Touring Models Road King, Road King Custom, Road King Classic, Road Glide, Street Glide, Electra Glide, Electra Glide Classic, and Electra Glide Ultra Classic bikes.
Sponsored by:
Sponsored by:

'07 Fork Oil Change

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Aug 24, 2009 | 02:52 PM
  #131  
iclick's Avatar
iclick
Thread Starter
|
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 11,615
Likes: 50
From: Baton Rouge, LA
Default

Originally Posted by wildey
What about hooking up one of those hand style vacuum pumps to the bottom of the forks and using vacuum to draw it all out, then after it is out and measured letting the vacumm slowly release which would draw the fresh oil back up into the folks??
That's the method we used with the old air forks, which was a piece of cake, but there is no Schrader valve for the new forks, so I don't know how you would apply a vacuum to suck the new fluid in. If you used vacuum to remove the old fluid, how would you hold it while transferring the drain tube into the new fluid container?
 
Reply
Old Aug 24, 2009 | 05:53 PM
  #132  
wildey's Avatar
wildey
Cruiser
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 142
Likes: 2
From: Traverse City Mi
Default

This forum has complete details on how to do it and it covers the valve thing too.

http://www.hdtalking.com/archive/index.php/t-758.html
 
Reply
Old Aug 24, 2009 | 07:12 PM
  #133  
RexBuck's Avatar
RexBuck
Road Master
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 899
Likes: 2
From:
Default

Originally Posted by wildey
This forum has complete details on how to do it and it covers the valve thing too.

http://www.hdtalking.com/archive/index.php/t-758.html
I originally thought this article only applied to the older air shocks. Then read the rest of it and found he referenced the newer style also. Seems really easy but I wonder how accurate a fill you would get.
 

Last edited by RexBuck; Aug 24, 2009 at 07:32 PM. Reason: edited because I didn't read the whole frickin article
Reply
Old Aug 25, 2009 | 07:15 AM
  #134  
wildey's Avatar
wildey
Cruiser
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 142
Likes: 2
From: Traverse City Mi
Default

It does cover the old and new style forks and its all there. There has been some recent posts in that forum about the accuracy. They guy who runs the forum who showed others this method says he gets it all back in minus 1/2 ounce, then he added that he also adds a 1/2 ounce more than the HD manual states so it stiffens up the ride a little.

So if your putting in a 1/2 ounce more its safe to say your going to get it all in. You just measure what you drained out with the vacuum, turn the valve so the vacuum stays, switch out your cup with the measure amount and let it draw it back in.

Says it only takes 20 min to do. The forum is free, join it and read all the posts on it. Lots of very good self help tips there that others don't have

Im on 4 forums all together and they are all great, but none of the others have a library like that one!! and its free too
 
Reply
Old Aug 25, 2009 | 01:35 PM
  #135  
iclick's Avatar
iclick
Thread Starter
|
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 11,615
Likes: 50
From: Baton Rouge, LA
Default

I'm thinking this method might work, but also believe by the time you buy all the necessary parts you could have removed the top plug a dozen times.
 
Reply
Old Oct 27, 2009 | 05:58 PM
  #136  
jasnusc's Avatar
jasnusc
Road Master
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,097
Likes: 2
From: USA
Default

Originally Posted by HDV-GLIDE
Did mine yesterday.
Guys, put your bike up on a lift so the front end is off the ground. Then just fill the forks and there will be no need to pump the forks and make a mess!!!



This is exactly what I was thinking. For anybody else who has built shocks you know the whole 11oz will fit w/out ever pumping them. My guess is that if your bike is on the ground the weight is compressing the shock not allowing it to all fit.

If the bike is in the air and the legs are fully extended it should be the same as when you are building them off the bike and should accept the whole 11oz.

Am I missing something?



.
 
Reply
Old Oct 27, 2009 | 09:49 PM
  #137  
iclick's Avatar
iclick
Thread Starter
|
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 11,615
Likes: 50
From: Baton Rouge, LA
Default

Originally Posted by jasnusc
This is exactly what I was thinking. For anybody else who has built shocks you know the whole 11oz will fit w/out ever pumping them. My guess is that if your bike is on the ground the weight is compressing the shock not allowing it to all fit.

If the bike is in the air and the legs are fully extended it should be the same as when you are building them off the bike and should accept the whole 11oz.

Am I missing something?
Actually, I don't know if the entire 10.8 oz. (11.1 for RK's) will fit all at once while the bike rests on the ground since I didn't try it. I just thought since the fairing models have the damper installed that it might not allow the oil to drain down quickly, and that pumping would speed up the process. RK's may not need to insert the new oil a few oz. at a time, if indeed the fairing models do.
 
Reply
Old Oct 27, 2009 | 11:04 PM
  #138  
EriCal's Avatar
EriCal
Cruiser
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 194
Likes: 1
Default El Stupido at work.

When doing a previous fork oil change I refilled using the 'wet fill' amount of fluid. I was curious how far down the strut that amount of oil would be.

