Fork rebuild, Fork Oil weight with Progressive Suspension...

[pwhoever]

I have a CSC Viper kit and have been using Progressive Suspension springs since before the conversion. I know there are opinions that they are too harsh and others that like them. I'm fine with them so that's not what this thread is about.

My question is about the different weights. I am in the middle of the rebuild and ready to start filling them back up with oil. I did them several years ago but for some reason I can't remember what weight fork oil I used. Long story short, I had moved since last time and garage is still a mess. When I ordered all the replacement parts this time (seals, bushings, etc...) I also ordered Bel Ray 15w oil. In back corner of garage on a shelf, I just found a half filled bottle of Maxima 10w oil. Now I'm second guessing my choice of weight. I honestly don't recall if I used 10w or 15w on my last fork overhaul.

For those using PS fork springs, am I ok using the 15w oil or would the 10w be the better choice?

 

[pwhoever]

Decisions, decisions... I now have both 10w and 15w in hand and will be doing the refill and finishing up tomorrow. My young son will be spending the weekend with me and asked if he could help and learn so that's the reason for waiting. I will probably call an audible but am leaning towards the 10w though.

I am also taking the opportunity to change out my fork brace from the Superbrace over to a Kuryakyn one. I honestly haven't had any problems with the Superbrace like others have had and have been using it for several years now. But it's not adjustable like the Kury one is and it just makes more sense.

 

[pwhoever]

Well I decided on the 10w and now I have to start putting everything back together. I need to get the new tire on there before I can fully complete this. I'm hoping to get it done over the next couple days...

 

[GoldWingrGreg]

Well I decided on the 10w and now I have to start putting everything back together. I need to get the new tire on there before I can fully complete this. I'm hoping to get it done over the next couple days...

I was hoping other trike owners would give their feedback. Another option is to call the trike manufacture and ask them. Many kits come with Progressive Springs as an upgrade to lift the front end higher.

 

[pwhoever]

Well what's done is done. Forks are now filled with the 10w, cleaned up and reinstalled. New Battlax BT46 mounted along with wheel and fenders cleaned. They haven't looked this good in a long time. I even decided to ditch my SuperBrace fork brace for a Kuryakyn adjustable fork brace. It just made more sense. I'm dying to take it out for a shakedown ride but for various reasons I can't until late tomorrow afternoon or sometime Monday. I have my fingers crossed and hopefully the hard work will pay off and was worth it. I'm leaving Wed on another road trip this time to Mena AR.

 

[Marc H]

Having never messed with the forks on my 1800 I have no real input.I don't know if Honda has multiple weights but the Honda fork oil listed for the 1500 in the manual and what I started out with in it was a 7wt so my opinion is with the Progressive springs I think you have the right thing with the 10wt.

 

[Ghost Rider 2]

I rebuilt the front forks on my Roadsmith 2014 GL1800 I used the progressive springs and 10W fork oil. I am happy with the ride. also installed a BT46 on the front.

 

[Vulcanscott]

On My 09 MT I Used NOS factory springs all new seals and bushings . For oil I went with 10w and 4oz of 15w that I had left over from My Bike forks. I blocked off the anti-dive and installed a BT46 tire . I also changed the rear shock bushings the air bags the rear tires . Rides like a differant machine. Very Happy oragS the NOS springs were 17.00 each on E-bay

 

[GoldWingrGreg]

Thanks you to the others who provided feed back on their fork oil. Unless I learned something here, we'll continue to use Honda's SS8, 10w fork oil on the set-up discussed.

To the OP ... be aware that fork pipe protection is critical, and why we recommend the Traxxion fork brace. It also adjusts in the middle, and I think their fork sheilds are a little taller then the OEM ones. I believe the Kury one has much shorter sheilds exposing the pipes to rock damage.

I was just thinking of this yesterday. Because 5th gens are ageing, at least on trikes with easy steer, it seems that a common fork OH, after the parts are carefully cleaned and properly inspected, often includes a left slider, and at least 1 pipe. I think the last 3 I've done, both pipes got replace, the left slider, and one even got a new damper.

 

[pwhoever]

Thanks you to the others who provided feed back on their fork oil. Unless I learned something here, we'll continue to use Honda's SS8, 10w fork oil on the set-up discussed.

