Front fork maintenance

[dmanteigas]

Hi All,

 

I have a Tracer 900 GT from 2018 which has currently 20000km. Some people say that you should change front fork suspension oil around 25000km and that threshold is getting closer each day  I am thinking of also upgrading the springs, and would like to collect some feedback first. As far as I understand, GT front fork springs are different (stiffer) than standard version, so does it worth at all to replace the spring also?

Thanks in advance!

David

[betoney]

Yes, the fork oil needs to be periodically changed.  If you have ever seen used fork oil, it is a grungy mess filled with particulates.

Concerning fork springs (shock spring as well) there are many different springs for different rider weight, give any suspension shop a call and tell them your weight and they can tell you the correct spring rate you need.  You will want to set the spring preload accordingly.

[koth442]

Fork oil should be done as maintenance. Fork springs are upgrades. They may be worth changing if your weight / riding style dictates it.

[dmanteigas]

My riding style is aggressive. I use the motorcycle only for fun and like to drive fast in the bends. to be honest I don't feel any limitation with Tracer's suspension, I am pretty sure the only thing preventing me from going faster is my riding skills  But I have heard so many people in older versions of the tracer complaining about suspension and saying that changing fork springs (as it is not very expensive to do so) that I would like to know the feedback from other people to understand whether the it is an investment worth doing. Also, 25000km is a good milleage for doing this oil change?

 

Thanks

[chitown]

If you're happy don't over think it based on online comments from others. In my case I couldn't achieve proper sag from the stock springs. 

Interval is subjective so don't know that you'll get a consensus online. I'll toss out 10,000-20,000 miles. Most oems don't put a fork service interval in manuals. Performance of oil and other wear items (seals, bushings etc) will degrade over time. IME aggressive riders will notice the benefits of servicing at intervals as small as 12,000 miles or so where a more relaxed rider might get away with double that.

Of course many riders just ignore suspension servicing altogether and only ever service the forks when they're doing an upgrade or they see fork or shock oil leaking on the bike and floor and that becomes their interval