Fork seals/rebuild?

[Silverrider]

in my Honda 450r with Showa forks with a gold valve, I mix 10 wt with 15 wt for a 12.5 wt , works well.

[Mike Oxlodge]

I love learning about new machines!

Lunatic, I think that you are correct about sending out the forks for service and setup. I think that I will test the bike out with just the seals and 10W fork oil and see what I think. Once the bike (hopefully) proves itself I will do another disassembly and rebuild over the winter.

Mike

[user_deleted]

Lunatic, I think that you are correct about sending out the forks for service and setup.

mike: springs lose tensile strength.....seals leak....bushings wear out....fluid is wasted....cartridges have and can be updated.
these are things that a competent shop such as orient express and race-tech plus many more handle on a daily basis with brilliance, competence and fair pricing. it seems that very few people ever get to experience cartridge fork assemblies properly serviced, set up and calibrated/valved for a specific rider. considering the major impact and influence these components have on ride and handling qualities...plus the reasonableness of this service....it's shocking more don't indulge themselves. IMO you're making a smart decision.

[TPEHAK]

When I replaced original oil in my fork by 20W I felt no difference. Maybe I'm not so sensitive.

[Cooter]

Thats very hard to believe TPEHAK^^^. It's drastic change from the factory recommended weight, Unless you're huge?? and I thought you were just street riding? (I thought factory was 7.5w? but from memory so YMMV...)

The only reason to go to a heavier viscosity oil would be to be able to help dampen the suspension if it is past or near it's max adjustments. Things that make it hard for a stock suspension to compensate are high weight (225+), high temp (oil loses viscosity), and hard use (track days). In all three of those cases a higher viscosity oil will help damping to control the oscillations of the road/track without cranking your compression and re-bound almost closed.

Race-Tech are my neighbors, and I'll admit to having them do several things for me. I'll also admit the suspension 'black-art' ain't what its cracked up to be. They can re-build forks and make the settings appropriate for the weight of the rider and will do a fantastic job of it. What they cannot do is tune the suspension to your personal tastes. Only you can do that (I'm assuming your last name isn't Rossi or Marquez). They can supply you fork springs that could help you from having to max out your pre-load.

Re-building your forks yourself is easy, satisfying, will help you understand the adjustments, and their limits. If you consider putting a ton of $$ into having someone else upgrade the stock forks, look into upgrading the whole she-bang... Showa big piston forks or Ohlins are a good upgrade. Race-tech can help you with that too.