Online vendor

[axo959]

Hey all, I'm wondering where online is the cheapest place to buy some Kayaba 0-1 fork and k2c shock oil. I'm not sure who the distributor is for them in the US and I'm having a hard time finding an online shop that carries the stuff. I found the fork oil available from enzo for 14.95/qt, but cant find the shock oil online yet.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Okiewan]

Maybe list the places you've tried so we don't have to list a bunch of names for nothing?

 

[axo959]

Shops

Well if you know of a bunch of places online that sell 0-1 and k2c cheaper than at a local shop, all I'd need is one. :) (the cheapest of the bunch preferably)

At first I tried a couple hop up shops, pro circuit, race tech. Which sell their own brand of stuff, so I'm not sure whats in the bottle. I did find the shock oil for $18/qt at enzo btw. Then I started to look at some of the bigger stores I know of online, chaparal, honda of troy, motosport.com etc. I tried white bros, but gave up on their pdf formatted catalog. Tucker rocky was only for dealers. :ahhh:

So then I decided to take the route that I went when looking for RedLine premix cheaper online. I went to RedLines homepage and did the 'locate dealer' thing. (I found an automotive place online that sells it cheaper than my local shop) Well, I'm having a hard time finding kayaba's homepage, I'm guessing probably because its Japanese. So I cant even find resellers that way.

So I'm not looking for a list of online places to go see if they have it or not via their search on their site. I've done enough of that and find a lot of places that carry silkolene or spectre etc. I'm looking for a known cheap source online. And if you do have a bunch of those, like I say, the cheapest will do... :nod:

Most my local shops dont carry redline or kayaba oils, most likely because they are more expensive. So since I have to order it anyway, might as well be by the case online if I can find a good-guy-discount.

Thanks

 

[Wile_E_Coyote]

Why are you using the KYB oils? Arent there many other brands out there that work just as well?

Hmm, what brand of oil are most of your guys using?

 

[axo959]

Oil brand

WEC-

I've decided to try the expensive KYB stuff because of posts I've read on this and other forums. KYB is actually the 'yamaha' fork oil as well and is recommended in the manual. Thats always a warm fuzzy. Seriously though, I do think the japanese engineers know their stuff. I think the main reason behind any given production bike being 'bad' is because the given company is trying to make a product that hits a broad range of consumers. Back to the oil, I've only (so far) seen people swear by two products, the KYB 0-1 and Mobil1 ATF. KYB stuff is used by a couple of local tuners that also swear by it. Enzo is one 'big' shop I've found so far that uses it. Who knows whats in a PC or RaceTech bottle, might be a KYB product, but it could be anything. (I highly doubt those hop up shops refine their own stuff) I couldnt tell what product mx-tech.com uses by their website.

And for those who use ATF, I'm not knockin it, I just dont have enough data to make an educated decision. If you could list all known properties of 0-1 and ATF and what the values are, I'd consider trying it if they were the same. Since ATF was not made for this application in particular, I'm leery, even if it works great for some. I dont have the equipment to break down two products and see what is the value of every property of each. Heck, I dont even know all the properties of fork oil. I know basics like wt and vi, but thats about it. I found one post splitting hairs as to what is suspension oil and what is suspension fluid. :laugh: And when it comes to msg forums, you have to do a lot of reading to try and figure out who you think knows what they are talking about. Heck, even experts disagree. But when people that do suspension for a living swear by a product, and there is no reason for them to lie to my face about it... So, for those reasons I'm gonna stick with the kyb 0-1 for now.

Suspension is way more important to me that HP. I'm leaving the engine/pipe/silencer box stock. I want to invest my time in learning to tune my own suspension. I want to start messing around with shim stacks. I'd like to keep the testing as controlled as possible. I dont want a product of lesser quality that foams or breaks down or whatever that might give me misleading test results.

These are the main preliminary reasons for starting my suspension tuning learning curve with kyb 0-1. If after some valving and tearing forks down I find foam or whatever, I'll dig deeper for a better product.

