Fork maintenance

[Ken Valkyrie]

Do any of you routinely or at some mileage point replace the fork oil ?

Mine seem fine and have no leaks at 76,000 miles.
I have continuously had fork guards "socks" on my bike that keep my sliders protected and clean.

 

[woodybelle]

I have had a seal leak at 45k and 90k and have noticed an improvement after dissassembling and cleaning the forks. A lot of sludge gets built up in there.

 

[Josh_ST]

Do any of you routinely or at some mileage point replace the fork oil ?

Mine seem fine and have no leaks at 76,000 miles.
I have continuously had fork guards "socks" on my bike that keep my sliders protected and clean.

Care to share the model info? My left seal is shot, and am rebuilding them this winter. Any future protection would be appreciated!

 

[Kevcules]

Do any of you routinely or at some mileage point replace the fork oil ?

Mine seem fine and have no leaks at 76,000 miles.
I have continuously had fork guards "socks" on my bike that keep my sliders protected and clean.

Fork oil should be changed about every 20,000 miles or so. Some leave it in for way too long. The oil turns to a slurry with all the metal wear that exists inside the forks. I'm also guilty of not being proactive on that subject. Once I got my 08 big red at 40,000 kms, with info on this site and sluggish front fork action, off they came.
I'm going to replace my fork seals over the winter and I am going to buy seal protection. I researched Shock Sox, Seal savers and Fork Skins. What do you have and can you post a picture of them please?
Thanks

 

[Valker]

I used a set of those fork leg protectors that go around and attach to themselves with Velcro. After about 80,000 miles, there were scuff marks showing on the fork sliders from the 'protectors' rubbing on them for many miles. YMMV

 

[ST11Nut]

I used a set of those fork leg protectors that go around and attach to themselves with Velcro. After about 80,000 miles, there were scuff marks showing on the fork sliders from the 'protectors' rubbing on them for many miles. YMMV

I had the same issue with a ST1100 I bought years ago where the "protectors" that came with the bike caused damage to the hard chrome surface of the forks over the course of a couple of years

 

[W0QNX]

I did my first set of oil seals and replaced the oil at about 45,000 in like 2010 (don't do wheelies on the ST). Now let me say for those that will not concur with my found facts YMMV (your mileage (opinion) might vary).

I had a fork oil seal start leaking last winter. I replaced my oil, fork tube slider bushings and the seals last winter with around 270,000 miles on the oil and parts. The oil was old but not a bit of sludge just gray in color. The bushings were not at all "worn bad" and the springs were still within the manual specs on length. the fork tube chrome was visibly marked a bit on the front facing side so I rotated the tubes 90' on reassembly. I also added about .400" of spacers to try to stiffen the ride in front a bit. I wish I would have left the spacers out. I couldn't even tell any difference other than the leak stopped and the bike is a bit higher in front.

Honda makes good stuff. YMMV and I have the old bushings if you want to come on over and have a look at the small amount of wear I found.

 

[mortenk]

I never worried about mine, but developed a leak at around 65k miles. So, I changed the seals and replaced the oil. I ended up with one extra bottle of fork oil, if someone is interested. Unopened and bought in 2018.

 

[dduelin]

I change fork oil about 15 - 20,000 miles in all my bikes and I don’t use gaiters or fork covers.

 

[Kevcules]

I used a set of those fork leg protectors that go around and attach to themselves with Velcro. After about 80,000 miles, there were scuff marks showing on the fork sliders from the 'protectors' rubbing on them for many miles. YMMV

Did you have to change your fork seals in that 80,000 mile time period?

 

[RobbieAG]

I replace the fork oil with every other front tire change since it's much easer to do with the front wheel off. It works out to every 15 - 20k miles. I haven't had to replace seals yet at 85k.

 

[Valker]

Did you have to change your fork seals in that 80,000 mile time period?

No, but I'm tough on fork seals, so they needed replaced before the 80K was up.
I'd rather replace more seals and fewer fork tubes.

 

[SMSW]

Consensus here is change the fork oil at around 20k miles - consensus meaning many more folks have said so than @RobbieAG, @dduelin, and @Kevcules above. There is no mention in the HSM for fork oil replacement, but it does say to inspect the suspension every 8K miles. I did mine at 36,500 because I was installing Gold Valves. The oil was dark with very little sludge in the bottom of the tube. I should have done it sooner, but was intimidated by the task. I need not have been - it was straightforward and relatively easy.

If you decide to remove your forks and do more than change the oil, it will be very helpful to make something to hold the fork while you work on it. Larry uses an old triple clamp that conveniently accepts the same size slider tube as on our ST's. I made a similar clamp out of a piece of 2x4 with a threaded rod used to squeeze a hole that clamped the tube. It worked fine.

 

[Ken Valkyrie]

Will send later today, have medical appt this am

 

[Ken Valkyrie]

I just took photos of my "socks" ON then OFF. I cleaned slides with Honda spray wax and there are no scratches on the slides.
Current mileage, and photo of "just washed out socks"
This is my second set: 1st bought 2010, 2nd current set bought 2014. I think I owe my ST a new pair.
Currently available on Amazon $14.95 Look up/search "NOJ Fork Guards"
I hope my photos will show how pristine my slides are at 75,974 miles.

 

[Kevcules]

I just took photos of my "socks" ON then OFF. I cleaned slides with Honda spray wax and there are no scratches on the slides.
Current mileage, and photo of "just washed out socks"
This is my second set: 1st bought 2010, 2nd current set bought 2014. I think I owe my ST a new pair.
Currently available on Amazon $14.95 Look up/search "NOJ Fork Guards"
I hope my photos will show how pristine my slides are at 75,974 miles.

Looks good!

 

[Al Gully]

How many of you are changing your fork oil without removing the forks off the bike, just removing the lower drain plug once you remove the front axle.
Thinking of trying this.
Most of us I bet wait till the fork seals leak before we venture in removing the forks off our bikes.
I'm a true believer in preventative, proactive maintenace.

 

[dwalby]

How many of you are changing your fork oil without removing the forks off the bike, just removing the lower drain plug once you remove the front axle.
Thinking of trying this.
Most of us I bet wait till the fork seals leak before we venture in removing the forks off our bikes.
I'm a true believer in preventative, proactive maintenace.

I've always taken the forks off the bike, when the wheel is off for a tire change its only a few more fasteners to remove the forks. Its a lot easier to pump the old oil out when you have the fork in both hands, off of the bike, with the spring removed.

Trying to accomplish the same task with the fork mounted on the bike doesn't seem easier, it seems more difficult. You'd still need to remove the fork caps and springs to be able to pump the oil out effectively without making a mess, and you'd have to attach or hold a container to the fork lower to keep the oil from shooting across the room as you pump. If you're expecting the oil to come flowing out like an engine oil drain plug, that's not going to happen, but I suspect you already know that.

 

[Duporth]

Can the forks be removed with the fairings in place?

 

[mjc506]

Yup. It's a bit tight getting to the triple clamp bolts, but quite doable.