Yes, I see that it says minimum air pressure is 0 psi, and I assume that's for a 100 lb dressed tiny-person, and not my 220 lbs bulk. Recommended air pressure is the 6-14 psi, which is more in-keeping with the heavier avoirdupois of the
gaijin Western customers of the Tuning Forks Company. The Japanese have had issues with this in the past, bikes set-up for smaller-framed and less-weight Japanese customers, being under-sprung and under-damped for Westerners. The first company importing Japanese motorcycles, which took into-account on their specs, the heavier Westerners, was Pabatco Trading Company, who imported the Hodakas to the USA. Their damping and springing was sufficient for an adult USA customer to use 'em, as-is. Older riders who enjoyed off-road riding may be familiar with their Ace 90 and later, the Ace 100, and then the whimsically-named bikes: Super-Rat, Dirt Squirt, Combat Wombat, and the Road Toad. They were inexpensive, reliable, easy to hop-up, and very-popular in the mid-1960's to mid-1970's.
The History of Hodaka Motorcycles (motorcycleclassics.com)
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I've been using Bel-Ray fork oil for probably close-to 50 years. I trust the product, I like the results I get. I usually use 10 wt. I've also used ATF as an experiment, which I thought worked OK.
The pressure I usually use in a VMax is 10-11 psi with stock springs and damping, and 10-wt fork oil, which for me provides good damping and prevents excessive dive on hard braking. Thanks for the suggestions, I may try something different next-time I'm in the forks, just to-see how it works. I have a Blackburn bicycle pump I've tried, but just a momentary use of the compressor air chuck, and making use of my air pressure regulator allows a quick, safe addition of air pressure to the forks.
