CL77 Type II fork oil recommendation

[Snakeoil]

Today I stripped down and cleaned my '67 CL77 forks. Looks like the oil that came from the factory was still in them. Disassembled everything, including the damper tube in the alum lower sliders. Lots of gunk and crud in there.

I did find progressive fork springs in there, which was a surprise. Somebody must've changed them out at some point. So I guess it is not factory oil I found. But damn closet to it.

All back together now with new seals and o-rings. Just looking for a recommendation based on experience for oil type and weight for these forks. I weigh between 180-190 with gear on.

I know fork oil weights vary by brand. A Bel Ray 10 wt is not necessarily the same as a 10 wt Suzuki oil. Not sure why that is, but that's the info I've gathered over the years.

Any recommendations based on experience?

Thanks,
Rob

[jensen]

Hi,

I can only tell what I use, but that doesn't mean its the best oil out there.
For years I use Castol fork oil, it comes in different grades, and if you need a grade inbetween the standard grades, just mix them. More info found on the castol website.

Jensen

Btw, I weight 85 kilo's, and I use 10W and 12.5W (I started with 7.5 but that's for me not good enough)

[LOUD MOUSE]

If the oil smelled like fish it's original.
Those are OEM springs. .....lm

Today I stripped down and cleaned my '67 CL77 forks. Looks like the oil that came from the factory was still in them. Disassembled everything, including the damper tube in the alum lower sliders. Lots of gunk and crud in there.

I did find progressive fork springs in there, which was a surprise. Somebody must've changed them out at some point. So I guess it is not factory oil I found. But damn closet to it.

All back together now with new seals and o-rings. Just looking for a recommendation based on experience for oil type and weight for these forks. I weigh between 180-190 with gear on.

I know fork oil weights vary by brand. A Bel Ray 10 wt is not necessarily the same as a 10 wt Suzuki oil. Not sure why that is, but that's the info I've gathered over the years.

Any recommendations based on experience?

Thanks,
Rob

[Snakeoil]

Yes, it did smell like fish. I'm laughing as I type this. Never would have guessed that Honda put progressively wound springs in bikes back then.

The manual is useless for how to disassemble these. I was pretty sure how they came apart based on the parts diagram and having had S90 forks apart, which are simpler, but similar in construction.

I think I might post a short how-to for the next noob that has to dive into his Type II forks.

Appreciate the fork oil tip, Jensen.

regards,
Rob