2014 DL650 fork oil and seals

[sjrainsford]

Hi all.
It’s been a while. My 650 has been laid up for a couple of years and it is now back on the road. I’ve lost a lot of confidence so have lowered it a little which seems to have helped.
Before putting it away one of the fork seals was passing a little. I’d been riding it like that for a while as it wasn’t a lot.

Anyway time has come to change the seals and fork oil.  Does anyone have any recommendations on the oil viscosity and air gap? Or do most just go with standard? I will do this if there’s no experienced people who may have seen improvements from minor changes. I’ve always found the front end a little harsh and wondered if it would benefit from a bigger air gap.

Looking forward to hearing your opinions and thanks in advance.

[UK_Vstrom650]

I used Putoline 10w in mine as that's brand the local shop stock, but stayed with the standard air gap. I think I read there's no standard weighting for fork oil between brands.

IIRC it's just over 500ml per leg. I bought two bottles to do it properly but the shop told me they'd just use 500ml if they were doing it

[Joe Rocket]

Try this first! Unless the stanchions are obviously damaged or the leak is prolific most weeping is caused by dirty seals which are easily cleaned.

https://www.v-strom.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=41318.0

[Ianmc]

   I used 7w weight fork oil and an extra 10mm air gap when I did my fork seals last year.It has made the harsh front end much more comfortable now.Especially in this cold weather.

[sillyboy]

ianmc, does it dive under braking more now?

[Ianmc]

    Not that I have noticed as the springs are standard and I only modified the damping characteristics.

[sjrainsford]

Thanks for the reply Ianmc.  That's the sort of answers I'm after really.  I was going to try a larger air gap as that can often help when it's a little harsh.  But it's preferable not to have to experiment and call on past experience.

And thanks Joe Rocket.  I have tried to clean out the seal a couple of times with no luck.  The stanchions are in great condition.

[The Doctor 46]

I have repaired fork seals in the past and although I am no mechanic, I didn't find it too difficult. When my 650DL  2012 needed new seals I took it to a recommended garage in Exmouth. I left the bike and had a walk through the town, along the beach and back. I had a sit down with a cup of coffee and enjoyed the kite surfers then went back. The bike was ready for me, I was informed what had been done and what had been used then gave me the bill. It was a fair price, which I could easily afford.

The same chap doesn't know it yet but he is going to see a lot of me soon. I'm going to have a major service, brakes cleaned, new break fluid and pads if it needs them. I'm then going to have a couple of things fitted to it and change the chain and sprockets (note to self: count the amount of teeth on each sprocket. I suspect they are not standard but I like it the way it is. I think it's slightly higher geared and a tad more lazy but feels better when it gets there. I've only ridden my Vstrom so have nothing to compare but again, I like it. It's not slow on acceleration but you have to plan a little earlier which it no bad thing. My advise is, take it to a good garage not necessarily a Suzuki garage of if you're confident then do it yourself.  Spring is just around the corner then you won't get into a garage for a month. You will be waiting for the road rockets coming out of the garage needing an MOT and maybe a service. Prices may go up too. 

[sjrainsford]

Thanks for the reply The Doctor 46.

I'm an engineer so will be doing it myself.  Was more interested to hear the experiences of others who have moved away from standard oil and air gaps.

[sjrainsford]

Anyone else moved away from standard?  Would love to hear your experiences.

[bob43]

hi don't want to sound thick but what does mean by air gap please

[endintears]

Basically it's  just referring to how high with oil the fork leg has been filled.
If you filled it until it overflowed there would be no 'air gap', fill it up until it's 50mm from the top then it's a 50mm 'air gap'.

[bob43]

cheers thought it would be standard air gap as it would be a set amount of oil as the manual but the penny dropped different oil levels

[endintears]

Exactly bob43. A change to a non standard amount of oil gives a non standard oil level and therefore a non standard air gap.
The damping characteristics (as I understand it) are produced not just from the the hydraulics but also an element of pneumatic damping as the air (in the air gap) is compressed.
If sombody wants to change away from the factory [standard] characteristics one of the easiest ways is to alter the viscosity and or amount of oil from the values stated in the manual.

[sjrainsford]

Finally got it back together last night.  Had a quick spin today and really pleased with the result so far.  I've changed to 500ml of oil per fork (mainly because that's all I had), but I also wanted to increase the air gap from standard anyway.  Have used 10W oil.
Rides much better over those annoying harsh little bumps that would normally jolt through your hands.