Change front fork oil - 2005 Yamaha V Star 1100 Classic

Motorcycle front suspension fork service Ohlins FG43 oil level change...

Change fork seals and cha he fork oil sounds like dirty fork oil or low on oil but do change oil and seals gx luck if u want a stiff front end can also use thicker oil check OEM oil viscosity and what they recommend for stiffness

You may not have enough oil in the front forks or you may been a heavier viscosity of oil. I'm sorry but I don't have the oil capacity for your "Low Sportster". All I have is for "Hugger" models. They take 10.7oz. "wet" and 12.1 "dry". The difference between "wet" and "dry" is that if you simply drain and refill the front forks, it's call a "wet" oil change. If you disassemble and clean the forks of all oil inside, it's called a "dry" oil change. Contact the service department of your local shop and ask them how much oil goes in the front fork. To change the oil, there is usually a small screw in the trailing side of the lower fork slider down near the axle. Take these out and the oil will drain to a certain degree. Hold the brake while working the forks up and down with your weight to get all the oil that draining will get out of them. If you want all the oil out, you'll have to disassemble the fork tube. I would not do this if the seals are not leaking. Replace the screws in the sliders and then remove the top cap from one tube at the time and refill the tube with the specified amount of oil. Sometimes, the top caps can be difficult to get back in due to the pressure of the large spring in the front fork tubes. You may need a tool to compress the sping. I'm not sure on the "Low" model. I've always managed to the top caps back in without any special tool but I've never done a "Low" model bike. Harley uses what they call their "Type E" fork oil. I do not know what the viscosity of this oil is so I always use PJ-1 30 weight fork oil for most applications. Use only fork oil as any other oil may have a tendency to foam thereby negating any dampening action of the forks. If this doesn't solve your problem, you may want to check into changing the springs in the front forks. Progressive Suspension and others make kits for this.

Good Luck
Steve

I'm sorry but I don't have the specs on the quantity and type of fork oil for your year and model bike. I work on the older bikes that the dealers will no longer service. But, I can describe the difference between the "wet" and "dry" conditions of the fork assembly. If you take the front forks apart, clean them out, and put them back together with no oil in them, they are considered "dry". For a simple drain and refill type oil change on them where you don't get all the oil out of them, they are considered "wet". I hope this helps, You can call you local dealer's service department and they should tell you the quantity and viscosity of the oil that goes in the front forks on your machine. They'll tell you something like 6 ounces of "Type E" oil, for example. Harley-Davidson uses these types of specs to describe their oils. If you go to a website for fork oil, like PJ1, they may give a cross reference or equivalency chart for converting H-D "Type E" to their oil. I think that would be their 30 weight oil. If the front end seems too "stiff" with 30 weight, you can drop down to 20 weight. I think Honda makes a 25 weight but not sure. Your Harley won't mind the Honda oil. BG.

Good Luck
Steve

To change the fork oil, look down on the lower part of each fork leg just above the axle on the backside of each leg and you'll find an Allen plug or small screw. Take this screw out, hold the front brake and push down on the front forks. The fork oil will come out of the tube. Do both sides at the same time. Once you get the oil out of them, reinstall the drain plug. Then, take the large hex cap on ONE TUBE AT THE TIME and pour the correct amount of the correct fork oil into each tube. There is a specific amount of oil that must be poured into each leg. Since you simply drained your forks instead of disassembling them, you should use what is known as the "Wet" quantity of oil. I'm pretty sure your bike takes 9.0 ounces of oil in each leg. Call your local dealer and they'll tell you how much oil to put in. Your bike came from the factory with "Type E" oil in the forks. The viscosity of the oil determines the dampening effect of the forks. Heavier oil will stiffen the front forks, a lighter viscosity of oil will make the front end softer. You can check the Internet for fork oils and they should give you a comparison of what weight oil is equivalent to "Type E" oil. I think PJ 1's 30 weight oil is the same as type E Harley oil. Use only "fork oil" in your front forks as it has special "anti-foaming" agents in it. If the oil foams up, you'll lose the dampening effect in your forks.

Good Luck
steve

The "clicking" noise you are hearing when you make a "hard stop", is the springs inside the fork compressing. This is not unusual. You can change your fork oil viscosity to stiffen the forks but they may be too stiff once you've done it, The only way to tell is try it.

There is a small screw or bolt on the down low on the fork lower slider. Take this screw out and work the front end up and down, The fork oil will be pumped out the front end. This makes a terrible mess so don't do it in your living room.

Once you have the oil out of the front end, it's best to lift the bike off the ground. Remove the top cap from each tube and refill the fork tubes with the proper amount of oil for a "wet" oil change. Sorry but I don't have that information but it will be somewhere around 10.2 ounces. Check to make sure for your year model. I put 30 wt. fork oil in my FXDWG and the forks are a bit stiff but that's how I like them. Try it and if it's too stiff, you'll just have to change it back to say 20wt or maybe Honda might have a 25 wt. oil. Do one side of the forks at a time.

go on ebay and get yourself an hynes manual for this bike,fork change on this zx10b is easy

change the oil seals and oil in the fork,and avoid wheelies on the bike and off road biking