Front fork oil change

[littleguy]

Need advise. I'm going to help a friend change fork oil on a 2010 UC. He has put together the kit used to change the oil. My question is do the forks need to be pumped up and down to get all the fluid out or just let them drain by them selfs? The manual say 10.7 OZ. But under the fill area it says pour slightly more than specified in table 2-24. I think we will try 11 OZ and see how it goes. Also the mityVac only pulls down about to 20in of vacuum. Just wondering what you think and if you have done this before. Thanks for you replys,

 

[Cajun Ultra]

when i did mine i just let it drain, then with the extra oil i put it in then let it drain then filled it to the right amount.

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that was on my wide glide:small3d023:

 

[Nemick]

On my Ultra, I just let it drain too. It can take a while and it will be a little faster if you pump the forks. Also, upon reassembly, I found I needed to gently pump the forks to get all the oil back in.

 

[dangerdan]

I got tired of did I underfill or overfill. I now measure to the Ounce what ever drains from my bike, then put back the same measured amount of the new stuff. This may require more time for setup and measuring of fluids, but it works for me.

 

[Jick Scott]

Sorry, but I'm having trouble understanding a front fork oil change on a 2010 bike? It already has 50,000 miles on it? Just curious, I guess.

 

[TQuentin1]

I would change the oil in the fork every year regardless of what the maintenance schedule says. Also, it is a good idea to measure how much oil comes out of each side and put that much back in, but don't assume that the right amount went in to start with. Measure the air gap in each side (bike upright and absolutely level), and adjust so they are as close to the same as possible (unless the book calls for different air gaps in each side). If the forks do not have cartridges and call for the same amount of oil in both sides, the air gaps should be the same (within 1/8").

TQ

 

[Jick Scott]

Thanks TQ1, so much to learn, so little time.

 

[littleguy]

Well we got the forks drained and oil sprayed out of both fork tubes. We had the front end off the ground about an inch or so, I don't see why they both sprayed out oil. Now we must replace both bolts as there were in really tight and removed them with a set of visegrips. I think we will replace them with allen heads if we can find them. Does any one know if the bolts can be any longer than the ones we removed? Not moch longer but total lenth maybe a half inch to three quarters of a inch. I guess in a pinch we could replace them with harley phillips again, don't really want to tho. Any ideas?
Thanks

Looks like 11 oz out of left side, right side still draining but looks like only 9 oz.
Think this is right or more oil left in the fork. Have pumped both of them gentally on the ground.

 

[TQuentin1]

Looks like 11 oz out of left side, right side still draining but looks like only 9 oz.
Think this is right or more oil left in the fork. Have pumped both of them gentally on the ground.

I thought HD had eliminated them, but check the book to see if there is a cartridge in the left side. If so, it takes less oil.

TQ

 

[Retrop]

Sorry, but I'm having trouble understanding a front fork oil change on a 2010 bike? It already has 50,000 miles on it? Just curious, I guess.

Many riders change their fork oil to the heavier Harley version for no other reason than to stop the front end dive you get when you initiate a panic stop at 60-70 mph. I changed mine out at 20,000 miles and it definitely did stop the front end dive, but it also made for a much firmer ride when going across bumpy roads. All in all it was worth it though.