Police model Fork Oil

[Yorkie]

Have to replace fork seals due to leaks, have found out from The Honda Shop police models use 10w oil, 5w is std on all other models, also oil capacity in left is 385cc, right is 435cc, same as std models, however oil level is left 177, right is 174, same as ABS models.
This is because police models have different length forks and heavier oil for anti-dive.

[Abe]

That's a great piece of information there Yorkie, many thanks for sharing.

Cheers
Dave

[Biggles]

I wonder why Honda figured Cops need anti-dive and the rest of us don't?
The ST13s do dive under heavy braking, and if 10W oil fixes it, then we should be using it.

[saaz]

Police models have the same forks as the early ABS bikes (pre-96) for some reason (the later ABS bikes are different again as they have linked brakes and a wider front rim) but without the extra ABS bits.  All ST11s have mechanical anti dive that blocks off the compression damping when activated with hard enough braking.  Trouble is it tends to make the front wheel skip on bumps as the forks don't absorb the bumps.  Great on smooth roads though.

[STeveo]

I have always used 10wt in my forks. The forks have a bit of wear and the slightly heavier oil tales up the wear and gives a solid feel to the front end. Did not notice any difference in anti-dive.

 

[Wombat]

Interesting pickup there Yorkie. As discussed at breakfast in Beverley the police bikes often have different part numbers to the standard such as cush drive rubbers. Back to topic 

 

[basadia]

I just changed my fork seals on my 02 Ex police ST1100 and changed from 5 wait to 10 wait, the difference was very noticeable. It should be interesting to see if I prefer the stiffer dampers over time.
I also used genuine seals this time as the aftermarket ones I have had in it for the last couple of years were leaking badly and my front right break pads are now soaked. Looks like I'm going to have replace them soon as my front breaks suck now.