Ducati Monster Forum

Hey guys,

Whats the deal with changing fork oil. How often, how do i know if it need to be changed? Is this a hard process. Thanks,

Lorenzo

Newest maintenance schedule is every 22,500 miles.  Never did it on my duc - did it on a Yamaha once - don't remember it being a big deal, but it didn't have upside-down forks. 

I believe what most suspension folks recommend is once a year and you should check out/clean all the components, but most people don't do it that often.  I'm probably due for a suspension freshen up and I'm going 3 years now.  If you don't ride hard, you could push it out, but it does feel REAL nice when you get a suspension tune up...

you'll get better feedback if you post this in the tech section

Lorenzo, it's pretty easy....take Chill's advice...look in the Tech Section.

I can tell you this..if they're Marzokes make sure you don't separate the slider (the chrome one!) from the main stantion tubes (the thick aluminum ones!)  unless you are going to replace the forks seals as there is a good probability they'll develop leaks later...of course, it would be a good idea to replace the fork seals during this operation, but they're pricey from Ducati, but cheap from Suzuki.

You are going to need to jack the rear wheel on a stand and get your front wheel off the ground (straps from the ceiling or bottle jack/wood block under horiz cylinder)

Measure the distance from the top of the stantion tube (less cap) to the top of the LOWER triple yoke BEFORE you disassemble anything and upon reinstall you'll have the correct measurement for ride height of the front end...

Do one leg at a time....leave one leg in the triples while you perform the oil change that way the alignment will be easier upon reinstall...

If memory serves me, you'll need 400cc per leg + - meaning a quart or liter will do it.....as far as weight goes, check your manual for what they recommend. My S2R which is a newer model took 7.5 wt (avail @ Lone Star BMW/Triumph as BMW Fork oil) but you'll do fine with either 5 or 10 wt....use fork oil specific oil as it won't foam....

my advice would be to pay for the work the first time, then you know what it SHOULD feel like and know how much and what kind of oil was in there to make it feel that way.  Then you can do it yourself a lot more confidently the next time

fwiw, you can get the seals from racetech too

thanks a lot guys, helpful as always. I think it could use it, ill let you know how I get along...