Fork Oil Change VS1400 Intruder

Instructions for Fork Oil change on a 1995 Suzuki 1400 Intruder
Should be identical for newer VS1400/S83 models.
In the VS800/S50 series, the fork springs are shorter and there
is a spacer tube installed above the spring to compensate for the
difference in the spring length.

Tools required:
Motorcycle Lift 14 MM Hexagonal Socket, ½” drive
10” Crescent Wrench ½” Ratchet Drive
Rubber Mallet Torque Wrench
Masking Tape Old Fishing Pole
Rags Suction Gun
Flashlight Long ½” drive extension
Funnel – medium Measuring Cup or Graduated Cylinder

REMOVAL OF OLD FORK OIL

Lift Motorcycle so the front wheel is off the ground and not supporting any weight.
Install masking tape around the chrome cap fork bolt head to protect the chrome finish

Use the 10” Crescent wrench and the rubber mallet to loosen off the fork cap bolt. Unscrew the fork cap bolt and set it aside. This will allow access to the Spring Stopper.

Use a 14 MM Hexagonal Socket and the ½” ratchet drive or breaker bar to remove the Spring Stopper. Be careful when nearing the end of unscrewing the Spring Stopper because the Fork Spring is directly below this spring stopper and it is exerting a small amount of force onto the spring stopper. Remove the Spring Stopper and set it aside.

Remove the Fork Spring from the Fork Tube.

Remove the oil from the fork tube by use of a suction gun or other device. Use a small semi rigid piece of flexible tubing and lower it into the top portion of the fork tube. Remove the oil from the top portion of the fork tube.

Once you have the oil removed you can look down into the fork tube and see a smaller opening in the middle of the fork tube. That is the top of the Dampener Rod. Insert the flexible tubing into the opening of the Dampener Rod and push the suction tube down about another six to eight inches or so until you hit the bottom of the fork. Inserting the tube into this hole can be a difficult part of the task but if you have an old fishing pole around, you can use the top section of the pole and slide the flexible plastic tubing through the guides (eyelets) of the fishing pole and that might help align the tubing with the lower Dampener Rod hole. Once you have the tube inserted into the lower portion of the fork tube, continue to remove the old oil. Once you have the oil removed from the entire fork, remove the tubing and all other accouterments you used to remove the old oil and you are ready to install the new oil.

INSTALLATION OF NEW FORK OIL

Suzuki recommends using #10 Fork Oil. The fork oil capacity for the VS 1400 is listed as 354 ml (12.0 US oz) on page 8-17 in the Suzuki Shop Manual. The same information is listed in Table 3 found on page 331 of the Clymer Manual. I elected to use Amsoil Synthetic Fork Oil because I planned on using the Amsoil oil sampling pump for the removal of the old oil and because of convenience, I could purchase the two products at the same time.

Measure the amount of oil you intend to use in a measuring cup or graduated cylinder.

Pour the measured amount of oil into the top fork tube using a funnel or other means, being careful not to spill any oil.

Re-install the fork spring into the fork tube, making sure the tighter wound portion of the fork spring is at the top of the fork.

Install the Spring Stopper into the top portion of the fork tube. You will have to compress the fork spring while trying to get the Spring Stopper started into the threads in the top of the fork tube. Getting the Spring Stopper started into the threads can be an interesting and frustrating activity. The easiest way we found was to place the Spring Stopper onto the top of the fork spring that is protruding out from the top of the fork.

Insert the 14 MM hexagon socket into the top of the Spring Stopper, then a long extension and a small block of wood to push down on the top end of the long extension. While pushing down on the extension, have a buddy turn the Spring Stopper by using the Crescent wrench fitted to the top portion of the hexagon bit that is inserted into the Spring Stopper.

Once you get the Spring Stopper started into the threads, tighten it to a snug tight condition. Using the torque wrench, tighten the Spring Stopper to 29.0 – 36.0 lb-ft as listed on page 8-18 of the Suzuki Shop Manual or, listed in Table 1 on page 330 of the Clymer Manual.

Clean the threads and inspect the o-ring of the fork cap bolt. Install the fork cap bolt by threading it into the top of the fork tube. The Suzuki Shop Manual recommends the fork cap bolt be tightened to 58.0 – 72.5 lb-ft of torque. I did not have a large enough socket to fit the bolt head on the fork cap bolt. I used the Crescent wrench to tighten the bolt as tight as I could get it and then wrapped on it a few times with the rubber mallet.

Thanks to Jesse aka BigSkyTruder of the Cafe for this tip

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