Fork oil and swingarm and rear suspension links service?

Joined
Jun 27, 2006
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50
Location
North central Idaho
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2004 ST1300A
I've got about 30k on my 2004 ST and was wondering whether this would be a good time to change the fork oil and disassemble the rear suspension to lube the bearings/bushings? Seals aren't leaking and forks and rear suspension seem to be working fine.


Pat
 
Joined
Jan 8, 2011
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Arizona
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2007 Honda ST1300A
They are not working fine :rofl1:
Search the forum for preload adjuster service and follow the simple instructions for the rear shock. Its a good idea to replace the fork oil every 20K miles or so, as it gets really nasty in there.
There are a bunch of folks that can help you here on this forum.
 
Joined
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Chelmsford, UK
Pat S, do not rush to change your fork oil. I have a 2009 1300 with just under 167,000 miles on the clock and the fork oil is the same as it was when I first bought the bike new. Contrary to the comments by Igofar, my suspension IS working fine and I see no reason to change anything. The same was true of my '02 1300 which I sold in 2009 with 140,000 miles showing, still on original fork oil.
 
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Your fork oil takes punishment, has viscosity breakdown, and absorbs contaminants just like any other lubricant. Not changing it is asking for expensive trouble.
Change it about every 20k, more often for sport bikes. The first time I changed the fork oil in my ST1300, at about 18k miles, it was black as ink in the left fork, and a muddy red in the right. The new Showa SS-8 is clear red.
I use either that or BelRay 10w for replacement.
 
Joined
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Pat S, do not rush to change your fork oil. I have a 2009 1300 with just under 167,000 miles on the clock and the fork oil is the same as it was when I first bought the bike new. Contrary to the comments by Igofar, my suspension IS working fine and I see no reason to change anything. The same was true of my '02 1300 which I sold in 2009 with 140,000 miles showing, still on original fork oil.
Yes, your oil is still in the forks, that's about all we'll be able to agree on at this point :rofl1:
So you have some magical oil that didn't break down or degrade in 167,000 miles? I'll still follow the Service Manual Recommendation of changing it every 20,000 miles thank you.
You've got me wondering if you ever change the oil in your cars now?
While you may still be able to feel the springs go up and down in your forks, I assure you, your forks ARE NOT working fine.
This has got to be a joke right? :crackup
 
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Don't tempt him to open them up now...he may find he has no bushings left, in all that black sludge at the bottom of the fork tubes :rofl1:
I'll bet your gonna find they'll be similar to your flange bearing incident from neglect.
You really should check and service your forks for your safety.
Ride safe
 
Last edited:

dduelin

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace
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Everybody knows somebody that smoked two packs of cigarettes a day and lived to be 90 years old but for the exception that is not the case for the general population.

It's a good practice to change the fork oil regularly. I do it about every 20,000 miles. The degradation in suspension performance is slow and gradual and may not be noticed over time but it occurs nevertheless. It's not that hard to do on the ST. On the other hand I would say the swing arm bearings on the ST1300 are robust and long lived and unless I notice play in the bearings/swing arm when I change tires I'm not removing the swing arm to replace them.

The preload adjuster on the stock shock is notorious for losing the ability to apply preload and many bikes take 12 to 20 clicks of the 36 total available to encounter resistance in the mechanism. No resistance when turning = no preload is being applied. Fortunately it is easy to refill the oil in the preload adjuster and restore the full travel of 10mm of rear shock preload. The adjuster should encounter resistance in 2 or 3 clicks. There are no lubrication points on the rear shock mounts and there is no linkage to take care of. The shock mounts on bushings that need no regular maintenance.
 
Joined
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Burlington,Maine
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1993 Honda ST1100
just changed my fork seals yesterday on my st1100. 76K. I dont think the oil has been changed on this bike. I just got it a couple months ago. when i drained the oil you would've thought someone used burnt motor oil. it was burnt smelling and broken down. it had contaminants in it too. yes, it would be a great idea to service them. it also keeps your seals plyable. when i test drove it after the service, it was night and day with new oil. its a cheap service for the difference it will make.
 

Trapperdog

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Exactly, I've pulled apart forks on other bikes with as little as 10K miles and the oil was black and contaminated. I see over and over on other forums where folks change out springs and valves when all they really needed was to change the fork oil. Degradation happens slowely enough that we don't notice the change, by the time we do other components need replacing. Best to change the oil on a regular basis.
 

Whooshka

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The forks may be working, but the way their performance degrades so slowly you never realize how bad they are until you freshen them up.
 

mlheck

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Pat S, do not rush to change your fork oil. I have a 2009 1300 with just under 167,000 miles on the clock and the fork oil is the same as it was when I first bought the bike new. Contrary to the comments by Igofar, my suspension IS working fine and I see no reason to change anything. The same was true of my '02 1300 which I sold in 2009 with 140,000 miles showing, still on original fork oil.
Kind of like the time I rode in my buddies new to him SUV for the first time. I told him it really needed new shocks. He swore it was just fine. Of course he never bought a vehicle with less than 100k miles already on it.

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thekaz

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canadian west coast
I've got about 30k on my 2004 ST and was wondering whether this would be a good time to change the fork oil and disassemble the rear suspension to lube the bearings/bushings? Seals aren't leaking and forks and rear suspension seem to be working fine.


Pat

OMG your lucky your bike has not already exploded :eek:
yes the suspension should be serviced based on age and miles. you will be pleasantly surprised at the improvement :D
 
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