Soooo, using a pencil as a dip stick, I stuck the pencil into the fork tube - and dropped it. Into the tube!!! AAAAAARRRRGGGHHHH!!!
 
Reply
HD Forum Stories

The Best of Harley-Davidson for Lifelong Riders

story-0

Jason Momoa Is Turning Classic Harleys Into PHEVs

 Verdad Gallardo
story-1

Harley-Davidson Fat Boy Becomes a Dark, Decepticon-Inspired Custom

 Verdad Gallardo
story-2

6 Weirdest Harley-Davidsons Ever Sold to the Public

 Verdad Gallardo
story-3

7 Times Harley-Davidson Chucked Tradition Out the Window

 Verdad Gallardo
story-4

7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles

 Verdad Gallardo
story-5

8 Best Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever

 Pouria Savadkouei
story-6

10 Worst Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever

 Pouria Savadkouei
story-7

Killer Custom's Jail Break Is The Breakout That Refused to Blend In

 Verdad Gallardo
story-8

Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?

 Verdad Gallardo
story-9

Harley-Davidson Reveals Super Cool Cafe Racer Concept

 Verdad Gallardo
Old Oct 28, 2009 | 11:07 AM
  #139  
iclick's Avatar
iclick
Thread Starter
|
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 11,615
Likes: 50
From: Baton Rouge, LA
Default

Originally Posted by EriCal
When doing a previous fork oil change I refilled using the 'wet fill' amount of fluid. I was curious how far down the strut that amount of oil would be.

Soooo, using a pencil as a dip stick, I stuck the pencil into the fork tube - and dropped it. Into the tube!!! AAAAAARRRRGGGHHHH!!!
I've got one even better than that. Once on my old RK I used a regular wood pencil as a top-dead-center indicator--i.e., I poked it down the sparkplug hole while rotating the engine by hand. Well, the pencil jammed and--you guessed it--a good 2-3" section of the pencil fell into the cylinder. Alarmed, I called a friend knowledgeable of these things and he said, "Just crank it up, it'll get chewed up, and you won't even know it was there." I did that and he was right. I heard nothing and there were no issues after the fact. BTW, the metal part of the eraser was not inside the cylinder, just wood and graphite.

How did you get the pencil out of the fork?
 
Reply
Old Oct 28, 2009 | 11:48 AM
  #140  
bagman1's Avatar
bagman1
Grand HDF Member
15 Year Member
Liked
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 4,999
Likes: 55
From: Bay Area
Default

Heres a better one. 12" from the top is the correct amount of fluid in a bagger. Be done with it.
 
Reply



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:16 AM.

story-0
Jason Momoa Is Turning Classic Harleys Into PHEVs

Slideshow: Jason Momoa's latest restoration project blends 1920s Harley-Davidsons with modern electric technology, creating some of the most unusual hybrid motorcycles ever built.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-06-10 17:18:58


VIEW MORE
story-1
Harley-Davidson Fat Boy Becomes a Dark, Decepticon-Inspired Custom

Slideshow: Killer Custom's latest build relies on styling changes rather than performance upgrades, giving the cruiser an entirely different personality.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-06-03 18:28:05


VIEW MORE
story-2
6 Weirdest Harley-Davidsons Ever Sold to the Public

Slideshow: From military-inspired singles to scooters and three-wheel utility vehicles, these Harleys took the company far outside its comfort zone.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-06-02 18:34:10


VIEW MORE
story-3
7 Times Harley-Davidson Chucked Tradition Out the Window

Slideshow: Harley-Davidson built its reputation on nostalgia, but every so often, the company took a hard left turn into the future.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-20 11:18:19


VIEW MORE
story-4
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles

Slideshow: The bar-and-shield logo shows up on far more than motorcycles, some of the company's most unexpected products have nothing to do with riding.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-04-29 16:50:35


VIEW MORE
story-5
8 Best Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever

Slideshow: Not every Harley gets it right, but these are the ones that genuinely earned their reputation.

By Pouria Savadkouei | 2026-04-15 14:23:21


VIEW MORE
story-6
10 Worst Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever

Slideshow: From the troubled AMF years to modern misfires, these bikes earned reputations for reliability issues, questionable engineering, or disappointing performance.

By Pouria Savadkouei | 2026-04-01 20:01:09


VIEW MORE
story-7
Killer Custom's Jail Break Is The Breakout That Refused to Blend In

Slideshow: Killer Custom's "Jail Breaker" build focuses more on stance and visual aggression than mechanical overhaul.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-03-18 19:20:32


VIEW MORE
story-8
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?

Slideshow: The Swiss custom shop has taken a Harley Softail and stretched it into something so long and low that it looks closer to a rolling sculpture than a conventional motorcycle.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-03-07 16:15:30


VIEW MORE
story-9
Harley-Davidson Reveals Super Cool Cafe Racer Concept

Slideshow: Harley-Davidson's new RMCR concept revives the café racer formula with modern hardware-and it may be exactly the reset the company needs.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-03-04 12:23:37


VIEW MORE