fork oil or sae 10-20 oil ?

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23 Jun 2011 13:50 #458936 by pete greek1
fork oil or sae 10-20 oil ? was created by pete greek1
I sent out my fork bottoms to get chromed, & will be getting them back soon, & just wanted to know if there is a difference between using fork oil or sae 10 20 oil. the service manual says the 10-20 oil. is one better than the other ?? Its for a 1980 LTD 1000

1980 LTD 1000..,1976 LTD 900, have the 1000&900 now. the rest are previous= 1978 KZ 650 B.., 1980 Yamaha XT 500..,1978 Yamaha DT 400.., 1977 Yamaha yz 80..,Honda trail ct 70.., Honda QA 50...5-1/2 hp brigs & straton CAT chopper mini bike...3-1/2 hp mini bike (WHEN GAS WAS ABOUT 45 CENTS A GALLON)!!!!
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23 Jun 2011 13:52 #458939 by Kidkawie
Replied by Kidkawie on topic fork oil or sae 10-20 oil ?
I'm running ATF in my 900. It's pretty much equivalent to 10w suspension fluid, and is a crapload cheaper.

1975 Z1 900
1994 KX250 Supermoto
2004 KX125

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23 Jun 2011 14:07 #458944 by 650ed
Replied by 650ed on topic fork oil or sae 10-20 oil ?
What manual do you have that calls for motor oil in your forks?? I wouldn't put motor oil in my forks or fork oil in my motor. I use 15w Bel Ray Fork Oil in my forks, have done so for 34 years with no problems. Ed

1977 KZ650-C1 Original Owner - Stock (with additional invisible FIAMM horn)

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23 Jun 2011 14:53 #458951 by otakar
Replied by otakar on topic fork oil or sae 10-20 oil ?
Yes I am also running synthetic Valvoline ATF, and I add Lucas "Transmission Fix" to increase the viscosity to taste. I like my forks a bit stiffer.

74 Z1-A stock
76 KZ-900 Totaly stock vice MAC pipe
77 KZ-1000A stock
78 Z1-R 100%MINT 500 original Mi.
78 Z1-R Yoshi 1103 kit stage 1 cams Yoshi pipe. Etc
79 KZ-1300 (1400)
80 KZ-1300
81 Scratch built GPz1150R
82 KZ1000

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23 Jun 2011 15:11 #458954 by pete greek1
Replied by pete greek1 on topic fork oil or sae 10-20 oil ?
kawasaki KZ 1000 service manual, fifth edition (1981), page 129

1980 LTD 1000..,1976 LTD 900, have the 1000&900 now. the rest are previous= 1978 KZ 650 B.., 1980 Yamaha XT 500..,1978 Yamaha DT 400.., 1977 Yamaha yz 80..,Honda trail ct 70.., Honda QA 50...5-1/2 hp brigs & straton CAT chopper mini bike...3-1/2 hp mini bike (WHEN GAS WAS ABOUT 45 CENTS A GALLON)!!!!

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23 Jun 2011 15:13 - 23 Jun 2011 15:17 #458956 by pete greek1
Replied by pete greek1 on topic fork oil or sae 10-20 oil ?
what ratio ATF to the trans fix do you use ? I"d like my forks a little stiffer also !....P,S. dont tell me (thats what she said )

1980 LTD 1000..,1976 LTD 900, have the 1000&900 now. the rest are previous= 1978 KZ 650 B.., 1980 Yamaha XT 500..,1978 Yamaha DT 400.., 1977 Yamaha yz 80..,Honda trail ct 70.., Honda QA 50...5-1/2 hp brigs & straton CAT chopper mini bike...3-1/2 hp mini bike (WHEN GAS WAS ABOUT 45 CENTS A GALLON)!!!!
Last edit: 23 Jun 2011 15:17 by pete greek1.

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23 Jun 2011 15:40 #458962 by Patton
Replied by Patton on topic fork oil or sae 10-20 oil ?
While I prefer using a dedicated "fork" oil of whatever weight desired, and have also experimented using ATF,

The original 1973 Z1 OWNER'S MANUAL does indeed specify SAE 10W motor oil.


