Fork oil
 

The progressive springs arrived and i'll be fitting them today BUT the book (Haynes) says 650ml of oil in each fork and the SMALLEST LABEL on the Hyperpro book says 500mls !!!! and you only get 1lt with the kit

WHOS RIGHT PLEASE ?????????????????????

Cheers Phil

I just kept to the hyperpro oil with no problems. What a difference! You'll be shocked!

500ml is correct.

Thankyou kindly gentelmen , thought it would be , but best to ask

Phil

Buy two plastic jugs, exactly the same.

Put one on scales and pour around half the oil into it, then do the same with the other half, then just even it up till get it split in half.

Then you'll have the right amount for each fork.

Don't rely on graduated markings on jugs.

Job done and i now know how CRAP yamaha suspension is !!!!!!

Upgraded just about every bike i've had but this is something else.....................not just better its a completely differant bike :wow:

It is pretty bad, I have to agree. Low rent stuff for any bike, let alone a fairly expensive one for what it is.

It's surprising the forks are so nasty when Paoli (at least I think they're Paolis) made such good ones for the TTR600. They were really great imo.

Is it the springs or the oil that makes such a difference to our Teneres?

Good to know Phil....keep us posted as to how they perform when you get out and about?

:)



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@ 66T , i should have taken a photo of the springs together , the progressive ones are a good 4" / 100mm longer so the spacers is no longer needed and the new ones just look stronger.
They do come with 15w oil which i used although others have said 10w is better !!!

@ Ohlins ....................great choice of name Keith :025: the XT aint no sports bike but bloody hell what a differance !!!
Its proper twisty little roads round here and i'd got used to the XT WALLOW !!! but not now , the thing feels like its on rails and so responsive even had an occasion to do a full on emergence VERY HARD BRAKE to avoid a car (my fault) and didn't kiss the screen :yahoo:

The whole job , front Hagons and back Ohlins and me doing all the work cost me a little over �600 and yes i know it don't grow on trees , but , if you can GET IT DONE :wav:
Phil

OK thanks for that Phil. I hope they work really well for you - sounds like a good start! I have to do something with mine very soon. They really aren't good, especially offroad.

Hmmm. I just checked my w/s manual and it says 650ml, or 145 mm from the top of the tube with the fork fully compressed, spring out.

Are you saying that the heavier springs negate the need for oil to create such an effective air spring, so the lower level is okay?

The Hyperpro springs are made from considerably thicker material, so therefore displace more oil. In order to maintain the correct air gap, the oil volume used should be reduced from 650 to 500ml.

Ok cool, thanks mate.

All this talk about fork performance forced me to do something about the nasty fork action happening with my bike. I found some Ohlins springs, but thought I'd try changing the fork oil first.

Well, the goop that drooled out of those forks was grey and looked like metallic paint. My bike was suffering from lack of both compression and (especially) rebound damping - no surprise there.

I bought some BelRay 15wt oil (equivalent to 10W oil as recommended, ie around 50Cst at 40degC), and set the level 5mm higher than stock.

Bike is duly transformed, and a couple of hundred bucks was saved. Nice.

So what you are saying is that the stock springs work well with heavier oil

No, the stock springs work well enough for me with new oil of the correct weight. 15wt on the bottle doesn't necessarily equate to SAE15W (there's heaps of info on this subject).

In the case of the oil I used, it is equivalent to SAE 10W if you look at its actual viscosity. Fork oil makers can put whatever they like on the bottle apparently; there doesn't appear to be a standard. One manufacturer's 15wt might be another's 10wt, and neither are necessarily one or the other in terms of measured viscosity. It seems they label the bottles to simply differentiate their own products. Who knows?

Of course, there are opinions on the matter that say the SAE method is wrong, too. But as Yamaha say to use 10W (as distinct from a random 10wt) oil, I did that and it works for me, really works. The forks are now pretty fair, which I think is as good as they need to be for my bike, considering their internals.

At least they aren't the trendy but hugely overrated upside down forks, and that alone is a big big bonus for me. I'm not saying usd forks don't work. They do. But they're prone to damage and seal leakage. I have receipts to prove it! Oh wait, I think i binned them in disgust!

Did you consider the Ohlins springs Phil? Why did you go with the Hyperpro in the end?
Is the improvement across the board i.e on and off road as well. Really fancy doing this but nor sure which to go with..

May come down to getting an Ohlins sticker on the forks being the decider :)