Fork Oil (non-Vmax)

[redneksoldier]

I was doing the fork seals in a Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 and checked in the manual for type/amount/level of fork oil. It says that it takes "SAE 10W20"
I have never heard of fork oil rated like this. Has anyone else?

 

[PDWeyand]

here Repsol Moto Fork 10W-20 and this is a link to different weight fork oil
http://mahonkin.com/~milktree/motorcycles/fork-oil.html

 

[redneksoldier]

Interesting. Learn something every day. Guess my day is complete before it started. Now to find a local place that has some...

 

[PDWeyand]

well if you look at the chart you will that other oil have the same ratings. I am sure a motorcycle repair shop would be able to cross it for you to find the correct oil to replace yours with. Ask Sean he might be able to help you out there also.

 

[redneksoldier]

I ended up talking to the Kawi service tech and he said that Kawi used to offer their own brand in that weight, but he hadn't seen it in a long time and that they don't even bother with it anymore. They just use 15w in all of the Vulcans. I happened across a suspension website that also recommended 15w. So, I checked around at a few places and every time I asked about 10w20 fork oil they acted like I was some kind of retard.

 

[one2dmax]

Use full synthetic power steering fluid. It will be approx the same weight rated but actually maintain that weight over a better temperature range. Plus being synthetic it is less corrosive to the parts and better on seals.

Sean

 

[redneksoldier]

Good idea, I will keep that in mind for next time and/or if the 15w doesn't suit my needs. thanks

 

[rebar]

Use full synthetic power steering fluid. It will be approx the same weight rated but actually maintain that weight over a better temperature range. Plus being synthetic it is less corrosive to the parts and better on seals.

Sean

Great tip!

Just any synthetic power steering fluid?

 

[one2dmax]

Synthetic power steering or auto trans fluid. Both have a similar viscosity (15w average) and maintain the weight over a more diverse heat range. Also easier on the aluminum and seals.

Sean