Honda ST1300 Section > Suspension ST1300

reducing st1300 fork oil level - has anyone done this

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warren:


I would like to know if you managed a sweet spot for your ST1300 front fork oil level. With the springs still in and forks attached to your bike what is the oil level you recommend? I really only want to top up or reduce the level I have. I am unsure of what the level should be with the spings in. Does anyone know. my ride is very harsh and the oil measurement on the bike is 62mm. Help!
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DavidP:
Hi Warren,
reduced level is better than stock.  I plan to get stronger springs, and drop the level even further (to 120mm) Dropping level to 100mm-ish took away a lot of the harshness.  I have 6.6wt oil in there at the moment,  but will bump it up to 7.5wt for a tiny bit more damping when I do the springs.  Stock are .86kg/mm, but for my weight 0.95 is recommended. 
With springs in it is hard to measure oil level, but if you use a syringe and piece of hose you can take the same amount out of each fork.  For proper measurement you really need to remove springs, as oil also sticks to them.
Cheers
David

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warren:
Thankyou very much for your reply. I have place Castrol 5w oil and 10w oil mix in forks but still too harsh.
The springs will displace oil. If I remove the springs the oil level will drop somewhat. With the springs in I have topped the oil to 62mm as manual states. Even at this level the forks are exceedingly harsh. I want to know if anybody knows what their oil level is with the springs in place. Surely the oil level would be higher that 62mm. Does anyone  know what level it is. Those who have experienced harshness on the front end have you reduced your oil level and if so by how much.
I want to take my partner for a ride but the suspension is uncomfortable for her I do need to fix this.

DavidP:
Remember,  the manual says to measure the oil level with the forks fully compressed and WITHOUT the springs in.  No idea how much the springs increase the oil level by though.  Most of what the pillion feels will be rear shock as they sit directly above it.  I have rear damping set a little bit softer than what the manual suggest (about 1/4 turn more), and wind the rear preloaded to max.

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warren:
I have finally mad a science of this. I drained the forks again and filled the forks by volume capacity rather than measurement to top of cylinder. I found there was a considerable difference when re measuring the values. So conclusion. I put a mixture of 50/50 5w and 10w Castrol oil, in the forks. The final measurement in situ that is with the bike on it's centre stand the front wheel of the floor the measurement of oil fluid in the in the forks is 150mm from the lower edge, I have placed a little extra in the forks to 160mm and this is perfect. There are no harsh rebounds , no softness or wobbles. So if any of you want to do a short cut and just drain the forks by removing the bottom forks screw it is possible to do it, in situ. I have done it both ways, that is taking the forks completely out and up ending them and just removing bottom fork screws. Unless there is an extreme issue, I would just drain in situ and measure 150 from the top. I used a 20ml syringe and attached a length of plastic tubing that was 15cm long poured the oil in and extracted extra overfill. The suspension is the best it has been!

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