I just did a lowering kit in the fron of my softail and the chrome lowers. i put in the prescribe amount of fork oil. how exact does it need to be? and how exact side to side? i know more oil means harder, but if the legs are less than an ounce different between them, will it matter. some gets stuck to the filling container etc. so am i good or not? obviously people who have leaking fork seals will have different amounts between the legs.

how precise does it need to be?
does it matter?

09 deluxe

thanks for the productive answers. for the others....well anyway.
i have a manual. i put in the prescribed amount. but there is allways some stuck inside the tube or hose or whatever container. i am talking about a tiny amount of difference...less than an ounce.

 

Good question. Think of replacing the fork plug, do both sides lose the same amount during re-installation? I don't see how that could be. I looked like a monkey stuffin a plug in an elephant's *** to stop the dung from burrying him when I did mine.

I'm sure it makes a difference, but I'd like to meet some one who has come up with a solution for that! I even tried applying a bit of suction to the top connection while inserting the plug bolt, (no lips were involved in that method), but to no avail...

 

ideally you want the 2 legs to have equal amounts of oil in them.
the best way to measure is oil height as opposed to how much oil you put in.
springs out, forks fully collapsed, measure from top of leg to oil level.

an oz. of fluid will change the height by more than you might think.

as far as how equal do they need to be - i really have no clue. i would imagine if they were dramatically different it may handle a bit odd.

 

My manual calls for 12.9 oz and measure 4.72 inches with the springs out and fully collapsed from the top of the fork tube to the oil. I suggest you get a manual. Also, whoever you got the fork lowering kit from should indicate in their instructions what the fork oil level should be. (I know Progressive Suspension provides this information.

 

I redid the forks on my sporty when I went to a chopper front end. It took 10oz. Naturally, I put the same amount in each one...... I cleaned out an oil bottle and used the measurement on the side

 

When I changed fork oil I used a marinade syringe, seemed a little more precise, though, maybe not. was all I had around the house at the time.

 

I changed the forks on my ole bike back in 1974 and I really can't remember how or what I did....

 

Right before I picked up my 08 FLHX, I have dealer installed lowered front springs. Salesperson said it should not affect riding but service manger said it'll have a stiffer ride. I went ahead and did it cause of my short legs.

It rode STIFF!!!! Almost to the point of bottoming out. Now coming from a Sportster, I didn't know what to expect, so I rode it that way for ~8000 miles. Until I took it to an idny for 10k service, found out dealer put in 14 oz of fork oil vs 10.5 oz!

Replaced oil with correct amount and it's much better, front end dip slightly @ braking. Finally I can fully experience what a bagger suppose to ride like, 8000 miles later.....

 

Get one of these.

http://www.motionpro.com/motorcycle/partno/08-0121/

They're cheap and good insurance. This will gaurantee that you have the same amount of oil in each fork. You don't want one fork stiffer than the other.

 

thanks for the link Edward. I am going to buy one of those for the future.

i put 550 miles on this weekend and i think that I got it close enough. I am talking about questioning the amount sticking to the side of the container. but, i am no longer worried.