junglejim
Site Supporter
I'm always amazed at how nasty the fork oil looks and how little time it takes to get that way.
Clearwater Darlas -- Almost
- Thread starter Phil Tarman
- Start date
Coyote Chris
Site Supporter
In olden days. there was a drain bolt and a fill cap. You could measure down to the fluid level with a home made dip stick. That went the way of the zerk fittings on the suspension. Made too much sense.Even though it's not on any maintenance schedule, I try and change the fork oil about every two years. And while the forks are off the bike, give them a good flush and cleaning. The only way to do it properly is to completely diasassemble the forks but it's a lot of additional work so I only do that about every other time.
Who remembers the term "planned obsolecence"?
My YM1 Yamaha also had...wait for it.....adjustable foot pegs.....
Since this topic is well hi-jacked I will “go with the flow”
The last motorcycle I changed the fork oil on was my 1982 CX500. When I drained the fork oil the smell was a horrible rancid stench. I later worked out that someone had previously used auto trans fluid in the forks which, when new, has a pleasant sweet smell.
For those who don’t know auto trans fluid is designed to have a pungent odour when it needs replacing and the CX definitely needed the fork oil changed going by the smell!
Seagrass
The last motorcycle I changed the fork oil on was my 1982 CX500. When I drained the fork oil the smell was a horrible rancid stench. I later worked out that someone had previously used auto trans fluid in the forks which, when new, has a pleasant sweet smell.
For those who don’t know auto trans fluid is designed to have a pungent odour when it needs replacing and the CX definitely needed the fork oil changed going by the smell!
Seagrass
DirtFlier
Site Supporter
ATF was the Honda-recommended fork oil well into the 80s. It worked OK and was available in almost every country while the stuff bottled as fork oil was quite the opposite, as regards availability. I was never a fan of those 5mm or 6mm fork drain bolts. After a few years of neglect, the bottom of the slider is filled with grunge so removing those drain bolts often resulted in nothing coming out! :-(
Warren
2
After owning my NT for about two years I had it at the dealer to change the coolant and asked about changing the fork oil. They said due to the cost of having to remove the forks etc that they did not recommend changing the fork oil until the fork seals stated to leak and needed replacing. After nine years of everyday riding the seals finally started leaking. The fluid that leaked out of the seals did not smell and appeared to be fairly clear.
OP
OP
I ended up taking my bike to Wild West Motorsports and let their Honda guy install the lights and rebuild the forks. I also had them install a pair of LED headlights that I'd bought from Aerostitch last year. The lights were awesome. Until yesterday.
I was riding down to Brighton to meet Colorado Rod. I noticed when I started the bikes the Clearwaters didn't come on for 2-3 minutes. But they worked fine all the way to Brighton and back, about an 80 mile trip. This morning I was just fiddling around and started the bike and the Clearwaters didn't come on.
I've got an appointment week after next for Wild West to try again. But Horse is finally almost done for a while. Maybe. Possibly. I hope.
I was riding down to Brighton to meet Colorado Rod. I noticed when I started the bikes the Clearwaters didn't come on for 2-3 minutes. But they worked fine all the way to Brighton and back, about an 80 mile trip. This morning I was just fiddling around and started the bike and the Clearwaters didn't come on.
I've got an appointment week after next for Wild West to try again. But Horse is finally almost done for a while. Maybe. Possibly. I hope.
DirtFlier
Site Supporter
Warren - what leaks out of the top due to worn fork seals is usually fairly clean. In the bottom of the slider lives all the grunge! :-(
Phil - did you replace the standard headlight bulbs with LEDs?
Phil - did you replace the standard headlight bulbs with LEDs?
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OP
OP
Yes, I did. I bought them from Aerostitch well over a year ago and finally got them installed a few weeks ago. The rubber boot wouldn't fit on the low beam bulb, but since the old rubber beam was dusty, I don't think it was needed much for weather protection. The bottom boot fell out yesterday and I'm going to see if I can get it to stay on. The lights I bought aren't available at Aerostitch this year, but they seem to work well and, when the Clearwaters are working I put a whole bunch of photons down the road.
OP
OP
I took the bike into Wild West Harley/Honda today to have them fix the Clearwaters. It took an hour and (as it should have been) there was no charge. A solder joint was loose and making intermittent or no contact. When I started the bike to ride over to the shop this afternoon, wouldn't you know it? The Clearwaters came on. But then after about 20 seconds they went back out. Now they're working!!! The boot from the high beam location that fell out won't fit with the LEDs in place, but I finally found them in last year's Aerostitch catalog and they are waterproof, so I won't worry about that.