The Hodaka Club Forum

OK forum folk. I'm about to start removal and rebuild of the RT forks, with new seals, O rings and dust covers. Is there anything special I need to know about? Can I just look at the exploded parts diagram in my manual or is there anything "ODD" about which I need to know? Would there be an article in a past issue of the Resonator which details the fork rebuild procedure? Thanks in advance! ; D Victor

Well, OK. No response... How about a different question.

Road Toad forks. 10w, 15w or 20w fork oil? What do you like the best in the forks? They still have what I believe to be the original springs. Drained the fork oil out of one leg already. Got less than 3 ounces of the recommended 6 ounces per leg, recommended in the manual for this bike. I'll probably go with 10w fork oil unless someone pops in and says use a different weight. ; D Victor

Man! Those cap nuts with the seals in them are a Bitch to get loose! All done though. Just ran out of 10w fork oil! Only had 6 ounces left. I'll get another bottle tomorrow & fill the left fork tube so I can put the cap nut back on. But the forks are remounted! ; D

Did you loosen the seal cap thing first while forks were still tight in the triple clamp and wheel on? That's the first thing I do before disassemble is loose the seals before anything.

Sorry I couldn't hit the 4 hour window for suggesting fork oil weight. The Owner's Manual lists 20 wt as standard - but rider preference may lead you to something else. However, I expect that you will find 10 wt. to be too light especially in warm weather. Keep an eye (and ear) out for evidence of "topping out". Your young family members likely won't start out riding hard enough to "bottom out" very often, but "topping out" (with a clank) may well be in the offing with 10 wt. in warm weather. If you find that sort of thing to be happening, try 20 wt. Hard riding guys in hot weather would likely need 40 wt. - so I guess you should just be aware that temperature has as much effect (maybe more) than rider skill/aggressiveness on the "best" oil for the Toad forks.
Ed

So 20wt oil in 'Toad forks. Same for Wombat forks? I used 10wt on the first fork oil change/flush because I had it on hand. Going in this Winter n rebuilding 'em, so I'll get the "right" oil then.

Thanks Ed and all others who responded! I ran out of fork oil so I only filled one, and I may just use that 10 weight as a clean out oil & then buy 20 weight and fill both with it this afternoon. This one is going to my nephew who is almost 17, so he's heavy enough to to warrant the 20 weight!

One fork only had 4 ounces left in it. One still had 6 ounces but there were lots of sparkly metal bits and sludge in the oil. I'm guessing the oil in these forks may have honestly been 41 years old! ; D Victor

Social. In answer to your question, the forks were already off the bike. But I had to mount one tube at a time to the trees so I could get the cap nut loose on each one. It's a real pain to get it off otherwise. ; D Victor

Got a new bottle of 20w fork oil on my lunch break. Now if I have time today, I'll get them both filled with 6 ounces each! It's amazing how well these 41 year old forks can clean up. Good old aluminum foil & water strikes again! ; D Victor

Done & Done! Thanks to all who gave input! ; D Victor