changing fork oil weight

cuong-nutz · July 7th, 2012, 03:56 PM

What are the cons of bumping up the fork oil weight?

KazMan · July 8th, 2012, 07:23 AM

I guess the questions would then be to what weight? How much do you weigh and what type of riding are you planning on doing?

A generic answer would be the oil is there to control the speed of your compression and rebound. The heavier the oil, the slower the speed. If you get to heavy, your front tire will not track the road irregularities well and your tire will hop or skip. Too light of an oil and your bike will dive quickly and could bottom out making your forks a solid assembly for a bit (spring weight/pre-load not changed) and make your bike spring back quickly causing a pogo-ing effect because it can't control the spring which could also create tire hop or skip.

Snake · July 8th, 2012, 07:59 AM

Great answer @Eric. Please correct me if I'm wrong but basically what he needs to do is experiment with different weights of oil and see which one feels better to you.

KazMan · July 8th, 2012, 08:24 AM

Thanks Rick.

Yes that's one way to do it, in particular if you are racing and are trying to dial the suspension to a particular track. However, if you are riding on the road, the conditions are not consistant like on a race track so you end up with something that covers a wider spectrum of your typical riding area.

It seems to me that the Ninjettes have been pretty sorted out by many and there are some fairly typical "standards" which have been published, so it comes back to how heavy is the rider and what type of riding as to which way to go with springs/oil for their riding style.

cuong-nutz · July 8th, 2012, 11:41 AM

I'm about 155 lbs and was just wondering how much difference a heavier weight would with do with dampening. I ride mostly street with occasional track days. The tracks here in Texas aren't that smooth and neither are our roads.

dubojr1 · July 9th, 2012, 06:20 AM

Subscribed!

I'm 6'-1" and around 220 lbs. and ride mostly spirited on the streets.

cuz · July 9th, 2012, 07:47 AM

http://www.sonicsprings.com/catalog/...pring_rate.php

http://racetech.com/ProductSearch/2/...20250R/2008-12

July 7th, 2012, 03:56 PM	#1
cuong-nutz RIP Alex Name: Cuong Location: Houston, TX Join Date: Apr 2011 Motorcycle(s): '10 250r, '09 265r Posts: A lot. Blog Entries: 2	changing fork oil weight What are the cons of bumping up the fork oil weight? __________________________________________________ HalfFast Racing Team Serving Greater Houston Area Riders:WFO Riders MotoHouston HPC CMRA Ride Smart Fastline Lone Star Track Days

July 8th, 2012, 11:41 AM	#5
cuong-nutz RIP Alex Name: Cuong Location: Houston, TX Join Date: Apr 2011 Motorcycle(s): '10 250r, '09 265r Posts: A lot. Blog Entries: 2	I'm about 155 lbs and was just wondering how much difference a heavier weight would with do with dampening. I ride mostly street with occasional track days. The tracks here in Texas aren't that smooth and neither are our roads. __________________________________________________ HalfFast Racing Team Serving Greater Houston Area Riders:WFO Riders MotoHouston HPC CMRA Ride Smart Fastline Lone Star Track Days

July 9th, 2012, 06:20 AM	#6
dubojr1 ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Jason Location: Jacksonville, Florida Join Date: May 2010 Motorcycle(s): 09 Ninja 250R SE, 07 Honda CRF230F, 06 Honda CRF150F Posts: A lot.	Subscribed! I'm 6'-1" and around 220 lbs. and ride mostly spirited on the streets. __________________________________________________ 09 250R SE: Paying it forward one post at a time! Don't forget to add yourself to our Member Map

July 9th, 2012, 07:47 AM	#7
cuz cuz Name: Israel Location: Houston (me) Galveston Join Date: Jul 2011 Motorcycle(s): 09 ninja 250r Posts: A lot.	check http://www.sonicsprings.com/catalog/...pring_rate.php http://racetech.com/ProductSearch/2/...20250R/2008-12 __________________________________________________ THE GOOD LIFE

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July 8th, 2012, 07:23 AM	#2
KazMan ninjette.org member Name: Eric Location: SF Bay Area Join Date: May 2011 Motorcycle(s): none yet Posts: 228	I guess the questions would then be to what weight? How much do you weigh and what type of riding are you planning on doing? A generic answer would be the oil is there to control the speed of your compression and rebound. The heavier the oil, the slower the speed. If you get to heavy, your front tire will not track the road irregularities well and your tire will hop or skip. Too light of an oil and your bike will dive quickly and could bottom out making your forks a solid assembly for a bit (spring weight/pre-load not changed) and make your bike spring back quickly causing a pogo-ing effect because it can't control the spring which could also create tire hop or skip.

July 8th, 2012, 07:59 AM	#3
Snake ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Rick Location: Alexandria, Louisiana Join Date: Jan 2009 Motorcycle(s): 05 Blue Ninja 250 Posts: Too much. MOTY - 2017, MOTM - Jan '19, Oct '16, May '14	Great answer @Eric. Please correct me if I'm wrong but basically what he needs to do is experiment with different weights of oil and see which one feels better to you.

July 8th, 2012, 08:24 AM	#4
KazMan ninjette.org member Name: Eric Location: SF Bay Area Join Date: May 2011 Motorcycle(s): none yet Posts: 228	Thanks Rick. Yes that's one way to do it, in particular if you are racing and are trying to dial the suspension to a particular track. However, if you are riding on the road, the conditions are not consistant like on a race track so you end up with something that covers a wider spectrum of your typical riding area. It seems to me that the Ninjettes have been pretty sorted out by many and there are some fairly typical "standards" which have been published, so it comes back to how heavy is the rider and what type of riding as to which way to go with springs/oil for their riding style.