Harley Davidson Forums banner

The right way to change your fork oil

58K views 12 replies 8 participants last post by  Morrisey 
#1 ·
Great video on how to change your fork oil ....

 
#3 ·
Why put back the amount you took out? What if they were low on oil? The manual states how much to put in.

:think
 
#6 ·
This brings back memories. I recently did a fork oil change on my 1998 Fatboy. The oil smelled like... well...oil. However Back in the seventies when I rode and repaired lots of Asian off road bikes. I would find the smell of the fork oil used from the factory to be like rotting fish. After some investigating I found out that the reason for that was that Asia still used Whale oil then. Since Showa made the forks for Harley up through the 90s at least. I guess it's possible that they still used Whale oil in them. I don't know if Harley received forks from Showa as complete units or just parts to be assembled in the factory. However I do remember that smell. If it's the first fork oil change. This may be good advise.

Jonathan
 
#5 ·
That guy Is an Idiot OR he has never done it,,,

In the beginning he takes out the bleed screw..
You pop the fork caps first or that screw will go Into the next galaxy and you get a nice
mist of dirty fork oil....EVERYWHERE within three or four feet...

And as for amount of oil,,We tune with that variable..the manual is a good base line only.

Then he talks about pumping the forks and getting on the bike,,LOL
Umm with the fork caps out,,you can remove the springs,,slowly and with a rag handy.
Then you alone can pump the wheel up and down by simply straddling the front wheel
and lifting it up...
Bike frame on a jack of course.....

No..he would not touch my bike...
 
#13 ·
In the beginning he takes out the bleed screw..
You pop the fork caps first or that screw will go Into the next galaxy and you get a nice
mist of dirty fork oil....EVERYWHERE within three or four feet...
Is it possible that you are thinking of a different type of bike? Perhaps one with compressed air in the forks?

Because on a Rubbermount EVO Sportster, the procedure is exactly the way Del describes it in the video (except for oil quantity -- I go by manual specs). When you remove the drain screw, you do need to have a cup or other container under it as it will weep, but the screw does not pop out and there is no mist of dirty fork oil.

As for pumping up and down, I do that before the bike goes on the jack (I cut the tops off 20-oz soda bottles at an angle, and secure them to the forks with masking tape to catch the oil as it is pumped). Pump until you can hear the fork "gasping" both ways, wait a minute, and then pump again to get out the oil that was clinging to the insides of the forks. Then remove the soda bottles and used oil, put the screws back in (with their copper washers), jack the bike up to get the front wheel off the ground, remove the caps (yes, now), put in fresh oil, replace the caps, and lower the bike off the jack.

I did this just last week, and this is exactly the way it was done. No lost drain screws and no mist.
 
#7 ·
not impressed with the video either,,,, putting back the same amount you take out is not the way I would do it,,,,,, how do you know if the right amount was in there to begin with?,,,,, what if some has leaked out and you did'nt know it?,,,, what if the factory didn't get it right,,,,, I believe the HD manual states how much to put in when building a new fork (never seen oil) and a different smaller amount for a drained replacement fork ( they figure in what amount stays inside),,,,
 
#8 ·
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but quite honestly I would bet my last dollar that this guy has more accurate mechanical knowledge about bikes than any of US will ever dream of having. In this video he was showing how to change the fork oil with the forks off of the bike. I recently did mine and I took the bleeder screw off first. The screw simply fell off in my hand! It didn't go off into the next galax, the next planet or even across my garage! Everything else went exactly as he said it would. .... I think I'm going to stick with his version.
 
#9 ·
In this video he was showing how to change the fork oil with the forks off of the bike.


Looks to me like the forks are on the bike.
:fitz
 
#10 ·
do what you like with your own bike,,, that's the fun of DIY,,,, but there are shade tree and then there or obsessive mechanics,,,,, I tend to not take anything for granted. like assuming the oil that's in there is correct,,,,, I WANNA know it's right by my own hand,,, have fun
 
#12 ·
Thats exactly right,,,

And IF you got the HD service book you will be on the mark...

If you got some bootleg copy or do what some guy on the net says,
well,,,,
It's your azz and Your bike, Get-r-done

FYI:
I adjusted my fork oil level three times and the sag spacers (pre-load) twice
before I got It to suit me.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top