FZRSupport: the FZROnline Archive

Whats going on guys. So 19 and i am in the process of rebuilding a 92 fzr 600 for my first build ever. I have been doing alot of research on rebuilding the front forks and keep getting lost and confused on some things. Some people talk about doing diffrent weight oils at diffrent levels. I was wondering what diffrent weight oils change. As well people talk about adjusting the emulators. I am completly lost on this subject. I am having a hard time figuring out what the emulator even dose. Like i said this is my first build and i really wanna learn. Everyones help is really apperated

in a very basic way the way i see it is: heavier oil means it passes through the valve/holes more slowy/needs more force to pass through. so a stiffer feel. more oil means the same i guess, but overdoing it can blow seals. less oil means less to move so a lighter feel same with lighter oil. best thing to do is fit it as stock and ride it. if it's too soft/hard either way, look for a solution to that. i wouldnt worry too much about it till you've actually ridden it and got a feel for it. you can look a weight matched springs etc and see what the company advises on the oil, it just depends on how much you want to spend.
i'll see if i can find the link to a site that does good emulator info, but we had a new pc and some of the favourites got lost!

More oil doesn't mean more damping force; the same force is required to force the volume displaced by the stroke through the metering orifices (holes in the damping rod) whether it's 200cc or 300cc. What more (or less) oil does is increase (or decrease) the effective spring rate at the bottom of the stroke. As the trapped air gets squeezed, pressure builds and it becomes a useful force; the smaller the volume, the greater the compression ratio = the higher the pressure and force, just like the engine. As taggy said, too small a volume (too high a measured oil level) and the pressure goes too high and the seals barf oil all over your tire ans rotors!

The FZR uses fixed damping rod' metering; the emulator allows the fork to act more like a cartridge with shim-style speed-sensitive adjustable metering. Do some reading on damper rod vs cartridge fork to understand what I'm on about.

Referring to the 'weight' of the oil is actually a misnomer; the grades of fork oils have very similar densities and thus weights for a given volume. What is being discussed is the viscosity, or the resistance to shear / the amount of force needed to force the oil through a passage (or an object through the oil). Honey has a higher viscosity thaN olive oil has a higher viscosity than water; the lower the viscosity (the 'lighter' the fluid is), the 'runnier' it is.

I really appreciate all the help guys. This really helped me out to point me in the right direction.

he def puts it better than me. just want to point out the ' i guess' bit in the more oil! im not sure what others think but if you are adjusting levels i feel using the measurement of air gap is the more accurate way of doing it as using volume doesnt account for any oil 'trapped in the system' so to speak. using the air gap, so long as you get the air to the top that is, should give equal sides.

The easiest way to set oil level is to slightly OVERFILL the fork, then insert a measured-length tube attached to a syringe or turkey baster. Want a 189mm air gap / oil level? Fill to around 160mm, stick in a tube marked at 189mm, then suck out the excess. It's fast, easy, accurate and repeatable - cheap, too! Just doesn't get any better.