the purpose of fork oil?

[es_class]

Peace..

I've taken apart my fork twice in efforts to solve a problem. It was bottomimg out hard fr every little thing. Then once all the changes were made...it still just hits hard and doesn't seem to cushion the initila blow from a bump, etc.. Once I changed fork oil...2nd time I put in new springs. My understanding is that the fork oil is to dampen the rebound from the springs once the tubes go in or down. The fork oil is supposed to stop the fork/springs from just jumping back up too fast once compressed. My question is..does this fork oil also affect the initial compression downward? Or is its sole purpose the rebound control of the springs? I put in heavy duty fork oil bcuz my bike is so heavy and I'm another 300lbs on top of that. Could the heavier oil be making my forks stiffer?

[drizler]

Try the tiny schrader valves at the tops of the forks. If memory serves you need to have 10 lbs or so in there or it will not operate properly. That is the first place I would look other than the fluid leaking out via bad seals but you probably replaced them right?

[es_class]

i dont have schrader valves on my forks..and seals are good. simply fork oil and springs with an even simpler damper . i went with a 2 inch spacer from the one inch spacer and that made a huge difference. thinking about going to a 2 1/2 inch spacer and redoing the fork oil with a bit more fluid. at this point im just going to try and get a custom feel for it. thanks

[richtazz]

Heavier fork oil equals a stiffer ride than lighter fork oil of equal voume. Then it's just a balancing act of how much fork oil to use to get a livable compromise between harshness and bottoming resistance. A good shop or dealership should be able to point you in the right direction for a starting point.

[es_class]

Thanks richtazz... for right now I'm ok..after the 2 inch spacer change. I spoke a tech person at progressive springs and it was his suggestion to go with a 1 1/2 inch but I went 2. Now its just a matter of having the patience to take of the forks again to do another fork oil change and kinda play around with the it like I said and go for a custom feel. Gonna go with a little more oil than specs to make up for the longer springs and spacers and then if its too much I can just drain equal amounts little by little from the top of the forks installed. I'm just worried now that if I do the oil that I may not have needed the extra inch spacer. But then again...I still had too much sag in the forks with the weight of the bike and my weight added. Now that I've been riding for a couple years I can feel things I probably never noticed or new the difference of b4. Can't wait to get that good feel I'm looking for.

[richtazz]

Cool ES, now you're on the right track. Calling tech support was your best decision, as they have the info to get you a good starting point. Then it's a just a matter of fine tuning your own final settings. Sounds like your bike is gonna feel like a new one and fit your needs much better now.