Fork Oil - 03 RS

what fork oil for a 2003 RS. Manual states Showa SS8 - whats that in normal speak anyone???

[PaloAlto]

JAS,

The only other thing I can find in the service manual (under Section 1) says fork oil is SAE 10W. There have been many opinions posted here on oil weight vs rider weight vs ride.

[Team2]

I put 5W Bel Ray in my 02 RS and love the improvement over the stock 8W oil. The forks respond much better. I got the idea from another Triumph rider. I weigh about 165 lbs and ride agressively (former racer). Best to remove the forks to thoroughly drain the old oil and clean out the crud before filling with new oil. As far as volume, I went by the specified fork oil level (by measurement) as spelled out in the manual.

[chefjpd]

Team2,

you put thinner oil in the forks, and it improved the ride? I would think that it would dive worse than stock with that kind of oil.

I was going to suggest 15w oil, since that is the general sportbike replacement viscosity. I've done a few bikes with 15 and it stiffened up the ride noticably (replace the spring while you're in there)

Am I wrong? :???:

[Team2]

I was amazed at the improvement with the 5W oil. I would not have thought of it had another Triumph rider not mentioned it to me! If you try it, I hope you are as satisfied with the results as I am.

Thanks - I'll try 5w and see what its like.

[zore]

I was going to put thicker oil in myself as that's what I was being told, but I've always put thinner oil in my other bikes so I'll go with thinner.