RangerCharlie Posted December 14, 2004 How much does changing the oil height up or down after the performance of the forks? A general question not applied to a specific brand. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skipn8r Posted December 14, 2004 How much does changing the oil height up or down after the performance of the forks? A general question not applied to a specific brand. Decreasing the fork oil height (adding oil) increases the perceived spring rate as the fork is compressed near the end of it's stroke (near bottoming). On my XR400, I originally had the fork oil height set in the middle of the recommended range. When I got my fork compression damping the way I wanted it for most conditions, I would still get a pretty harsh bottoming in front occassionally (off of relatively small jumps). After I decreased the oil height (added oil) to near the minimum recommended (maximum oil quantity), the bottoming disappeared with the same clicker settings. I could feel that as the forks were compressing, they would stiffen and stop compressing near the bottom. Before adding oil, the compression damping felt rather constant through the stroke and on a hard landing, they would blow through the stroke and bottom. After adding oil, there were probably other changes (like increased harshness) but I didn't ride it enough after the oil change to really notice them. I've read that increased fork oil height also increases the chance of blowing seals, but I didn't. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
