Giant XTC4 with hydraulic disk brakes
 

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Nice. Looks like it has had very little use.

First thing I would do is service the fork before you ride it much. Though service parts for that fork may be hard to come by.

What kind of brakes are those?

First of all, how do you know that it “works fine”? Because it moves?

Do you wait until your car is not “working fine” to change the oil?

The fork is two decades old. Service it if you want it to work as well as it can and - more importantly - last.

So I think maybe you misunderstand Kapusta but they raise an excellent point, while something seems functional on the outside the inside probably has never been serviced and forks do need servicing. Also they weren't saying you don't know how to change oil but more a point of it may run but it needs regular service to keep it running properly and not cause damage.

You may have felt, because this is text on the internet so emotion cannot show through, that they were being mean or something but in the end it was good advice. Assuming something is good because on the outside it is ok is not a great way to go about things. Any mechanical object will need service at some intervals and on a bike you don't have the history on it is good to run through it now before you start riding it so you know the issues right away and can help fix them and eliminate them or prevent them from happening. Things can seem ok but without actual overhauling things could be starting to seize or be running without proper grease or lubricant or something else and you may not know till it is too late and better to protect your investment now then just say it is fine and not know.

good info