Fork Oil Recommendation ?

Want to change fork oil in my 77' KZ1000A. Stock fork springs. What weight of fork oil do you guys recommend ? Normal riding and solo riding weight of 170 lbs. FSM says 10 wt. and I also remember using ATF back then ?

I use 15. Progressive springs too.
Steve

I've been using BelRay 15w fork oil in my KZ650 for 39 years, and it has always worked great.
www.belray.com/bel-ray-high-performance-fork-oil If for some reason you find the BelRay 15w to be too stiff or too soft you can customize the fork oil weight by mixing it with other Bel Ray fork oil. They make a very wide range of fork oil weights and they can be mixed. Ed

99290 2.5W
99300 5W
99310 7W
99320 10W
99330 15W
99340 20W
99350 30W

The bigger four's are heavier. Depending on the riding style a heavier oil might be called for.
Steve

swest wrote: I use 15. Progressive springs too.
Steve

+1

I have 3 different 10 wt. fork oils left over from prior motorcycle builds. Torco, Maxima, & Belray . If I combine all 3 of them, I would have enough to do both fork tubes. Not the recommended weight your guys are advising, but shouldn't pose an issue if I use these ?

What about ATF ?

Shouldn't be a problem. I've heard ATF being used. Some have high detergent and some aren't safe for some trannys. Unless you know how it will react to the rubber seals, I wouldn't use it. Hydraulic oil has been used too.
Steve

Thanks Steve, It's just what i had on hand and didn't really want to go out and purchase another quart.

Changing the subject and may need to be Posted on another Forum. But wanting to change the motor oil again, after replacing the starter/clutch set-up in my bike. Originally I had a lot of metal shavings in oil when I first purchased this non-running bike. So curious if those metal shavings found were a resultant of that fragmented starter/clutch assembly?

Going to try Shell Rosella T , 15-40 wt. Opinions ?

Good oil, I use it. What color were the shavings?
Steve

Was quite a bit of time ago, when I changed the oil. It was really black and set inside the engine for Years ! The shavings were really fine and If my memory serves me right, they were silver in color.

If you remember, when I pulled the starter clutch assembly off the crank end, I found that the 3 allen head bolts were very loose that hold the starter clutch to back side of the rotor. In fact the heads of the bolts were ground down so much that they made contact with the starter gear and wore a slight groove around the stater gear. Also 1 of the starter clutch pins that the springs go inside of was cracked and missing a side of it. Even the rotor/generator was severely cracked and loose which required replacement.

The Shell Rosella T says it is for Diesel applications but all Posts I have read says it works great in these Old air-cooled motors ?

Yeah that explains the shavings. If the oil coming out is shiney, that's aluminum. Diesel oil has to take a lot more wear than normal oil. Hear those pistons clacking? Makes my teeth hurt listening to it but when I'd take one apart, the piston skirts looked good.
Steve

When I take the bike for a ride tomorrow, I'll change the oil. Maybe it will quite down the bike a little ?