pump the fork leg afew times to get the new oil bak into the damping mechanism.



Good luck.





Bob





2006 Black Tiger

[whoa]

720cc oil volume.  I went from 10w to 20w but didn't quite add 720cc when I refilled.  Probably a bit too stiff, if I were to do it again I'd go 15w.



I pulled the forks and carefully drained them into a measuring cup.  Wanted to know exactly how much oil was in, to know how much to install.  The job was simple enough, I probably spent more effort blocking the front than doing the job.



Take your time draining the oil, make sure you get it all.  Some have posted pretty nasty oil coming out.  The oil in my 01 was fine, and I just did this a couple months back.

[ArizonaKid]

Thanks for the info. Guess I'll dismantle the sucker tomorrow and do the job. . .

[Guest]

My solution to nice forks was to mix 2/3 15W and 1/3 10W which gives about 13.66W and fill the forks to 110mm level from the top of the leg (compressed) without the spring.

I thought 15W too stiff. It lost the comfort.

[ArizonaKid]

Thanks for the info.  I did the job this weekend and it wasn't that difficult nor did it take that much time (couple hours).  In the process of dumping out the fork tubes I failed to notice where the one washer was located in the order of things, so. . .  does it go on top of the spring, between the spring and the sleeve/spacer?  Or, does it go on the bottom of the spring, between it and the lower portion of the fork tube?  I reinstalled everything in the first order, hope that was correct, but it won't be hard to correct if it's wrong. Thanks.



I guess I really do need a shop manual. . .

[NortonCharlie]

You got it right the 1st time, on top of the spring.  Between the spring and the spacer.

[ArizonaKid]

Thanks all.  I took Blacktiger's advice on the weight of the oil and mixed 15w and 10w (green and purple) and created something in the neighborhood of 12-13w.  The difference is noticeable and the front end is much stiffer, but not too stiff.  By the way, with 20K miles on my black Tiger, the oil was in need of changing (very dark color and noticeably dirty), so all in all it was an easy task and something that needed to be done. Thanks again, for the help.

[Guest]

Thanks all.  I took Blacktiger's advice on the weight of the oil and mixed 15w and 10w (green and purple) and created something in the neighborhood of 12-13w.  

Glad you like it.