Degradation of your suspension is a very gradual thing. Many OE shock absorbers are deemed a sealed unit, but the oil in your forks can usually be changed by any garage. It’ll be a long time before it needs doing, but the problem is that, being such a gradual thing, you’ll probably not realise the handling has gone off.
Most manufacturers don't give a specific recommendation regarding changing the fork oil as it should be assessed as part of a bigger inspection of the front suspension, and carried out according to use. A racer would change the oil regularly as it’s put under a lot of stress and can have a real impact on lap times, but for a street rider there’s far less need, so it’s really down to owner discretion.
Our Advise:
Suspension is similar to an engine in that it’s a moving component that uses oil to create forces, to lubricate and goes through heat cycles (although not at such high temperatures).
Keeping this in mind it’s always good practice to service forks and shocks on a regular basis, though obviously this differs from road to off-road and racing use due to the temperatures reached in operation. For road bikes I would say the norm would be around every 10,000 miles, while a competition shock might be around 20 hours.
A front fork service would consist of stripping the units to the bare number of parts and cleaning everything, including the shims. A fork service would typically cost £200 to £250 in labour and parts such as oil seals and fork oil.
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