Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech BLENDING FORK OIL

I bought a quart of Belray 15 W and had to buy another brand of fork fluid in 10W. I intend to blend the two together.

Any problems blending different brands? I got the last quart of Belray and had to get Maxima brand 15W

seems on here many have done it with no problems

Frank

Mixing brands and weights is not a problem. As long as the oils are from the same base, there should not be a problem. Parafin does not play nicely with petrolium based oil. Synthetic gets along with everything.

I was gonna say as long as they are the same type of oil, like you don't want to mix certain brake fluid, not because of brand but because of the number, etc.

I put the progressives in this afternoon. The job was easy enough. I do think you MUST have a lift or a bike jack for this job. You can remove the fork caps and do each fork one at a time but I sure dont see the average fella being able to get the fork cap back on without putting the bike up and extending the fork. I suppose if you have really strong hands and arms you might be able to compress that thing with the bike weighted on the ground and hold it long enough to get the cap started without potentially stripping out the threads...

I wish I had added the progressive fork springs about say 18K miles ago. I remember Salmaglie saying it was one of the most impressive improvements to the bikes handling charactersitics especially when braking. He sure is right about that. Brake dive is ..if not eliminated to a large degree simply nullified to a point.

she seems to handle better in the twisties too.

I highly recommend these progressive springs for those who have yet to add them.

for the money it is one of the biggest and worth wile changes to make

Frank

I still get a fair amount of dive when I really get on the brakes, I think I need to up the fork oil weight... I'm liking the blending idea too. Might have to try that...

It is clinically improved .....Nothing I have done to the bike yet has shown so dramatic an improvement. I do get some brake dive ...relative to how hard I hit the brakes. But during a normal stop (smooth stop) it seems nonexistent compared to what I was used to. It seemed the bike wanted to dive to the right a bit at times and I thought it was just my riding technique but .....it feels like a new bike in that respect. I feel more confident for the harder braking efforts as well.

The solution to the lift is to attach a GOOD ratchet strap or hoist to the cieling of the garage or similar high point above the bike. Put a nylon strap through the triple trees and crank it up some to hold the front end up and do the job. Works well for tire changes on both ends too. best to steady the opposit end with a couple straps too. Don't have to but it makes it easier to work.