front forx

who's a good source for replacement front fork springs on a "83 KZ 1100 (about 540 lbs)my features AND fork springs....both beginning to sag! ..also the manual says about ten oz . of ATF to use as oil ...or is later 15wt fork oil better to use?
RTG
1983 Kawa KZ 1100

I'm not 100% sure about your bike, but bike bandit had Progressive springs for mine ('79 KZ1000 A3 MKII). I would check with Jeff at Z1 enterprises first. He is great to deal with.

BikeBandit
Z1

I'm curious about the oil too. Hopefully someone will chime in.

Post edited by: 79MKII, at: 2006/03/21 22:00

thicker oil just makes frontend stiffer .in my younger wilder wheelying days,i used to run 40 weight and never had problems .i might start experimenting with thinner oils now that im trying to hold the frontend down instead of up.hehe goodluck,happy wrenching!

with the heavier oil you say it makes the ride stiffer,what about the amount of oil you put in,what affects does it have if you put to much or to little.

Too much oil and the forks could be prevented from compressing fully (or blow your seals out). Too little and it's likely that some of the bushings will not get adequate lubrication resulting in excessive wear.

The important part is the weight of the oil. a lighter weight (lower value) allows the oil to move through the damper faster so the forks will compress and rebound faster. Heaver weight moves slower through the damper.

Before I had a manual I put 10 wt. in and I notice the front end tends to jar quite a bit over the railroad tracks. I plan to 15 wt. in (recommended) and see if things improve.

- Nate >>

Post edited by: n0nb, at: 2006/03/23 21:50