VOA HD Type E fork oil + viscosity at 100 F

[shanneba]

I sent a sample of Harley Type E fork to Blackstone for a VOA and requested the viscosity at 40 C / 100 F. Here is the report- (I calculated the VI using the Widman calculator)

Code

+-----------------+-------------+
|    Oil Brand    | HD fork oil |
+-----------------+-------------+
| Weight          | Type E      |
|                 |             |
| ALUMINUM        | 0           |
| CHROMIUM        | 0           |
| IRON            | 0           |
| COPPER          | 0           |
| LEAD            | 0           |
| TIN             | 0           |
| MOLYBDENUM      | 0           |
| NICKEL          | 0           |
| MANGANESE       | 0           |
| SILVER          | 0           |
| TITANIUM        | 0           |
| POTASSIUM       | 0           |
| BORON           | 92          |
| SILICON         | 1           |
| SODIUM          | 2           |
| CALCIUM         | 35          |
| MAGNESIUM       | 3           |
| PHOSPHORUS      | 208         |
| ZINC            | 9           |
| BARIUM          | 0           |
|                 |             |
| SUS @ 210F      | 51.5        |
| cSt @ 100C      | 7.72        |
| cSt @ 40C       | 41.14       |
| Viscosity Index | 160         |
| Flashpoint F    | 435         |
| Fuel         %  | 0           |
| Antifreeze %    | 0           |
| Water       %   | 0           |
| Insolubles %    | 0           |
+-----------------+-------------+

Looks pretty close to Castrol Multi Vehicle ATF I did a VOA on several years ago

 

[widman]

That is strange, as most fork oil I've seen is very thin with a very high VI. I sell one that is viscosity at 40ºC: 18.7 Viscosity at 100ºC: 6.0 VI: 313 Advantage being it flows easily and soft in cold, yet maintains the viscosity when those forks heat up from the compression. of course most of our bikes here are off-road types, and lighter than a Harley.

 

[sunruh]

Originally Posted by widman

Advantage being it flows easily and soft in cold, yet maintains the viscosity when those forks heat up from the compression. of course most of our bikes here are off-road types, and lighter than a Harley.

forks and forkoil do NOT heat up. they have way to much surface area and not enough action to even get warm. a rear shock does, but front forks do not.

 

[berlyn]

Hello shanneba, Thanks a lot for posting this. I was expecting that the fluid would have not such a robust package. I was thinking since the last fork oil change I made back in December to use something like lightweight ATF in my Honda Varadero, ca. 30 [email protected] I will try to find a picture of the cutting oil (sorry I meant fork oil...Š) when I drained it. Too much sliding in the fork between the bushings and the springs probably caused this result. Let me know your thoughts, Thanks a lot in advance.