Suspension gurus-zero weight fork oil?!

Allan S

Simple African lad with a Rocket
Joined
Oct 28, 2016
Messages
456
Location
Toronto Canada
Ride
2016 Roadster-skunk
My service manual for the 2016 roadster tells me on page 24 under "general information - suspension" that the spec fork oil is Kayaba 01 (SAE0W).. Is that possible given that the common wisdom on the forum is that stock weight is 5? If stock is 5 I want to use 7 to slow damping but if its zero, wont 7 be too thick to effectively get through the tiny holes quickly enough to provide any damping at all? What am I missing here?
 
Not what my manual says. 5w oil.
I've upgraded to progressive springs & changed to 7w - it's perfect
 
EasTexRIII said:
Not what my manual says. 5w oil.
I've upgraded to progressive springs & changed to 7w - it's perfect
Click to expand...

Interesting... based on your info I looked online and found a service manual that shows 5wt oil where mine shows 0W oil. I have seen some discrepancies in the past but didn't realize that I probably had an old version. Thanks ! BTW the old version was downloaded from www.manualslib.com
 


I have an 05 with the hard copy manual that the original owner bought with the bike
 
barbagris said:
'tis warmer there than Toronto though!.
Click to expand...


Ah, good point! I went with 7w from advice of @Idaho Red Rocket 3 - He lives in Idaho, gets colder there too.
I'm not that knowledgeable of suspension (I know you are), just repeating good advice that worked for me. wide ranges of rider weight is also a consideration, right?
 
I would not say I know a lot - but I have played and seen what happens when "I move this knob" - And for my sins I have an ever-questioning engineers mind.

I literally lose sleep when I don't understand something - so I am drugged most nights. There is still so much to understand.

imo - it's better to alter the valving than change oil. Spain like Texas is warmish most of the year - my local suspension expert uses 5W unless the valves cannot be re-sprung.

The R3's stock dampers (front and rear) are VERY poor. As are the stock front springs. BUT before playing - I firmly believe there are many factors to take into account.
 

Ill try with the stock oil after the cartridge install as it gets hot here in the summer when I ride 25C-35 C. I park it when it gets down to around 12C- Thanks guys, you are awesome!
 
EasTexRIII said:
I have an 05 with the hard copy manual that the original owner bought with the bike
Click to expand...

So maybe the SAE0W oil ref in the manual is the newer manual? The rest looks pretty much the same randomly checking. I'm sure there are many small differences though.
 
Allan S said:
Ill try with the stock oil after the cartridge install as it gets hot here in the summer when I ride 25C-35 C. I park it when it gets down to around 12C- Thanks guys, you are awesome!
Click to expand...
If you are fitting custom cartridges - they mfr will have taken (should have) account of such factors (if you told them).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

  • Poll
Do you change your oil when storing your Rocket? [Another Oil Change Thread]
Replies
5
Views
858
Gregger
Changed my bevel box gear oil today.....
Replies
0
Views
761
britman
Bobber Fork Internals Replacement
Replies
4
Views
1K
atomsplitter
Zero Emission Vehicles?
Replies
3
Views
1K
Kojack1970
I Got Forked Over
Replies
4
Views
891
atomsplitter
Menu
Log in
Register