Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech fork oil change--dirty!

Well I changed the fork oil at 15,000 miles.DO NOT wait as long as I did for the second time .My Speedmaster now has 35,000 miles on her.Yes I waited 20,000 miles for the second change .Boy was that oil nasty looking today,do not wait as long as I did .It is easy to ignore and foreget about.Anyhow I changed the fork oil today and repacked the steering steem bearings.Yes a lot of work.I also put the fork gators on I bought a long time ago.It is amazing how dirty that oil actually got in a sealed set of forks and that is with synthetic oil.Don't be lazy or put it off if your bike has the miles on it.Also I got to inspect the steering steem bearings and next time I grease them I think I will order new bearings before tearing her down.

you are supposed to change that too?

Im at 21,600 and still under warranty, it ain't leaking, and absorbs great..why screw with it?

Ok - my $.02:
These machines have a fairly agressive rake, which puts extra pressure on the bushings and sliders.
Triumph does not offer lower bushings as a service part.
Best to do what you can to take care of 'em, I think.

Note - the steering stem dust seal will likely be destroyed in the process of pulling the bottom race.

I changed the fork oil (and springs over to Progressives) from the top at 15K. The old oil was mighty murky - a solid color of silver and gray. I would suppose the murk was spring end and fork metal grindings?

My riding tends to follow some bumpy rural back roads that give the springs a workout. Perhaps folks who have the luxury of smooth riding might not encounter this 15K accelerated oil contamination?