rough ride

[greybeard]

ok I have progressives in the forks changed oil and put in exact amount as per this forum 5 lbs air
rear shocks set at 2 with 20 lbs air when I hit tar strips it still jars my teeth out and I cant afford a new set of teeth any suggestions
Thanks Ken

[carl leo]

ken, what weight fork oil did you use and how heavy are you? progressives need no air in the front. i set the forks at oil height instead of quantity, unless you are very heavy i would set each leg at 145mm fully compressed with out the spring......carl

[greybeard]

carl I used 7 wt oil and I weigh 175 lbs

[SgtSlag]

Did you re-install the oil filters? They will pre-load the springs, making them v-e-r-y stiff, indeed. Go back and check what, if anything, you re-installed which should not have been put back in. There should only be the springs, and the top caps, nothing else between, as I recall (it's been several years, but I put the oil filters back in, with similar results...).

By the way, 7 WT oil is equivalent to Dexron V/VI Automatic Transmission Fluid, which is less money than fork oil: around $5-$6 per quart. The critical factor in fork oil, is stability over a wide temperature range -- same weight/viscosity, no matter the temperature. ATF does this, and it does it very well, for less money -- if 7-8 WT gives a satisfactory performance for you. Cheers!

[kjsett]

What weight atf would you recommend for a trailer pulling, 280lb one up (usually) rider?
Planning on going progressive front this winter (rear already), just everything else has taken financial priority.

[greybeard]

I used the dexron atf and made sure nothing else is in the forks I let the air out and that helped thanks for all the help

[SgtSlag]

kjsett, as far as I know, ATF only comes in one singular weight. For anything other than 7-8 weight, you will need to use Fork Oil, 5-15 weight range? I ride two up, with a combined weight of 460+ lbs. We run 7-8 weight ATF, and everything rides great. I guess I would suggest measuring the tongue weight of your trailer (how many pounds are pressing down on your hitch?), and then consult Carl. My suspicion is that he will give you some suggestions, based on how you prefer the front to handle: soft, medium, or stiff? Cheers!

[voyager55]

200lb Solo rider. I use 15wt fork oil. No complaints

[Me Again]

20lbs of air in the front forks is going to make them feel like your riding on steel pipes no matter what else you do.

[carl leo]

read carefully " rear shocks set at 2 with 20 lbs air"

[Me Again]

OOPS