'07 Fork Oil Change

G

gary r

New member
Cool, thanks.

Do you by chance have a part number for the drain plugs? I did find chrome plugs but not the stock plugs.
 
iclick the 07 and up have a chrome allen for the drains now. retrofit for the older bikes. issues with stripping the heads so hd uses the allens now.
 
If you chuck the service manual and you're happy with the results: kewl. "It really is easy, and I can't figure out why the Moco dictates such a drawn-out procedure in the service manual. I suspect it is because they can charge three hours for fork oil changes, then use the top and drain plugs to complete the job in one hour. Otherwise, why would they retain the drain plug in the forks?" Answer: Because the level of the fork oil is accurately measured with a Pro-level gauge with the spring and spacers removed with fork "lightly" compressed to avoid putting too much, too little, or unequal amounts in each affecting ride & handling, hence the need to remove the forks. Plus disassembly, using the special tools listed in the service manual, allows inspection of and/or replacement of worn or damaged internal components. How's your seals and internal parts for wear? You don't know because didn't check them. The crap in the fork oil is from the crap that wears off the internal parts. The forks are made by Showa and would cost "X" cents multiplied by how many units sold for HD to remove? Just like Buells have "FORD" stamped on their Delphi connections instead of "BUELL". Cost prohibitive to redesign. No: dealers are not doing it the "backyard-quickie method" and charging you for the correct way it's supposed to be done. Probably why they are getting that "$85 an hour" because they're doing what is NOT written in the Maintenance Schedule. Just like when the battery says "I" for "inspect", they don't just visually look at it but perform specific tests on it. They do what the maintenance calls for at it's required service interval not the "quick & easy".
 
I believe that "lightly" compressed is quite vague, adding unequal amounts of fork oil is easily prevented without a lot of expense, checking for worn internal parts isn't necessary every time oil is changed, and the battery has nothing to do with this topic.

As for how every mechanic does the job, well..... I confess that I have no evidence about what every mechanic does or doesn't do.
 
My method is: Using an oil can with the thumb pump lever. I place a beveled rubber plumbing washer on the end of the oil can tube and pump in fresh oil. Oil can hols about the same amount that is required. All done through the drain plug.
 
First off I want to thank iclick for another clear and concise write up of a maintenance procedure that anyone of us can and should do at home. With pictures to boot! You only need a minimal amount of tools and some time.

I am thinking that this tool would have been of some use.....I have one, but have not used it yet. I was taught that it was critical to get not only the correct amount in each fork leg, but to make certain that both legs get the same exact amount....this tool should help with that also. I had always used a Ratio-Rite.
It says in the description that it is useful for those with the pre 2000 models with the cartridge type forks.


Here is a link to the site.

They are $29 from Motion Pro....but I got mine off ebay for less.

I dont think its all that hard to remove each fork leg and drain (and inspect) that way, or if your replacing the sliders with chrome....like stated above you have to use a pneumatic impact gun to spin the Allen bolt in the bottom of each slider so you can pull the fork leg apart from the slider (I have also found if you apply pressure pulling up on the fork leg, while hitting the impact gun that the retainer bolt comes out easier, or at least I was taught that way).

In any case, I think over the winter I will change the fork oil in my SE-Deuce, just as a preventive maintenance item....it only has 770mi. on it, and they feel just fine....so who knows I may just wait on that one till 10Kmi.
As for my Street Glide....it only has 3000mi or so on it, but the front end does dive quite a bit under just slightly heavy breaking. I think I could dial that out along with the overly soft feeling the forks have now. I will be flushing the brake fluid front and rear in both bikes for sure this Winter though...and I may do a write up on it....but thats another story.

My only concern is that I want to make 100% sure all the old fork oil is out, and secondly I want to be sure that exactly the correct amount goes into each fork leg.
 
biz44 I just drained mine into a a measuring cup the same one you use in the kitchen
I got 1 -1/4 cups out of both forks thats 10oz so that is what I put back in,
It works realy good I used the harley se heavy and it did stiffen it up a bit
 
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