The owners manual says to use Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF) but doesn't specify what type. Other people have suggested straight 30 weight fork oil and what I drained out of it looked like a heavier weight hypoid/gear oil. Any suggestions? Also the blog that recommended the 30W fork oil suggested dropping the fork tubes 10mm. What is your experience. Thanks
I believe ATF is usually equivalent to a 10W oil with viscosity around 30 cSt at 40C. That would be a pretty standard oil viscosity for a damper rod fork. 30W sounds really high for a damper rod fork, unless it has cartridge emulators fitted. Note sure what you mean by dropping the fork tubes by 10mm. You can adjust the geometry of the forks (make them steeper or more raked out) and have some effect on steering ease. Sliding the fork tubes up through the clamps makes the steering faster, sliding the tubes down will make the steering slower. If you do the latter, you need to ensure that the bars are still clamped to the forks sufficiently for safety. If you do the former, watch out for clearance between the mudguard and triple clamp, or wheel/radiator/cylinder head at full compression. On a 16 inch front wheel bike like the VF500 I can't imagine you'd want faster steering.
I am just finishing up re-assembling my 83 VF750 forks after the sliders got contaminated was glass beads from having them powder coated. I bought a quart of Lucas Oil semi-synthetic ATF as my choice. Someone else recommend NOT using type F, as they said make seals leak.
