changing fork oil and recc. weight

[Anonymous]

looking to change the fork oil on my 891100. anyone have any reccomendations on oil weight? and also the manual says to pump the forks after filling w/caps off to get rid of air. so is am i going to have oil all over me? thanks

[89katana750]

For the 1100 it is recommened you use 10 weight fork oil. For a 1988 GSX1100F the amount is 478cc and 1989 and on is 406cc. You can go with 15 if you want it stiffer than normal (preference maybe). You wont spill oil all over the place while pumping considering you don't pump them up to high to quick. The oil sits a fair way down the forks for you to spill. Just look at the oil level while you pump and if its near the top then don't pump anymore (obviously).

When you drain the old oil out, I would recommend you to run some kerosene through the forks to get any unwanted dirt out. Run 500ml of kerosene through each fork and let it drain right away and then let it dry for an hour.

Now, I don't think this is necessary, but if your fork oil was really dark and ugly, after the kerosene I would put in some ATF (transmission fluid, equivealant to 7 weight oil) plug the drains and screw the tops back on and leave it sitting for a day. That way all of the gunk goes to the bottom. Then drain it and your ready to put in the fork oil.

I mentioned that because a friend of mine did everything I said here except the ATF step, and he had to drain a little bit of oil because he overfilled. So when he drained a bit of it out the colour black was draining.

Also, the easiest way to know if the levels are correct is by knowing that everything is drained, and putting the exact amount of CC's in each fork. I've heard that if your are 2-4mm off with the oil between the two forks you will cause some damage over time, bending axle and such. Can anyone correct me on that if im wrong?

[Yellow]

When I did my forks I measured the height instead of going with the volume... it's 126 mm for the 88 1100, and 145.8 mm for the 89+ (from the top, fully compressed and free of air, with springs out).

[tylerc]

Is there a web site or some thread that walks you through all the steps for changing oil and fork seals in a 90 600 (preferably with pictures )?

also Weight oil for 175lb guy with ocasional two up riding would be great.

-Tyler

[Yellow]

Search is a nice feature, see what "fork seals" can give

http://www.katriders.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3227&highlight=fork+seals

Otherwise get a service manual, they are quite descriptive...

[Anonymous]

thanks for the info. i did the front seals recently and used 7.5 wt. and used the cc method. but i sealed the forks then pumped them up before i put them back on. anyways thanks for the info