What we need most while riding a motorcycle is the control of the bike. Which is called Handling. Front Suspension plays the biggest role in making a bike feel more stable or comfortable than another bike. And the most important thing to make this suspension work well is Fork Oil.

What is fork oil?
Fork oil is a special type of lubricant that is used inside the front shock absorber or front fork of a motorcycle. It has nothing to do with ordinary engine oil or gear oil. Its function, density and pressure tolerance are also different.

Fork oil is actually a hydraulic fluid, which controls the spring and damping mechanism inside the fork. When the front wheel hits a pothole, speed breaker or jolt, this oil determines how fast the bike will go down and how smoothly it will go up again.

How does fork oil work?
The two long pipes you see in the front of the motorcycle are the front fork. Inside it is a spring and at the bottom is a damping rod or cartridge system. Fork oil is kept inside this system.

When the bike hits a hole or a high place in front, the fork goes down. The fork oil then moves under pressure through small oil passages. And this smooth ride is called Controlled Speed. However, if the oil was not there, the fork would go down in a flash and the rider would fall.

Rebound Control
After the fork goes down, it comes up again. The fork oil determines how smoothly and slowly it will rise up, so that the bike does not jump.

Vibration Absorption
Fork oil absorbs vibration when braking on potholes or sand. This is called the Damping Effect.

Steering Stability
When the brake is pressed, the weight goes forward. If the fork oil is not right, the handle will become heavy and the bike will nose dive and cornering will be shaky. Good fork oil keeps the handling razor sharp.

How does fork oil help a motorcycle?
1) Increases Ride Comfort
2) Improves Handling
3) Increases Braking Performance
4) Handle does not shake at high speed, bike does not float.
5) Spring, Seal, Bush inside the fork all last longer.

What happens if the fork oil is bad?
Simply put: If the fork oil is bad, the feel of the entire bike is ruined.

After how long should the fork oil be changed?
It depends on the use of the motorcycle, road conditions and the company’s recommendations. General rule:
Change Interval: 10,000-15,000 km or once every 1.5 to 2 years

On the other hand, if the bike is used rough, has to be ridden on bad roads a lot, or aggressive riding is done. Then it is better to change it every 8,000 km.

Which fork oil is better?
People usually use:

10W Fork Oil (Soft, comfortable ride)

15W (Balanced)

20W (Stiffer handling, heavy braking)
If you are riding sporty, it is better to take a little Hard or High Viscosity. If you want comfort, Soft viscosity is better.

Fork oil is something that is not visible to the eye, so many riders do not pay attention to it. But in fact, the entire riding comfort, safety, and stability all depend on fork oil. Therefore, using good quality fork oil on time will not only make your bike comfortable. Rather, braking and cornering will be much improved.