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CL175 fork oil change

TMSHORT

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2021
Total Posts
194
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Location
NOBLESVILLE, INDIANA, USA
Any tips / tricks?
I’ve not found much online, and the FSM describes pulling the whole assembly off and taking it apart.

I was hoping to drain / fill the forks; I actually started on the L side not knowing how old the oil is. It came out red and reasonably clear, though it was not close to the 135-145cc stated in the FSM.

Can I just refill with the proper amount and then do the same on the R side?

T.
 
Working from this fiche https://www.partzilla.com/catalog/h...with-no-year/cl175k6-a/cl175-front-fork-k4-k6
You have a drain screw at the bottom of each fork, #31, that will drain once the fork cap bolt is removed, #26. Caution here! the oil will jet out of the drain hole so I suggest the you remove the drain plug and washer, separate them and scre the plug back in a couple threads before removing the cap bolt. That way you can sort of control the draining.
Filling will require patience since that cap bolt appears to be small and you're going to fill thru it. Use the prescribed amount of oil.
You should support the front end with a jack while doing this.
 
All I ever did back in the day was remove the drain screw(s) and pump the suspension vigorously until no more fluid came out. Then replace the drain screws and remove the fork caps. I used a 50ml disposable syringe to measure the correct amount of oil into the forks. Back then, ( I was only a clueless teenager ) I used the same Castrol 20/50 car oil that I ran in the motor, stiffened the front end up somewhat …

These days, I've disassembled the forks completely, washed all the parts, fitted new seals, then refilled using proper fork oil.

Might be possible to flush the forks in situ, using a few changes of something like kerosene.
 
Thanks guys!

What I ended up doing was:
- remove bottom drain plug (both copper washers still there!) on one side
- remove top cap bolt and allow fluid to drain, then pump the suspension a bit.
- flushed with 20-30cc of new fluid
- replaced bottom plug and refill, I had a small funnel that fit and it seemed to flow fine.
- replace cap bolt on top.
- repeat for the other side

I was surprised the fluid that came out seemed fresh, someone must have filled it recently.

T.
 
You were spared the hideous aroma of the usual really old fork oil, that stuff can get very nasty trapped inside that chamber for a long time
 
Yes, it can really reek. At least our old bikes have some protection over the fork tubes, rubber gaiters or metal shrouds. I reckon the problem is worse on new(er) bikes, still with RWU forks, but naked stanchions. A certain amount of water must find its way past the seals on those, contaminating the fork oil. ( or ATF, as I think Honda used to specify, too thin for my liking )
 
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