Refreshing the suspension and fixing a weeping seal on my '93 F2. Purchased the bike from PO awhile back and didn't ask what was in the fork oil wise. I am 200 lbs, bike is sprung close for my weight, has damper rod forks with gold valve emulators on it. Bike was used for track days last season and will see the same this season with possible back marker potential at a few rounds. Brand and weight recommendations? Oil level?
Motorex 10 weight (Motorex is just my preference - there's plenty of good fork oils out there), 136mm from the top of the stanchion, with the fork fully compressed. The level can very somewhat, 136mm is just the stock spec. for the '93 and '94.
Did you check with Racetech on what spec oil they recommend for the emulators in your bike? If you can get a cSt # you can cross reference that to a couple of compatible brand/weight oils.
For future reference if you get an oil brand/weight suggestion from Racetech you can cross reference it on here using the @ 40/100C cst values.
That listing could be very helpful - I'm sure I will not be the only one to appreciate that... thanks!
Welcome As far as my own personal preference it's been Redline for the last couple years. They have 4 different weights (distinguished by color) that you can find on that chart, and you can blend them together to make a weight closer to something in between if need be.
If you're changing it often, I've always felt the brand was somewhat insignificant. Especially while you're trying to get the bike feeling right, use cheap stuff... Experiment with different weights and levels to see what feels right. It's not like it's that expensive, or you need much. I always preferred heavier weight oil, and a slightly lighter spring up front. My F2 had the same setup as yours (racetech emulators), and I was getting horrible suspension dive under braking. I tried stiffer springs, but the front would chatter and push during trail braking. I may not care as much now as I did then, but at the time, that wasn't comfortable. 30 weight oil and going back to the original (lighter) springs did the trick. It also would have been a lot cheaper than blowing $85 on stiffer springs if I'd tried that first! The front would still push through some corners, but it was much more controlled. No chattery feeling. Once you get it dialed in though, write the oil weight and level down and tape it in your toolbox. I even did myself a favor and noted how far from the top of a standard "solo" cup I had to fill for the proper oil level in each fork :-D. Measure the cup, mark with a piece of tape, then fill the oil into the cup to that level before dumping it into the fork. Much easier than using a turkey baster and trying to measure from the top of the fork leg.
local stealership has Bel-Ray in a couple sizes so I will get a liter or two of that to try out. It will likely get changed every season.