:aj:
Keep your feet on the pegs and your wheels on the ground. (he must have meant street bikes eh???)

 

[marcusgunby]

Ive never used KYB 01 but i have used motul oils, they are top notch and most tuners agree its hard to get a better oil than motul-its not cheap but its good.

 

[Wile_E_Coyote]

I've been servicing suspension for many years. I have tried nearly everything at one time or another. Last time I used ATF was in back in 1978 my YZ125E. I'd try the Mobile 1 ATF now if it was truly 5 wt., Ive read that it's equal to 7.5 wt., so it's not on my list for now. I have used the Kayaba oil on request and also in some of my own bikes. I have also used the very expensive Race Tech oil. At one time or another I have used BelRay, Motorex, Motul, Silkolene, Maxima, Amsoil, and more brands I cant remember. Guess what.....I never felt a performance difference from brand to brand. I change my fluids regularly so as to which oil lasts longer for guys that never have service done, I can't answer that. My philosophy is to use name brand oil that is intended for suspension and change it regularly. I buy it in volume where the price is right.

While on the subject, what the heck is that glue like substance that comes in the Kayaba forks from the factory? Is that supposed to be fork oil?

Isn't Enzo the US Kayaba importer? Is that why he uses the Kayaba oil exclusively? I don't know, I won't guess, I'm too old and forgetting everything. :ahhh:

 

[marcusgunby]

I have wondered why the std fork oil is so sticky.I too have used many oils over the years and you cant feel/know there is any difference.

 

[Wile_E_Coyote]

Have you modified the suspension on your RMZ yet?

 

[axo959]

where is the cheapest oil online?

My philosophy is to use name brand oil that is intended for suspension and change it regularly.

I agree. And as mentioned in the orig post, the KYB 0-1 is whats actually in the 'yamaha'-product-line fork oil bottle.

Funny enough story, I went to my local yamaha shop and they could not find the shock oil for me. I told them it was made by KYB and was called k2c or something to that effect. They came up with zilch. They said just use the 0-1 stuff in the shock. I asked if they knew the VI rating of the 0-1 fork oil. They weren't sure. (I read fork oil needs a VI of about 100 whereas shocks need a VI of 300 due to the temps they reach) I explained to my local shop this is why I wanted the oil specifically made for a shock. After 30min of looking in books and them not finding it, I told them I'd just order it online through enzo most likely. So now I dont feel as bad ordering online instead of supporting a local guy. At least I bought the bike there.

 

[elf]

From what I have seen they only have 1 litre bottles of suspension oil. Its not called shock oil or fork oil. It just says suspension oil 01.
My dealer has some for 26 bucks a bottle. I asked them about it and they told me it was not very good. But I don't think they have a clue.

 

[marcusgunby]

Have you modified the suspension on your RMZ yet?

slightly :laugh:

 

[Rcannon]

I've been servicing suspension for many years. I have tried nearly everything at one time or another. Last time I used ATF was in back in 1978 my YZ125E. I'd try the Mobile 1 ATF now if it was truly 5 wt., Ive read that it's equal to 7.5 wt., so it's not on my list for now. I have used the Kayaba oil on request and also in some of my own bikes. I have also used the very expensive Race Tech oil. At one time or another I have used BelRay, Motorex, Motul, Silkolene, Maxima, Amsoil, and more brands I cant remember. Guess what.....I never felt a performance difference from brand to brand. I change my fluids regularly so as to which oil lasts longer for guys that never have service done, I can't answer that. My philosophy is to use name brand oil that is intended for suspension and change it regularly. I buy it in volume where the price is right.

While on the subject, what the heck is that glue like substance that comes in the Kayaba forks from the factory? Is that supposed to be fork oil?

