Re: Fork Oil?

[Iainhugh]

Hi j6

Finally have the new jets installed. I'm in the uk , I really struggled to get the #58 jet. Managed to finally get one of eBay that was listed for other honda bikes . The carb is all cleaned out and refitted. K&N mesh air filter in the bin and a new piper x foam filter fitted.
I have the front wheel of right now and was thinking I might aswell change the fork oil. I'm wondering what oil I can use. Does it have to be fork oil? As I'm sure I read on yahoo that someone used engine oil?? Is the weight of the oil more important. Is it a good idea to change the oil regularly ie with the brake fluid once a year , as the brake fluid I put In last year is filthy black already
Thanks in advance
Iain Mowat
Scotland

[Lefty]

I used transmission fluid when I did my forks, I've used it on the last 3sets I did.
Motor oil is not an option for forks, it's too heavy.
If your brake fluids are black after flushing them, the seals are probably deteriorating on the inside, as old as the Ascots are, the brake internals only lAst so long.
Time to overhaul the calipers/master cylinders, I'd bet practically everyone on this forum has overhauled the 2 sets, and it's a fairly easy thing to do.

[J6G1Z]

Hi j6

Finally have the new jets installed. I'm in the uk , I really struggled to get the #58 jet. Managed to finally get one of eBay that was listed for other honda bikes . The carb is all cleaned out and refitted. K&N mesh air filter in the bin and a new piper x foam filter fitted.
I have the front wheel of right now and was thinking I might aswell change the fork oil. I'm wondering what oil I can use. Does it have to be fork oil? As I'm sure I read on yahoo that someone used engine oil?? Is the weight of the oil more important. Is it a good idea to change the oil regularly ie with the brake fluid once a year , as the brake fluid I put In last year is filthy black already
Thanks in advance
Iain Mowat
Scotland

Hi Iain,

Sorry to hear that you had such a hard time finding a simple jet, but I'm glad to hear that you were sucessful. You will enjoy the increased rideability when you get it out on the road. You might want to consider changing out the countershaft sprocket for a 16-17 tooth. I run a 16 & like it. There is some slight clearancing required to fit a 17.

About the Fork Oil. You really should replace the old oil with some new fork oil. The Service Manual recommends using 330cc of Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF) in each fork. You DO NOT want to use an engine/crank case oil! Way too thick. The fork oils are in weights of just a few points to 5, 7, 10 weight oil. It's a very light oil so it can pass quickly through the small internal passages, etc. I can't recall what weight fork oil is equivelant to ATF. I believe that it is somewhere in the 5-7 weight range.

I don't know how often you should change your fork oil. I would think that as long as the seal & wiper are working it should last a while.

Good luck
J.

[Iainhugh]

I think I will go for the ATF fluid as I've just drained the fork and that's what came out. Hopefully some new oil and air will make a bit of differance. I'm was planning the 17 tooth but again in uk seems a bit of a challenge. Plenty of 16 tooth on eBay. I'm going to wait to see if there is much improvement over the jets and foam filter.  The bike seemed to run good before so hoping with a cleaned out tank and carb it's noticeably better. 
Iain
Scotland

[plasticadam]

Ian - I get loads of my parts from Wemoto down on the south coast http://www.wemoto.com/bikes/honda/ft_500_c/82/. You could just find a few odd items cheaper elsewhere (but not much) and they are really quick, very helpful and usually have everything in stock.

Of course you may want to get your order in pretty quick before the big vote  - if you guys go down the Independence route you'll get stung for import duty, overseas postage, etc.