The service manual lists capacity of each fork tube on the XX as 16.3 ounces IIRC. After removing, draining, and reassembling the fork, I'm ready to add oil back to the tube. I can't think of an accurate way to measure precisely 16.3 ounces of fluid. I don't dare just trust that mother Honduh put exactly 16 ounces in the little plastic HP container. Where could I get some type of well marked, known and trusted to be correct, graduated measurement container that would suit this purpose.

I picked up 2 graduated containers marked in cc's millilitres and ounces from my local motorcycle dealer for a few bucks each for just this purpose.

In all reality, you won't feel the missing 0.3 ounces.

Put in the 16 and ride it.

Which really makes me wonder... Why an oddball capacity like that of .3 ounces? Wouldn't it have been better for engineers, mechanics, and owners to have just rounded it to either 16 or 17 ounces? WTF?

Kind of like asking why getting to the spark plugs on my Expedition is so damn difficult. Couldn't they at least attempt to make them easy to get to!

Duh, it's to sell more fluid. They sell you 16, but you have to buy a second bottle to get the last .3... they make more money.

Just a guess but the rest of the world sells liquids in liter or milliliter containers. 500 ml is 16.91 oz. ...


We here in America are getting screwed out of .91 ozs. because we refuse to convert to the metric system which is sooooo much easier

You could also go by the fork oil level which should be 154mm/6.1 inches from the top of the tube. That is how I did mine.

From the 97-98 manual...

+1, that's how I do mine as well. Just make sure you've cycled the damper rod and made sure the oil has gone everywhere it's going to before measuring and setting the level- forks compressed, springs out. The specs on the FI models is different, though. I want to say 143mm, but someone should double check that as it's been awhile for me.

+1 measure the oil level from the top, aka air gap.

There's a lot of good tools in the kitchen.

I drain my fork oil into one profession automotive paint mixing pail (clear plastic). I use another with clean fluid and pour it back in, the same amount it showed on the side.

I looked up the spec in the '99 to '02 manual...143mm or 5.6in. I'm assuming all FI models are the same since mine is '03. Now I'm looking at other problems... This really sucks! Boo Honda quality...

It's not a rock chip or anything since it is on the rear side of the slider.

Click to view attachment Click to view attachment

Bike purchased new in Jan of '05. Not quite 35K miles. I wonder if any water has gotten under and started to fuck with the seal? The other side dust cover is also cracking all around the sealing/sliding lip with little tiny cracks that look like dry rot. My camera isn't good enough to get it though with the light in the garage. I purchased extended warranty that should total coverage for four years. I've never had the bike in a shop except for the front brake recall check. Would dealership/warranty cover something like this? Is it worth the pain in the ass to claim or should I just buy dust seals and hope for the best? I'd hate to put it back together just to ride the damn thing to the shop for them to completely re-do the job...

Shit, you've already got them out, go ahead and replace the seals and dust covers. We just did mine, a 2000 model with 16K on the clock, but did all of the bushings and O rings as well. The bushings were not worn but with already being that far into them, for the money it made no sense not to for me

What are the chances of taking the slider to the dealership and saying WTF? Over. and getting a free set of seals and dust covers out of the deal? I know...I should just flap my arms real hard and try to fly as well.... idea isn't it?

This is how I did mine.....

I took 16.4oz and converted to ml..... 485ml

Then I took a kitchen digital scale and found a cylinder to hold at least that much water. I poured in water until the weight (not including the cylinder) was 485grams. I marked that level.... that's your 485ml. Now dry it out and pour in your oil. Better to use smaller thinner cylinder as it's easier to get an accurate mark. The bigger the cylinder (wide) the more precise you'll need to be in your mark and it's a pain.

God I love metric.

Well I guess it'll be another fuggin week before I can put my sweetie back together. I pulled the dust cover this morning and inspected the seal. No water has actually entered the top of the slider, so the seal and clip are bright and shiny with no obvious problems. I looked up the dust covers and they only go for a bit under 10 bucks. I'm taking the one in the pics with me to the stealership and try to talk them into ordering under warranty just on principle . If they won't do it I'll just get even later since I rep for them as a class sponser for the local MSF program. They probably shouldn't piss me off...pay me now or pay me later their choice.