‘If the oil smells fishy, change it’
Fork oil is a fluid that gets chronically overlooked but it should be changed every 15,000 miles or so. But most of us don’t give it a second thought until it’s time for an MoT and one of the seals is leaking. Although saying that, I have seen bikes presented for MoT with a blown seal temporarily plugged via a thin strip of microfibre cloth secretly sandwiched beneath the dust seal… that’s inventive bodging at its best, that is. Over time, fork oil degrades due to the heat build up, shearing forces and dirt it’s exposed to, and its damping properties decay, leaving you with a soggy front end. It’s always wise to replace the fork oil in any two-year-old or older bike that you’ve just bought, especially if it’s a performance orientated model or a sportsbike. You’ll be able to tell fork oil that’s well past its best by the god-awful smell, think of burnt fish oil that’s been left out in the sun and you won’t be far from it.