So in doing some routine fluid changes on a '94 Road King I recently picked up, I read in the owners manual about the air shocks. I saw that the forks should be about 15 lbs; I checked with a tire guage and saw it slowly read up to 10 lbs. I used a hand pump and "forcefully" pumped it one stroke - I wasn't sure if air was actually going in the valve or not. I re-checked the pressure and low and behold, OIL was coming out of the valve! There's not air in there - only oil! I checked and it's the same deal with the rear shocks - oil.

So my questions are (1) Why would there be oil in the forks and shocks when the owners manual (not shop manual) said there's air? And (2) If I did get some air from that one stroke of my pump into the forks, what if anything did I screw up? I will add that I ran it for about 20 miles, got it up to running temp, and then unscrewed the fork valve a bit to see if any air would come out - none did, only a bit of oil.

As far as I know these are original forks and shocks. It's been years since the bike has been to the dealership or any other garage, and while not many miles have been put on it over the last few years, it was ridden from Seattle to San Francisco with no issues.

Thanks for the education.

 

Depending on the "hand pump" it's possible to put too much air into the system. It takes a very small amount of air and it's recommended you use a pump designed add air to the shocks. It is a combination of oil and air and too much air can make it leak. One time we dropped bagger at a stop sign and the plastic cap broke and a small piece jammed into the air valve, a few drops of oil leaked out but after I got it home and pulled the piece of plastic out and added a little air everything was ok again. 15 pounds of air will make the front end it more stiff than say 10.

Take your time on the repairs and adjustments and make sure you are doing the right thing, especially if the bike has been know to be working good.

 

Got into a mild debate about all this some time ago on another thread.... Someone said the rear has a bladder in the shock and shouldn't leak any oil and another said it will slober oil up to the valve (rear) and I'll stand by my earlier statement that if theres oil all the way up to the fill valve, something isn't right.

You didn't do any damage with one stroke on a pump. With a tiny pump (like HD or Midwest cycle sells) about 3 strokes on the rear and quite a few on the front is what it usually takes when they're empty. I can't say about the late models. On the front I know the older ones are simply air-charged on the front - same as all FL front ends with a way to add air to add to the dampening effect (springs may be a little lighter too) the rear is just like air shocks for a car or truck - just jacks it up maybe an inch and makes it stiffer ride so it doesn't bottom out so easy and they actually require NO air in the rear for the softest setting. The front, you MUST have air in the forks.

Without going on and on, do like most here will suggest - buy the factory service manual and read it.

If you don't want to disassemble your front end to change the fork oil (which I'd recommend) without disassembling the front end, let me know. I can change mine in less than 10 minutes - it's not a complicated trick.

 

You didn't do any damage with one stroke on a pump. With a tiny pump (like HD or Midwest cycle sells) about 3 strokes on the rear and quite a few on the front is what it usually takes when they're empty. I can't say about the late models. On the front I know the older ones are simply air-charged on the front - same as all FL front ends with a way to add air to add to the dampening effect (springs may be a little lighter too) the rear is just like air shocks for a car or truck - just jacks it up maybe an inch and makes it stiffer ride so it doesn't bottom out so easy and they actually require NO air in the rear for the softest setting. The front, you MUST have air in the forks.

Without going on and on, do like most here will suggest - buy the factory service manual and read it.

t150vej is correct and they will slobber a little oil from time to time.

 

So there's a combination of oil AND air in these things? For the front at least, there's no air in there now I think but the bike is pretty stiff - no dive at stops. I think I'll take the ever solving wisdom of leaving well enough alone. Thanks for the imput.

 

The oil coming out is normal Your front end has an anti dive system Run 10 pounds of air front and rear

 

So get the specific hand pump from Harley and fill it up to 10 lbs? The fact that I release the air valve and only oil comes out means that there's no air in them now, right? (The reason I ask is because I used a tire guage to read the pressure and it read 10 lbs but I believe it was registering oil, not air).
Thanks.

 

Also, the fact that I'm at sea level now and will be riding the bike up to @ 8000 feet, will that significantly affect the pressure?

 

I stand corrected 1994 road kings don't have anti- dive gismos on the front end

 

I've never had oil come out the shock fill thingie. I don't think oil is supposed to come out. I think you should disconnect both air lines at the shock and see what's going on. The Book says air shocks are not rebuildable and are replaced as an assembly. It would not surprise me if there was a bladder in there and it might burst if a DPO hooked a high pressure air supply to it. Just theorizing here.

I have an anti-dive gizmo; I just R&R'd it this afternoon. It's been acting up lately.