How to F#@k...........

[redeye]

My owner's manual says to change the fork oil every two years. I was reading on how to change it, (in my new Clymers Vulcan SERVICE manual) & this seems to be a very involved job, dismantling the whole front end of the bike. It seems like a job for the dealer. How long do you go between fork oil changes? What happens if this is not done on time?

My bike is a 2003 FI with 8000 miles. The previous owner only did oil & filter changes every 1000 miles. I'm trying to get caught up on over due maintaince issues.

Thanks -Rich

[blowndodge]

I've seen siphoning gizmos that can drain the oil without turning the bike upside down. It's not really a big issue since the oil doesnt' "wear out". some change to a much higher quality with lots of moly or other lubricant in order for the sliders to have less friction. Can't say for sure if it makes a big difference or not.

[flightdoc]

bd, have you changed yours?

[blowndodge]

Nope. Only have about 5800 miles on it. When and if I do it I would probably change the springs or go to air suspension. Right now it's good

[flightdoc]

How could you tell if it needed to be changed?

[rewindgy]

Actually the oil does lose viscosity and does get dirty. I used to change the oil on my Venture's every 20,000 miles and the oil was brown - I assume it was absorbing moisture which turned it brown? This was present on all three Ventures with a combined mileage of over 500,000 miles. I also noticed this on my KLR which I change out every 10,000 miles. I haven't changed out the oil on my Drifter yet but is is getting close to 20,000 and will be attacking it soon.

[Yellow Jacket]

For what it's worth my 2006 owners manual and the Kawasaki Service manual (which covers 2005-2008) does not mention any interval for replacing or changing the fork oil. It does say to inspect for oil leaks every 7000 miles or at least once a year.

This may not apply to pre 2005 models.

[hollywood]

ok I'm a mechanical idiot-----where do you check this oil?? I have 15000 miles on an 05 and I have had the oil changed (using synthetic) at the dealer and he always say the bike's doing great and hasn't mentioned this kind of oil change. I use the Yamaha dealership here - I can't stand the Kawasaki dealer in town - they bait you and try to sneak un-needed work in on repairs and such.

[ringadingh]

Fork oil changing depends more on your driving habits and the degree of ride comfort wanted more than mileage and time elapsed. That being said you should probably change it after about 30,000 miles or 5 years from what Ive learned with my bikes. Kawasaki installs a 10 weight fork oil at the factory which some people find to soft and causes the bikes front end to dive easily when the front brakes are applied. You can replace it with a 15 or 20 weight oil which gives a slightly firmer ride. It rather difficult to drain the cartridge style forks properly without removing them from the bike, if they are not both drained empty you will not know if you have equal amounts of fresh oil in each fork which means the dampening will not be the same on both forks. Its not as bad a job as it may appear, and can be done with a few basic tools. The only power tool that really saves some time and some grunting is to use an impact gun to remove the 17mm allen plugs on top of your forks. They can be rather tight and its hard to keep the fork tube from twisting in the triple camps if your using a breaker bar or ratchet.

I have been getting about 15-16K miles out of my front tire. When I change the tire I have the shop do the steering head bearings as well.Soooo, I thought to myself,self, why not just do the fork oil now since the front end is apart anyway. I have the shop do it and it costs me very little extra. I do the swingarm bearings every other rear tire change, which works out to about every 20K miles for the swingarm.

Mike

[redeye]

Thanks for all who have replied. I think I will wait to do the fork oil change when I need a new front tire as MeanStreak pointed out. The swing arm was going to be my next question..LOL........................-Rich.

[rflnomad]

My experience with fork oil is simple. Change it at about 15K miles. I didn't check it, just jack up the front of the bike in air and drain. I agree with BD on this item; the oil you replace is a better grade of oil than the oil Mama - K sends with the bikes. And I feel the forks work a little smother as well.
I have not done it to the Nomad yet but I will be at 15 K miles late 2008.
I change the oil in the KX 250 and it really made the front better.

After changing the oil in the 3 Harleys, they were also much better. The difference is that the Nomad is better now than the Electra - Glide was after tweaking the suspension!!

[ringadingh]

Unfortunately Nomads do not have a drain plug in the bottom of the the fork tube. the forks have to removed and dissassembled, the fluid is drained by pouring out the old fluid through the top of the fork. If you try to suck out the old fluid it is difficult to ensure that you have removed all of the fluid. This applies to the bikes with cartridge style forks, which I beleive are 2002 and newer.

[donoller]

do it the easy way sipon it out and put right amount back in