How Much Fork Fluid Do I Need

Ok, dumb question. I'm at 2 years / 20k miles on my '07 and figure as long as I have the front wheel off for new rubber I might as well go ahead and pull out the forks and change the fluid. The manual says I'll need 544 cc (18 oz) of fluid but doesn't say if that's per side or total for both sides. Does anybody know offhand how much fluid I need to buy? I figure I'll just drain out the old and refill with new, without trying to disassemble the entire unit. Does that sound ok?

Yes you dont need to disassemble, and that amount is for each fork leg.  I buy a 1litre bottle for my SP2 forks, almost 500ml in each fork.

Add 10cc extra to each leg to firm up the last part of the suspension! :cool:

Fluid amount is an ok # to go by when the forks are dry, but I would recommend you fill them to a measured level instead of using a fluid volume measurement.

Thanks guys.

[image: View Post]SEBSPEED, on Feb 13 2009, 07:53 PM, said:

Fluid amount is an ok # to go by when the forks are dry, but I would recommend you fill them to a measured level instead of using a fluid volume measurement.
Thanks Seb. Will do.

[image: View Post]SEBSPEED, on Feb 13 2009, 07:53 PM, said:

Fluid amount is an ok # to go by when the forks are dry, but I would recommend you fill them to a measured level instead of using a fluid volume measurement.
how much?

I need to do mine also, going to take the forks off and put in some ATF and flush it out
by working the fork

and then refill :cool:

but I don't know the measurement
( nor have I looked it up yet :cool: )

*IIRC*, it's 120mm from the top of the tube to the oil.

don't use atf to flush, it is pretty heavy, use some of the lightest cheapest fork oil instead if you think you must flush it out.

If there is much to flush you have a bigger problem that needs attention, like bad bushings!  2 year old fork oil should come out clean!

strain the old oil through a paper towel if it doesn't have junk in it don't bother flushing it is a waste.

let them drain over night.

[image: View Post]Dawgwhat, on Feb 13 2009, 10:33 PM, said:

how much?

My manual says 100mm (3.9"). Sebspeed says a little less fluid. Bailyrock says a little more.

[image: View Post]checksix, on Feb 14 2009, 08:34 AM, said:

[image: View Post]Dawgwhat, on Feb 13 2009, 10:33 PM, said:

how much?

My manual says 100mm (3.9"). Sebspeed says a little less fluid. Bailyrock says a little more.
Do the distance from top of fork tube rather than measured amounts of oil.   :cool:

[image: View Post]checksix, on Feb 14 2009, 09:34 AM, said:

[image: View Post]Dawgwhat, on Feb 13 2009, 10:33 PM, said:

how much?

My manual says 100mm (3.9"). Sebspeed says a little less fluid. Bailyrock says a little more.

Don't quote me on that... I wasn't 100% sure.

[image: View Post]trickster, on Feb 13 2009, 11:49 PM, said:

don't use atf to flush, it is pretty heavy, use some of the lightest cheapest fork oil instead if you think you must flush it out.
The only reason I was using ATF is because it's cheap

and I didn't think of using a thinner weight oil  

and thanks for all the info

[image: View Post]checksix, on Feb 13 2009, 04:53 PM, said:

Ok, dumb question. I'm at 2 years / 20k miles on my '07 and figure as long as I have the front wheel off for new rubber I might as well go ahead and pull out the forks and change the fluid. The manual says I'll need 544 cc (18 oz) of fluid but doesn't say if that's per side or total for both sides. Does anybody know offhand how much fluid I need to buy? I figure I'll just drain out the old and refill with new, without trying to disassemble the entire unit. Does that sound ok?
You really want to measure the air gap, just filling with volume, is extremely critical and inaccurate method with cartridge forks, Less than 1 cap full of oil can mean the difference between a fork that works well and one that doesnt.

the standard oil height is 100mm from top of tube to the oil level with fork fully bottomed.

I agree with Bally, 5 to 10mm Max. try to set around 92/94 mm with stock honda ss8  need two bottles


my red honda oil was solid black at 6 ,000 mile, worst i've ever seen it would have been sludging by 10,000 mile


if using regualer atf, I would stay in the 95 100mm area, cause it is thicker