Fluid Question

[quantimo7]

I recently bought a 2003 vfr 800 that has 11,000 miles on I plan on replacing the coolant cluthc and brake fluid just so I know its new. I was wondering if the front fork fluid would be wise to change I have read that by going with a little thicker fluid that the bike would feel better I am a bigger guy 6 foot 245 and was hoping someone could help thanks

[derstuka]

Never a bad idea to change the fork fluid....especially 5+ years old. I would replace it with the factory weight, unless you feel that you want to slow it down (rebound and compression damping) with thicker fluid.

You need to pull the forks off to change the fluid by the way....at least you do on the 5th gen....6th should be the same.

[dale-j]

Just to follow up on derstuka's point, increasing the viscosity of the fork oil will not make the front end stiffer, just slower and more damped especially in responding to high speed damping motions like sharp impacts. My experience with VFR's and other cartridge forks is that they don't respond well to heavier oil and the ride gets bad in a hurry. If it's too fast and you're out of rebound damping adjustment this will be the fix; if you're looking to make the front end deal better with your weight and not dive as badly you really need a stiffer set of springs, which is easy to do at the same time that you are changing the fluid.

You can calculate the correct spring rate (give or take) here:

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[quantimo7]

Thanks for the feedback