Few questions about fork oil change...

[Basri...]

My '97 is at 68000 km and i think fork oil has never been changed or inspected by previous owners..

This is the only information could find in site;
http://tigertriple.com/forum/index.php/topic,5855
and it is only about the gauge, not the process..

My questions; :oops:

* If there is a detailed, photo thread about it, could you post the link

* Can we use volume instead of height for measurement ? If we can, how many cc or liter go in each fork leg ?

* İnstead of sucking, can it be discharged by removing the bolts at the bottom of legs?

* Do i have to remove the fork legs for the process ?

* 5w or 10w... which do you recommend for steamer ?

Sorry for many questions, excuse my ignorance...

[Mustang]

My questions; :oops:



* Can we use volume instead of height for measurement ? If we can, how many cc or liter go in each fork leg ?

* İnstead of sucking, can it be discharged by removing the bolts at the bottom of legs?

* Do i have to remove the fork legs for the process ?

* 5w or 10w... which do you recommend for steamer ?

Sorry for many questions, excuse my ignorance...

On your bike with the Kayaba forks that have the drain holes on them , just pull the plugs and let the oil run into a catch pan .

Hold the front brake and push down on the handlebars then pull back repeat , you know like a pumping action .

when you have all the old oil out (you'll never get it all)

have the front wheel suspended in the air before you take the caps off the tops of the fork tubes and fill the tubes with oil to the recommended height The measurement need to be taken after you pump some oil into the suspension a couple of times and they are fully compressed and use a stick to at least go as deep as the oil level and then mark the stick at the top of the forkleg and then measure to the oil mark on the stick adjust the level by either adding more oil or draining some out the drain holes

5wt gives a softer ride and 10w helps on brake dive
For my taste I like to dump a little of each into the legs .

It's the Showa forks that need to be removed to service as they have no drain holes

[Colonel Nikolai]

'96 Steam are Showa, then?

[Mustang]

if your 96 doesn't have drain holes I would suspect someone swapped them .

This is a 97 and look at the bottom rear of the fork tube ..........drain holes !

[Basri...]

On your bike with the Kayaba forks that have the drain holes on them

Thank you for your reply Mustang but are you sure ?

Manual confuses me because it says;

up to vin number 43523 130mm for KAYABA
from vin number 43524 144mm for SHOWA

My VIN 48037

Here some photos of my forks;

Is this the drain plug ?



From side


And from top


Bike pulls right at low speeds and dives, i definately will use 15wt. but do not want to do anything before i'm sure they are Kayaba...

[Mustang]

that's not the drain plug , thats the bolt that is holding the guts together ...........you got showa forks so have to pull the front wheel and brakes and fork tubes out of the trees

take the fork caps off and pour the oil out
refill with correct quantity and then reassemble bike .

[Basri...]

you got showa forks so have to pull the front wheel and brakes and fork tubes out of the trees

take the fork caps off and pour the oil out
refill with correct quantity and then reassemble bike .

Thanks, sounds easyer to me.. :D

[Basri...]

I have been searching internet last 4 days to find an information for how much cc goes in each leg, ended up with no information.
Volume will be much more convenient to me rather than height measurement.

Anybody has any idea, how much cc go in each Showa fork leg on Steemers ?

Even an aproximite volume measurement will be apriciated...

[Colonel Nikolai]

I just read through the Haynes manual about this. I think there are a couple of things to note on your question. It says:

"Slowly pour in small quantities of the specified grade of fork oil at a time and pump the fork to distribute the oil evenly. Note that specific oil quantities are not available. The oil level must be measured and adjustment made by adding or subtracting oil"

To take the measurement:

"Fully compress the fork tube into the slider and measure the fork oil. Add or remove oil until oil is at the level specified"

Specifications:

Tiger up to VIN 43523: 130mm / SAE 10
Tiger from VIN 43524: 144mm / SAE 10W-20

This is one of the harder jobs in the book: out of 5 levels of difficulty, this one is a 4.

[Colonel Nikolai]

if your 96 doesn't have drain holes I would suspect someone swapped them .

This is a 97 and look at the bottom rear of the fork tube ........

Thank you mustang! That is exactly what mine look like. They do not look like Basri's forks at all. Mine is a 96.

[Basri...]

Tiger from VIN 43524: 144mm / SAE 10W-20

Just to make it sure, i will measure the distance between the top of the tube and the top of the oil..

That's what i understood from the manuel.

In another word, will measure the air in the tube, not the oil..

Is this correct ?..

[Bixxer Bob]

That is correct.

I made up a tool to make this easy, only to find you can buy them as well.  You'll need a bit of bar, a piece of stiff tube, a bit of flexible tube and a syringe or similar.  Drill the bar the size of the tube, slide the tube through the hole.  Lock it in position so it measures whatever your oil / air gap is.  Connect the flexi tube to the top, and to the syringe.  Overfill the fork tube.  Put the stiff tube in until the bar rests on the top of the fork tube.  Draw the excess oil out with the syringe.  When you draw air you know the measurement to the oil is exactly right. Job done.  

If your fork oil is really old, or you don't know when it was last changed, it's worth whipping the innards out and giving them a good clean as well as flushing all the old oil and sludge out of the fork bottom.  Then refill, pumping them as advised above.

If you decide not to go that far, at the very least pump the fork tubes a few times until you're sure you've got all the old oil out, otherwise all you'll replace is the free space oil and leave the thick dirty stuff in the bottom.

When you see the colour of the old oil you'll really want to do it properly though...... :D

[Basri...]

Thank you Bixxer Bob, i'm afraid still have the factory oil in..

[MtheTiger]

I have been searching internet last 4 days to find an information for how much cc goes in each leg, ended up with no information.
Volume will be much more convenient to me rather than height measurement.

Volume is much more convenient in my opinion.
Searching the interweb I found that a webshop in the Netherlands called Motozoom states online that each leg needs 670cc SAE 10W oil as standard. This seemes a bit to much in my opinion.

T400 - 1997 - I guess KAYABA 'cause I have drainplugs on the side.

[Basri...]

each leg needs 670cc SAE 10W oil as standard. This seemes a bit to much in my opinion.

This seems too much to me too...

I've replaced BMW "GS" fork oil many times, they have no spring in them, work ony with oil pressure, even in this case, 470 cc go in each leg.

Anyhow, when the time comes and ı replace my steemers fork oil, ı will go with 144 mm height measurement and will check how many cc left in my 1 liter oil container, deduct it from 1 liter and will post here the egzact volume amount that goes in each steemer SHOWA fork leg