Make sure you use the grade specified by the manufacturer in the service manual. If you are one of those who do not ride as much, then you should change your fork oil every year or two. If you feel it getting hard or rough, else seems to be making any squeaking noises, it is time to get an oil change. So when you regularly service your bikes, during then just keep a check on your front shock absorber performance. For this reason they retain their quality and viscosity for quite a long time. Due to this reason it does not really come in contact with many outside factors unlike engine oils. Fork oils are kept in closed chambers in the front forks of the bike. And when it comes to maintenance, it is actually pretty simple. So next time you go over an uneven surface and don't even feel a thing on your handlebars, do not forget to thank your fork oil for that. They silently keep up to their task without even coming into notice and taking any credit. Fork oils are the unsung heroes of motorcycles. Most of the fellow bikers either don’t know about fork oils or they just simply turn a blind eye as they fail to understand the importance of it. And this is only because of pure ignorance. We regularly change out bike’s engine oil, top up the coolant and brake oils, but we never even give a thought to the fork oil.

Now the reason behind this article is because not many people really know about fork oils and their maintenance. Similar if the liquid is of a lower viscosity it won’t provide enough lubrication as well and cause friction which will end up in damage. Thus if a higher viscosity liquid is used, then it does provide the lubrication but a higher amount of energy is required to wade through it. To give an example for this, the least viscous liquid is water as it flows off easily, but the one with higher viscosity is Honey as it does not flow off easily.

Those who are not familiar with the term viscous or viscosity, it simply means the thickness of the liquid to provide proper lubrication as well as has load carrying capacity. Hence for that reason the front forks of the bike are filled with a highly viscous liquid, Fork Oil. Yes, there is a piston and there is a spring, but the spring is not powerful enough to take the entire front end load of the bike during an uneven surface. Those who thought that the front two shock absorbers of your bike were simply two piston springs, then you are simply wrong.

If you thought that your bike only needed engine oil and brake oils, think again.

Honda fork oil viscosity chart