Fork Oil what weight

[04rkryder]

Rebuilding my forks on 95 Heritage Softtail. Manual calls for hydraulic type E oil, (weight unknown). Going to by BelRay Fork Oil, what weight 10w or 15w ?

[Mule]

I believe  type E is a 10wt oil,  SE fork oil I think is 15 wt.

[dynabagger]

A 10wt or 15wt can be vastly different from one manufacturer to another. Best to go by looking at cSt@40c values and base your fork oil on that number. 
https://www.peterverdone.com/wiki/index.php?title=Suspension_Fluid

[dynabagger]

A 10wt or 15wt can be vastly different from one manufacturer to another. Best to go by looking at cSt@40c values and base your fork oil on that number. 
https://www.peterverdone.com/wiki/index.php?title=Suspension_Fluid

FWIW Spectro says type E is equal to their 20wt.  Looking at the chart puts type E a bit heavier than Bel-Ray 15wt and lighter than 20wt. Maxima 20wt is very close.

[tomboyjr]

It depends on the type of ride you want. If the forks were too soft before, go heavier weight. Or, if they were too stiff, go lighter.

Also, IMO, the $100 or so for Progressive springs are well worth it.

[wolf_59]

It depends on the type of ride you want. If the forks were too soft before, go heavier weight. Or, if they were too stiff, go lighter.

Also, IMO, the $100 or so for Progressive springs are well worth it.

on my 04 Fatboy I went with the progressive springs and a 15 wt. oil seemed a little stiff at first but settled in after a couple hundred miles
And on my 06 Ultra I went with the progressive springs and the Type E fork oil, rides great

[mkd]

type e is about 13 wt, s e heavy is about a 20 wt, i blended belray to hit the middle. belray has info on their website to do so!

[04rkryder]

Thanks for the replies. Belrays web site recommends 15w for my bike and that is what I bought.

[mkd]

type e viscosity  is 37,  type S E heavy is  65,  15 belray  is 53 .  belray 15 splits the middle between the two!

[Hybredhog]

  As a general rule I use 20wt. in baggers & Heritage ST's , and 15wt in 21 inch front ends, & narrow glides. On occasion I might use a 10wt in a bike with a small rider & low loads. You can play with small additions of fluid on heavier loaded bikes, its a pretty individual & subjective matter.

[Norton Commando]

And to add a little "texture" to this conversation, I use type F ATF.

Jason

[zn14]

for the last 15 years I've been running Belray 20wt in my FLHR and FXR.  I liked the feel of the heavier weight.

[crock]

I'm a bi guy with an old flh. I started using 30w motor oil 20 years ago. Has worked good for me

[joe40x]

Pretty sure you mean you're a big guy

[sfmichael]

no judgement joe40...

[Hybredhog]

I'm a bi guy with an old flh. I started using 30w motor oil 20 years ago. Has worked good for me

I'll just go on and say your probably almost the only one that club that owns an old FLH But for those old bikes, the dampening rod fluid holes are big enough to throw a cat though, so crude oil would work.

[88b]

And to add a little "texture" to this conversation, I use type F ATF.

Jason

I was going to ask if anyone used atf . Honda used to recommend it .

[Norton Commando]

And to add a little "texture" to this conversation, I use type F ATF.

Jason

I was going to ask if anyone used atf . Honda used to recommend it .

I grew up riding old British bikes and the Triumphs had an ATF recommendation decal on the fork caps, so that's what I used. Then along came Harleys, Kawasakis, and Hondas and I used the same type F ATF in those bikes as well. It's cheap and I generally run about 4-6 ounces of fresh ATF after draining to flush out any remaining dirty fluid.  If I owned a track bike, I would be more analytical with respect to the fluid I use.  But my 2012 FLHTK is a "road toilet" not a track bike, so ATF is perfectly acceptable.  I also have a 2012 Kawasaki KLR 650 that I ride daily and it, too, gets an annual fork oil change using ATF.   

Jason

[Ohio HD]

   I'll just go on and say your probably almost the only one that club that owns an old FLH But for those old bikes, the dampening rod fluid holes are big enough to throw a cat though, so crude oil would work.