Hi, can anyone help? My monster 750ie has no suspension adjustment on the front forks and they are way too stiff for bumpy back roads, Anyway, am now down to 5w fork oil and still really jarring ride. Also when I drain them the forks seem to have different levels of damping ie one side is stiffer than the other. Is this normal? and can anyone tell me what fork oil to use and how much oil per leg to give a decent level of damping for bumpy B roads. This model was a stop gap 'till the 800 came out. The handbook says 410ml per leg, but i've put in 400ml per leg. I went from 10w to 7.5w to 5w with very little difference in performance.
Here's a suggestion. You could check whether the fork stanchions are truly straight. If one of them is very slightly bent as a result of some bump, that could make the action in one leg seem stiff and binding.
If you have Marzocchi forks, they may be the same or similar to those on some carbed SSs........one side does compression damping and the other side does rebound damping. I don't know about Monsters forks, but 5W is the thinner end of the scale, so unless Pete is right I guess you have too much oil in them. As a rough check......the carbed SS Marzzochis should have 7.5W oil.........380cc in each. With the carbed 900SS Showa forks the air gap between the top of the oil and the top of the slider should be 108mm........so if your air gap is less than 100mm say, then there is too much oil in them.
Check you have the correct spacer/washer in the right place on the front axle (check you have the right axle too). A missing spacer will pull a fork leg in too far, causing stiction and preventing the fork from working properly
Thanks for info I have heard of forks that have different damping, I have put in the amount of oil that's in the hand book, 410ml per leg but have'nt measured air gap, will try that next.
I can't be certain what the air gap on your forks should be, but the oil quantity you have used is 30cc short of the 900ss Showa forks, so I reckon the airgap should be similar which is 108mm. I assume when you are fitting them and you have the wheel back in, you are not tightening the axle fully until you have bounced the forks several times?
Hi, I have slackened front axle pinch bolts and bounced suspension and it does feel slightly better, great idea, thanks.
