Mixing fork oil-My Experience
Thread Starter
|
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 2,034
Likes: 128
Mixing fork oil-My Experience
From time to time I see folks complaining about the high speed dive that is inherent on late model touring bikes. If you are sheening down the highway at 60 mph and something causes you to hit the front brake, those two big disk brakes will bring your speed down very quickly. The resulting deceleration will make your front end dive, in my opinion, too quickly. The fix is relatively easy, if you are handy. I removed the stock 5 wt oil (Type E) from my front forks a year ago and replaced it entirely with Screaming Eagle fork oil, which is 15 wt. It definitely firmed up the ride and completely stopped the high speed dive problem. But, it was just a little too firm for my old body.
So, last week, I decided to try something else in the forks. My front forks hold 10.7 oz of oil in each shock. This time around I removed 3 ozs of the Screaming Eagle 15 wt from each tube and replaced it with 3 ozs of Type E fluid. So, I had 7.7 ozs of Screaming Eagle (15 wt) + 3 ozs of Type E (5 wt) fluid in each shock. I buttoned everything up and headed for the open highway followed by a run down a somewhat bumpier road going home. The ride with the new mixture was much better suited for me. I no longer had the jack hammer effect when going over a bumpy road, yet I still had a firm ride without the "dive" at high speed. So, if you are looking for a change, consider this.
So, last week, I decided to try something else in the forks. My front forks hold 10.7 oz of oil in each shock. This time around I removed 3 ozs of the Screaming Eagle 15 wt from each tube and replaced it with 3 ozs of Type E fluid. So, I had 7.7 ozs of Screaming Eagle (15 wt) + 3 ozs of Type E (5 wt) fluid in each shock. I buttoned everything up and headed for the open highway followed by a run down a somewhat bumpier road going home. The ride with the new mixture was much better suited for me. I no longer had the jack hammer effect when going over a bumpy road, yet I still had a firm ride without the "dive" at high speed. So, if you are looking for a change, consider this.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