To the OP ... be aware that fork pipe protection is critical, and why we recommend the Traxxion fork brace. It also adjusts in the middle, and I think their fork sheilds are a little taller then the OEM ones. I believe the Kury one has much shorter sheilds exposing the pipes to rock damage.

I was just thinking of this yesterday. Because 5th gens are ageing, at least on trikes with easy steer, it seems that a common fork OH, after the parts are carefully cleaned and properly inspected, often includes a left slider, and at least 1 pipe. I think the last 3 I've done, both pipes got replace, the left slider, and one even got a new damper.

I will keep this in mind. I didn't do a very close inspection of the pipes but did make sure there were no nicks or scrapes which there wasn't. I got a chance to do a 10 mile run last night and another 30+ mile run this afternoon. So far it seems to be much better. Forks seem to be doing just fine. And before doing the rebuild, I did have a weird popping feel on tight turns that I discussed on another forum. The steering stem bearings had been pointed to as the most likely culprit. But seems like the forks and possibly old tire were the cause as it is now completely gone. I'm still not happy with having to settle with a bias ply on front as I can feel a lot more imperfections on the road but I have my fingers crossed that a rep for Avon/Goodyear is correct and the AV91 trike tire will start showing up mid October.

And you are right about the shield on the Kury for brace being a bit short. The Superbrace one was actually a tad taller than this. But the big advantage like with the Traxxxion is that it's adjustable in the middle where the Superbrace is not so I figure it's still a better choice than what I had.

 

[GoldWingrGreg]

I will keep this in mind. I didn't do a very close inspection of the pipes but did make sure there were no nicks or scrapes which there wasn't. I got a chance to do a 10 mile run last night and another 30+ mile run this afternoon. So far it seems to be much better. Forks seem to be doing just fine. And before doing the rebuild, I did have a weird popping feel on tight turns that I discussed on another forum. The steering stem bearings had been pointed to as the most likely culprit. But seems like the forks and possibly old tire were the cause as it is now completely gone. I'm still not happy with having to settle with a bias ply on front as I can feel a lot more imperfections on the road but I have my fingers crossed that a rep for Avon/Goodyear is correct and the AV91 trike tire will start showing up mid October.

And you are right about the shield on the Kury for brace being a bit short. The Superbrace one was actually a tad taller than this. But the big advantage like with the Traxxxion is that it's adjustable in the middle where the Superbrace is not so I figure it's still a better choice than what I had.

On fork pipes, rust is the other kill. Usually it starts high and works it's way down. There should be absolutly none where the seals slide.

 

[pwhoever]

On fork pipes, rust is the other kill. Usually it starts high and works it's way down. There should be absolutly none where the seals slide.

On that, I'm good. No rust to be seen anywhere on the pipes. So far after the 2 rides, the pipes are also nice a dry so the new seals are doing their job. Luckily the old seals were not leaking either. I just wanted to make sure to get all the old oil out. And the fact that it's a trike which does put more stress on the forks, and also it has been a few years since they were torn down, this was a good opportunity to get it done.

I always appreciate your advice and you have helped me before without steering me wrong. Thank you.

 

[pwhoever]

Just a quick update. Last night I got home after putting almost 2000 miles in the new front end. I'm pretty satisfied how it went. It was a combination of long flat roads, roads rolling up and down over hills and mountains, sweeping curves, as well as a bunch of tight twisties. So far with fresh forks and the BT46, it handled just fine. I was a bit worried after seen several reports about out of round BT46 tires and wobbles but I had none of this. I tested all throughout the different speeds as well as during slowing down but nothing. I used to use balancing beads but switched over to the centramatic balancers a few years back. A lot less messy during tire changes and no worries about bead(s) getting stuck in the valves. I did have a very slight buzzing in handlebars at higher speeds but found that it immediately went away when pulling in the clutch so it isn't front end related. On some of the tight twisties, if I went though a bit hot, it did feel like front end was close to skipping sideways but still held on. I didn't notice any increased feedback from bumps or imperfections on pavement which was one of my concerns about going from radial to bias ply. So it worked out well. Once the AV91 trike tires hopefully become available again, I will still get one, maybe two but I feel comfortable holding off doing the swap until I wear this one out...