FSM for "73 Z1 ~ '76 KZ900 (Revised 6:Mar. 28,1977):
@ page 113: SAE 10W non-detergent
@ page 175: SAE 10W non-detergent

FSM for "77~79 KZ1000 (Revised 4:Mar. 12, 1979):
@ page 127: SAE 10W fork oil
@ page 183: SAE 10W
@ page 250: SAE 10W20
@ page 256: SAE 10W20

Am guessing the dedicated fork oil or ATF might enhance life of rubber seals.
Might be wrong, but think that "foaming" isn't an issue with motor oil, fork oil or ATF.
I do know the '73 Z1's original factory installed "fish oil" was nasty stuff.:pinch:

Good Fortune! :)

1973 Z1
KZ900 LTD
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23 Jun 2011 16:52 - 23 Jun 2011 16:57 #458972 by bountyhunter
Replied by bountyhunter on topic fork oil or sae 10-20 oil ?
I think you don't want motor oil in the forks. Fork oil is more like hydraulic fluid than motor oil and has seal swell additives. I have heard ATF can work but it's viscosity is too thin for most applications (like mine) that call out 15W fork oil. I read that ATf viscosity is roughly like 7W fork oil. I do know thw SAE viscosity ratings for motor oil and fork oil are different. ATF will probably work but the best thing is synthetic fork oil since it's viscosity is very stable with temp change.

1979 KZ-750 Twin
Last edit: 23 Jun 2011 16:57 by bountyhunter.

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23 Jun 2011 17:24 #458977 by mark1122
Replied by mark1122 on topic fork oil or sae 10-20 oil ?
i would just use 20 fork oil. the damping in these old forks is almost none existant.

76 KZ, frame gusset work,1200CC.Ported by Larry Cavanaugh, 1.5mm.over intakes, Carron Pipe, ZRX12 rear end, and seat,96zx9 front end.
01 CBR600F4i Track bike.
Cobourg, Ont. Can.

~ ~ ~_@
~ ~ _- \,
~ (k) / (z)

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23 Jun 2011 18:57 - 23 Jun 2011 18:59 #459006 by otakar
Replied by otakar on topic fork oil or sae 10-20 oil ?
I have not been able to find fork oil any heavier than 20W. Now that being said, It must be realized that 20W fork oil is more viscous than 30W motor oil. Viscosity in SAE #s is not linear and it is not the same between motor, gear and hydraulic oils. Hydraulic oils are the heaviest/SAE# and gear oils are the lightest/SAE# Engine oils fall somewhere in between them. Just a rough estimate in equal viscosity would be something like this Hydraulic-15w SAE = Motor-30w SAE = Gear-83W SAE. These #s are approximate but close. You never want to use a detergent Motor oil in a hydraulic situation. ATF would be equivalent to about, 5W Hydraulic, 10W motor oil, and 70W gear oil. Not all ATFs are the same. By the way, fork oil falls into the hydraulic category.

74 Z1-A stock
76 KZ-900 Totaly stock vice MAC pipe
77 KZ-1000A stock
78 Z1-R 100%MINT 500 original Mi.
78 Z1-R Yoshi 1103 kit stage 1 cams Yoshi pipe. Etc
79 KZ-1300 (1400)
80 KZ-1300
81 Scratch built GPz1150R
82 KZ1000
Last edit: 23 Jun 2011 18:59 by otakar.

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23 Jun 2011 19:19 #459010 by steell
Replied by steell on topic fork oil or sae 10-20 oil ?
I don't know where you folks are getting your info on hydraulics, but many hydraulic systems use motor oil instead of hydraulic oil, some even specify 10w40 motor oil, although probably most say 10w motor oil or SAE 32 hydraulic oil.

If it's a gear pump. then motor oil is fine in the hydraulic system, if it's a variable displacement pump then hydraulic oil only.

KD9JUR
The following user(s) said Thank You: wireman

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23 Jun 2011 19:57 - 23 Jun 2011 20:13 #459013 by otakar
Replied by otakar on topic fork oil or sae 10-20 oil ?
We are talking about fork oil. Fork oil is a high viscosity hydraulic oil. 10W motor oil would be about 5W hydraulic oil. I would normally use the ISO scale where 20W SAE would be about ISO 150. Like you said, most hydraulic systems don't care but none of them want detergent additives. but we are getting off the subject and too complicated for the base question.

74 Z1-A stock
76 KZ-900 Totaly stock vice MAC pipe
77 KZ-1000A stock
78 Z1-R 100%MINT 500 original Mi.
78 Z1-R Yoshi 1103 kit stage 1 cams Yoshi pipe. Etc
79 KZ-1300 (1400)
80 KZ-1300
81 Scratch built GPz1150R
82 KZ1000
Last edit: 23 Jun 2011 20:13 by otakar.

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