fork oil

[MotoMike]

a few hundred miles back I replaced the oil in the forks of my 69 450 with DOT3 brake fluid per the Clymers manual recommendation. Since the old stuff had been in there for 17 years, I figure I have been stirring up the debris that I did not drain the first time an plan another oil change soon.

What do you guys use in these forks? Is the 3.5oz per leg recommendation good?

Thanks,
Mike

[JimF]

Brake fluid? I think maybe you meant ATF...

I use ATF in mine.

Brake fluid will eat your paint if it leaks and much other stuff too.

[MotoMike]

Jim

At the time I got the little Duc on the road, I only had the Clymers manual. I have acquired others now.

In the Clymers manual it lists in the recommended lubricants and fuel section under fork oil for the 160 SAE 20W and for the 250 through 450 3.5oz of Hydraulic brake fluid DOT3.

Your comment caused me to look in the owners manual where it states to use shock adsorber oil in the Mk3 models and Agip ATF in the scrambler models.
I then I looked in the Ducati Meccanica workshop manual. There I found that I should use Agip F1 shock absorber oil or hydraulic brake fluid (or equivalent)

Having gone this far I looked in the Haynes manual. There I find they recommend Agip shock oil for the Ducati forks, Agip OSO55 for Ceriani's and Agip Rotra ATF for Marzocchi.

I guess there is a difference of opinion here. Thought experience here and devlopements in the last 41 years might have come up with other options.

[JimF]

Your first post said "brake fluid."

I was told to that ATF is the rough equivalent of 7 weight oil (or so I remember.)

[MotoMike]

Yes, I used DOT3 Brake fluid. recommended in the Clymers manual and Ducati's shop manual.

[DewCatTea-Bob]

____ Right, I recall using brake-fluid too, and unlike 10w motor-oil which I also tried, it seems I recall that the brake-fluid would most always explode-out of the drain-hole when the drain-screw was removed... So ya might wonder if the fork-manufacturer may have actually expected the brake-fluid to be used so as to purposely create the added air-pressure within the fork-legs ??
I'd tend to doubt that but, has anyone else who has ever tried both oil & brake-fluid (separately!), ever noticed the pressure difference, during the draining-job?
__ If (right-after a ride down a bumpy-road), the brake-fluid in the fork-legs drains-out well contaminated, I'd recommend switching-over to a clear-colored high-detergent ATF, and flush the fork-legs with it at least a couple times, before then deciding if the ATF doesn't do the job at least as well.


Dukaddy-DUKEs,
-Bob

[MotoMike]

OK
Jim and Bob thanks. I'll give it a go. No loss for bumpy roads here in northern Illinois

[jbcollier]

There has been a bit of a revolution in suspension technologies since the Ducati singles were current. May I suggest you could also try fork oil? It's readily available in different weights and you can mix weights to fine tune your damping.

Recommending automatic transmission fluid (ATF) is too broad a suggestion. When ATF was a recommended shock oil, there were only two types out there: GM's Dextron (at the time Dextron 2) and Ford's Type F: both were OK, similar in weight, though I favoured Dextron because Type F had more "friction modifiers". Now there are all sorts of ATF grades, quite different weights and some of them actually feel rough and gritty when rubbed between your fingers! Stick with Dextron (now Dextron 3 but it is backwards compatible) as a shock oil substitute.