Isn't Enzo the US Kayaba importer? Is that why he uses the Kayaba oil exclusively? I don't know, I won't guess, I'm too old and forgetting everything. :ahhh:

I worried about the same thing until I was forced to use the atf (Mobile 1). I had a fork seal take a dump on Sunday when the shop was closed. I figured to just use the ATF for the day and buy the good stuff (KYB-01) on Monday.

With properly valved forks (Thanks to Chad at http://www.miedosoracing.com/) there was not even the slightest difference in the feel of the fork. I am sticking with ATF. .

 

[Dave.Smith]

According to an article in Motocross Action Magazine, Kayaba 01 = Pro Circuit PC-01 = Showa SS7 (except for color). I've only found limited online data for the Showa SS7. Here's a few in the range you are looking for.

Brand, Type, cSt@40C, cSt@100C, pour point, flash point, VI, base oil
Maxima Fork Oil 5wt 16 3.5 -25 335 150 petroleum
Maxima Racing 5wt 16 3.5 -25 335 150 petroleum
Motul Fork Oil Very Light 16 3.5 -17 370 100 ???
Kuttenkeuler Extra Light 16 4.1 -49 356 157 petroleum
Amsoil STL 16 4.4 -54 347 210 synthetic
Torco RFF Fork 7wt 16 5 -58 ??? ??? blend
Ohlins No. 5 16 ??? ??? ??? ??? ???
OJ Racing Type 07 17 3.9 -62 356 124 ???
Kayaba 01 17 4.1 ??? ??? ??? ???
Pro Circuit PC-01 17 4.1 ??? ??? ??? ???
Showa SS7 17 4.1 ??? ??? ??? ???
Agip Fork 2.5 18 4.4 -60 329 162 blend

 

[Wile_E_Coyote]

Years ago I used to build automatic transmissions for professional drag racing. You would not believe the amount of heat and pressure the trans fluid must endure. In the transmission there are rubber lip seals, teflon sealing rings, copper/bronze bushings, aluminum on aluminum pistons, all either rotating or sliding at very high temps. Not to mention planetary gear sets, needle bearings, composite thrust washers and friction clutch plates & bands. I am no oil expert but it seems that a synthetic ATF would surely be a viable lubricant for suspension use. It is considerably less expensive than suspension fluid. I would like to see shock dyno results that compare synthetic ATF to a top suspension fluid.

Progressive suspension is about a mile from me. I know an engineer that used to work there. I should ask if I can use their dyno for some fluid testing. :laugh:

Marcusby- can you PM me about your RMZ mods?

 

[marcusgunby]

It says you cant be contacted via e mail or pm?

 

[Wile_E_Coyote]

Sorry. I'll fix it.

 

[DaveJ]

AXO959,

The short answer to your question is that KYB fluids can be had via Enzo Racing or White Brothers, but to the best of my knowledge it all comes in via Enzo.

Enzo does not sell on-line, and prefers to sell in quantity to dealers and race teams. White Brothers no longer sells direct, but you can have your local dealer order it for you or perhaps place a special order with just about any White Brothers dealer, (on-line or not). WP part number for the fork fluid is #02-040, 32oz, and 02-041 for the 32 oz. of shock fluid. Retail price is $15.95 and $19.95 respectively, (dealer price is $11.96 and $14.95).

You can also order the Yamaha suspension fluid from any dealer as well. Tell your dealer it's in the "Genuine Service Products" catalog, #LIT-11111-51-02. I'll go find the part numbers if you need them.

As for opinions, the KYB/Showa fluids, and the factory fluids from Yamaha and Honda are all going to be on par with one another, and are most likely all from the same stock. Choose one and stick with it.

Some over the counter fluids are similar in performance for the short term, but lack durability. I don't recommend any of them.

The only other consideration is Red Line's "Like Water", which does not perform as well as KYB and factory fluids, but it has an application for testing when you don't want to deal with viscosity/temperature shifts.

ATF is a consideration for light-duty trail riding, and street, but out of the question for the extremes of motocross.

Hope this helps.

DaveJ