Topic: 75 CB750K5 FRONT FORK OIL CHANGE QUESTIONS

[Saddlewarmer]

OK, looked for previous posts, don't have a manual. How do i change the fork oil, what weight oil do i need, and the amount of oil? Any good tips for cleaning old oil out of forks? ( gotta get a manual or find one i can download!)

[DJ_AX]

Remove the small drain bolt. Hmm what was that like a 8mm I think... on the outside bottom of each fork.
Let it drain... put on the front brake and pump the shocks to get it all out. It can squirt pretty good when your pumping it. Be messy... or you could grab some tin-foil and be creative to get it into a tub or pan.. Put the bolt back in and snug it up.
Then remove the big nuts at the tops of the forks. 22mm. There's springs under there so keep your finger on it.
I filled mine with ... hmmmm ... I think it was something like 3.7oz of ATF (Automatic Transmission Fluid) You can find the right amount by doing a search here... (yes it is  in here somewhere) ...Put the top nuts back in your good to go.

There is quite a few threads already in here 'bout this... somewhere... and with more detail than what I could give ya....  but really there ain't much more to it than that ... 15 minutes ... maybe less..

How are your fork seals..?

I changed mine recently and it turned out to be way easier than I initially thought. Took a few hours .. but with all of the detialed info on here... went smoothly.. and it's no longer squirting #$%* on me and the engine.. nice 

[stresssolutions]

Ok, this is good, thanks......Here's some more worms...what kind of ATF?  Dexron III Mercon?  Ford?  Honda?  Since I have the Dexron III, I'll use that.  Can't imagine that it matters.

[Johnny5]

Make sure you jack the front tire off the ground. The spring inside the fork tube will aim that 22mm bolt right for your face.

[jaknight]

Hi Saddlewarmer,

Maybe its too late for this time around, but next time you might want to try a fork oil that has some teflon in with the oil, say a 10 weight oil, or perhaps even a 15Weight for a little firmer action.  Gives the lubrication a slicker action, helps control "bubbling" in the oil when you're hitting a lot of bumps.

Its available at any Honda dealer, sold by the quart.  I can't remember the exact amount you need........ its something like 5.7 ounces per fork for a drain and refill ............ for a complete fill after pulling the forks apart and rebuilding (doing seals) I think it might jump up close to 7 ounces per fork........

Just a thought.........

~ ~ ~ jaknight ~ ~ ~

[cxtecs]

I'm just a newbie at this, but a lot of posts I've read on this subject indicate that one should use real fork oil (15-20wt availabe at local MC store) instead of ATF which supposedly varies in weight between 8wt and 30wt.

If you really want to flush out the old oil (highly recommended if the current oil is really brown), you should take the forks out of the trees for complete disassembly and flushing all parts with solvent.  Don't really need a book for this as there aren't many parts in there.  And the only thing holding them together is the drain screw you unscrewed in the beginning to drain the oil.  Do one fork at a time if you're scared, then you have a completely assembled fork to reference in case you forget how the parts go back together. Just follow the instructions for draining/refilling written in the previous posts. However, keep in mind that if you do take the forks out of the tree, there is a certain sequence for bolting it back up in order to prevent binding (saw it on the interet somewhere, but don't remember right now).

For amount of oil to use, no need to pull out measuring cup or turkey baster.  After forks are drained of oil and ready to be refilled, follow this procedure:

• Fully compress fork.  If fork is out of tree, hold lower in vice and let upper slide into it all the way.  If fork still in tree, use bungie cord to pull lower all the way up onto upper.
  Fill fork with oil until level is about 6 inches from top of upper tube.
  Fully pump fork a couple times to work out the air bubbles, then check level again to make sure you are still at 6 inches -add more oil if necessary.
  This is all done with all the guts still in there except for the springs/spacers.

[jaknight]

Hello cxtecs,

I missed your very first posting to this forum, so I now want to welcome you aboard and that I hope you enjoy the rides.

Just want to add a bit of trivia here.

While I do not recommend ATF fluid for front forks,.......

Honda originally used and recommended ATF fluid, the type intended for Fords if I remember correctly.  Obviously, there are still those who swear by it;  and it is used for a wide variety of things;  for instance it is used in many industrial air tools instead of specific weights of certain oils for tools.

Later, a specific fork oil was formulated.  Of course, now they (Honda) and others could market their own and bypass the ATF.

Fork oils are available from 5Weight to 40Weight that I am aware of.  They are also available with or without the added teflon.  I prefer a 10Weight with the teflon added.

There are those who I have read of whom even use regular automotive oil, like 15W or even 30W (so said one rider who swore by it).

And then there are those who add air fittings to the top of the spring/fork retainer nuts and then run only compressed air in the tubes and there are a few who mix a fork partially filled with oil and some compressed air.

All of these things of course are simply opinions about what one's personal taste is.

I like arabica coffee beans, someone else will like robust beans.
Which is really better?

~ ~ ~ jaknight ~ ~ ~

[WHALEMAN]

I use PJ1 fork oil in ATF weight. Dan