Suzuki V-Strom (VStrom) Owners Club DL250, DL650, DL1000 & DL1050
Oily Rag - Dedicated to Pat, Greywolf. 26/06/45 - 04/06/18 => Oil/Lubrication => Topic started by: Mick A 74 on May 21, 2020, 00:49:45
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Hi folks,I need to change a fork seal on my 2003 1000,what fork oil would you recommend and is it advisable to change both seals?Also will a 1 litre bottle do both forks?thankyou in advance,Mick
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Basically unless the seals are both leaking or are hard (faulty), then there is no reason to replace fork seals on each leg. Some may say, while you are in there change them, which if you can afford to do them both then go for it. This will depend on your available budget (keeping in mind, that many folk are taking strain due to corona-19 job cut backs). I have changed a leaking seal (one side only) a little over a year back and everything is still OK with the forks. Fork seals start leaking due to dried insects, dust, etc pitting on the inner fork tube that act like sand paper on the fork seals. Fitting gaiters help reduce this.
As far as oil weight for the forks, there are a few threads on the subject if you have time to use the search function. A typical post is https://www.v-strom.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=16411.msg144686#msg144686 or https://www.v-strom.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=35264.msg353080#msg353080.
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My bike is 2016 so don't know how relevant it is to yours. Seals were OK but decided to change fluid. As I'm happy enough with the performance of the forks I just used the recommended Suzuki fork oil and volume. Having ridden off-road bikes for a number of years I've been caught out with using alternative fluids of supposedly the same spec. Not all fork oils of same spec perform the same. If you're happy with forks, I would replace with what's in them.
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When I did my 650, 1 litre was just below the recommended amount needed for both legs (I think it was c. 560ml in each) I bought 2 litres from a local garage although they said they would normally just put 500ml in each. The service manual should tell you how much is needed.
I would buy genuine seals. I replaced mine from pyramid parts and they leaked within 12 months so I ended up having to redo everything. The genuine ones have been to be for over 2 years.