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Dyna fork oil change

nascar7613

Active Member
What is the proceedure for changing the fork oil on a 98 Dyna? What weight fork oil should you use and how much ? I looked in the self help but couldn't find this info. Thanks.
 
What is the proceedure for changing the fork oil on a 98 Dyna? What weight fork oil should you use and how much ? I looked in the self help but couldn't find this info. Thanks.

These are easy. At the bottom of each slider on the backside, you will see a small (mine are Phillips) screw with a seal washer. I personally like to jack the bike up and take off the front wheel, but that is not necessary.

  • Put something under the screw to catch about 11 or so oz. of old fluid.
  • Loosen or remove the big bolts from the top of the tubes to allow the fluid to drain better.
  • Take out the little screws from the back of the sliders and drain the old stuff.
  • When it stops coming out, compress the shocks a couple of times and take the screws out again to see if any more fluid drains.
  • If done, put the screws back in (you might want to replace them especially if the heads rounded off a bit getting them out!).
  • Fill the tubes from the top (funnel's good here!) with the recommended volume (see your book).
  • If you have had the front lowered, it will be a different amount. See the instructions that came with the lowering kit.
  • Reinstall the big bolts at the top of the tubes, put the wheel back on if you had removed it.
  • Get it off the lift and grab the front brake.
  • Aggressively rock the bike forward and back to cycle the new fluid in the shocks.
My bikes call for HD Type E fluid. ('03 UC and '91 Dyna). Check here:

Fork Oil Weights - Harley Davidson Community

Here is a schematic from a solftail, but it will show you the bits!

1998 Harley Davidson Motorcycle Parts for FXSTC, OEM and Aftermarket at BikeBandit.com


TQ
 
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What about the newer ones? mine doesnt have the drain plugs. Dont know what year they quit doing this but the newer dynas dont have them.
 
What about the newer ones? mine doesnt have the drain plugs. Dont know what year they quit doing this but the newer dynas dont have them.

Not sure about that. Nascar7613 was asking about his '98 above. Hopefully Glider will fill us in on the more recent bikes. My '03 UC has the little drain screws, but there is a cartridge in the left side. More complicated.

With the newer bikes, you may have to remove each side and turn them over to drain them. We'll see what Glider says.

TQ
 
Not sure about that. Nascar7613 was asking about his '98 above. Hopefully Glider will fill us in on the more recent bikes. My '03 UC has the little drain screws, but there is a cartridge in the left side. More complicated.

With the newer bikes, you may have to remove each side and turn them over to drain them. We'll see what Glider says.

TQ
Man that would realy BLOW!! Hope Glider has some secrets up his sleeve.
 
If there's no drain screws, the forks tubes have to come off the bike and invert them to drain. Just another thing the MOCO does to save some money but at least it's not like the deuce where the drains are on the inside of the fork legs and the wheel has to come off to drain the forks, a bit better but still poor engineering.
 
If there's no drain screws, the forks tubes have to come off the bike and invert them to drain. Just another thing the MOCO does to save some money but at least it's not like the deuce where the drains are on the inside of the fork legs and the wheel has to come off to drain the forks, a bit better but still poor engineering.
how much money could they possibly save on a 5 cent screw? If they are willing to cut corners on somthing like that it makes you wonder about everything else.
 
how much money could they possibly save on a 5 cent screw? If they are willing to cut corners on somthing like that it makes you wonder about everything else.


5 cents each leg plus the milling for the drain in the leg times XXXXXXXX bikes :D

And we accept it too.:s

Plus if you have the dealer do the service, that's more expensive too IF they do it and do it right.
 
If I do it myself, when i take off the fork tube do i just pour the oil out or is there more to it?
 
If I do it myself, when i take off the fork tube do i just pour the oil out or is there more to it?

If you don't have any indication that you have to do any maintenance stuff (oil leaking past the seal around the tube, etc.), then just invert the whole assembly and let it drain in the pan. When it has pretty much stopped coming out except for dripping, recipricate the slider on the tube a few times to make sure you have all the old stuff out of there. You can then refill the shock before assembling the front end, or reassemble and then fill. Your choice, but I suggest using a funnel!! Reduces the cleanup nightmare in the event of a slop out of the bottle. Follow the specs in the book for volume to be used when refilling. And pay close attention to the instructions on reassembly to make sure everything is aligned.

Nothin' to it but time.

TQ
 
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