Marzocchi Fork Oil query

[bruise willies]

Hi all, I've been slowly rebuilding a Bomber Flylight Z4 fork and have come to the point where I need to buy fork oil. Now, after a little digging, I keep coming across a recommendation for Golden Spectro Oil, however this doesn't appear to be available in the UK. Anyone have a good tip on oil for these please?

 

[fjpshaw]

Any motorcycle fork oil from a petrol station will work fine. 7.5w.

Hi all, I've been slowly rebuilding a Bomber Flylight Z4 fork and have come to the point where I need to buy fork oil. Now, after a little digging, I keep coming across a recommendation for Golden Spectro Oil, however this doesn't appear to be available in the UK. Anyone have a good tip on oil for these please?

 

[dyna-ti]

As above ^ pretty much anything will do.


Fancy experimenting with old chip shop oil ?

 

[drystonepaul]

Re:

The genuine Marzocchi oil is just rebranded Silkolene oil.

I generally use either Silkolene, Rock Oil or Motul fork oil in my workshop.

And yes, as stated it's 7.5w oil for those forks and most open bath Marzocchi forks.

 

[bruise willies]

Re:

Brilliant, thanks. I had started looking around and finding a minefield of conflicting and maybe, far-too in-depth, information. I'll go with the Silkolene then!

 

[sam_white]

Just looking into this myself. The thread here reckons Sikolene is a no-go, but it is an old thread.
https://www.mtbr.com/threads/will-any-o ... rk.312020/

But here they say all their servicing includes Sikolene oil!
https://marzocchiworkshop.blogspot.com/ ... dwave.html

Hmm. Others online seem to recommend Motul, as the viscosity is very similar to Marzocchis own.
I do know that everyone seems to recommend Golden Spectro, but it isn't available in the UK, unless you pay for expensive shipping from ebay.

 

[FluffyChicken]

Re:

Since it has been dug up, pretty much all my forks, from MAG to Bomber have Rock Oil in, blend them together when you need to.
All. Working well, as well as the one I've done for friends.

Just pick the weight you need. 7.5wt or 10 to 15 if you're a bit on the heavier side (check the tech tuner in the archive)

 

[eshew]

Re:

The original Marzocchi oil isn't Silkolene (at least not in the US market). It's Golden Spectro 125/150 (Very Light)

Any 7.5w will pour in but the oils have a vastly different feel.

I tried using some 7.5W motorex (CST 37) just for fun. Way too thick. Rebound was slow fully open.

You'll want to compare CST #'s Stock Marzocchi has a CST of 26.40

https://www.peterverdone.com/wiki/index ... sion_Fluid

This has a chart with a ton of different oils. Compare CST, get the closest you can find. It makes a huge difference.

 

[sam_white]

Re:

Thanks for the chart link. Will have a proper look at it before I buy anything. The local shops don't seem to have much choice so I'll have to order online.

 

[FluffyChicken]

Re: Re:

Thanks for the chart link. Will have a proper look at it before I buy anything. The local shops don't seem to have much choice so I'll have to order online.

Been there, done that and read all the info by him, before it was on a wiki I think?

In the end I just bought what others have used and what CRC had cheap
(and I then found somewhere local selling the same for the same price which was a bonus)
Which ended up being RockOil (UK manufacturer) as above,
but Silkolene, Finish Line, Motul and any others used by TFTuned etc will do to.
if it feels too slow for you, change it for something thinner etc.

Mainly I use 7.5wt is a starting point. If you want the UK Marzocchi oil, get Silkolene as that is/was what the UK importer, repairer and fixerupper website you linked to (on Dan Jones site used). They should know as they had been doing it since 1995 iirc.
Just get what you can and stick with the brand if it works for you.
Don't import stuff to get a specific brand, there is no point.
This i how I thought about it.
Did I, in all honesty, remember what my Mag21 forks felt like after all this time. No, but they worked well for me when I road them stock. Am I now twice the weight, probably? So do I have a clue what should be in them, nope. So i stuck 5wt in and went and road. I tried 10Wt too, but that was too heavy for me.
Do I have a clue what the Bomber Superfly or Z3, SID, Judy should feel like or the XC700 I have. Not a chance. Would I change and tweak to suite me, I certainly would have BiTD, though a bit less faffing now.
Fill it, ride it, tweak it.
Have fun.