Made this simple press for changing the shock oil today.
I used part of a HighLift jack held in a vise and drilled a couple of 1/2" holes for bolts in a piece of wood.
I removed the air line fitting ,mounted it up side down and pumped the 50000 mile oil out.Measured the oil out of one shock and it was at 10oz.
After draining mounted the shock upright with a fitting,hose and funnel.Had my helper(wifey)hold the funnel and pour the new fluid while I pumped the shock to purge the air and let the oil drain in.Worked pretty good.
Will follow up with the ride results.

 

it's your bike and you can do what you want but replacing air shock oil is not a recommended service and completely unnecessary.


my service manual says:
Never lay the shock down as this can cause a loss of oil thru the compression fitting if the air line is removed.
any loss of oil requires replacement of the shock absorber. Air shocks are not repairable. Replace the shocks if damaged, worn or any sign of leakage is observed.

 

Others have done this successfully,and all that crap you quoted is for the owners to believe they have to buy new shocks.

No kidding the oil will drain out if placed on it's side or upside down,but I replaced what drained out.

Believe what you want,it's your bike.

 

Now for the $64.00 question. Did it make a difference?

 

What weight oil was in there?

 

 

Have not road it yet.
I did bounce the suspension and i did not feel any ill effects as suggested.
Placed 20 lbs. of air in them and its holding.

Have no idea.
It did not look as bad as the fork oil when I changed it at 40000 miles.

 

I think it's a good idea. If for no other reason than to see what weight shock oil works best for you. It's our only option since thiese crappy shocks don't allow for compression/rebound dampening adjustments.

 

Pretty slick setup you made there!
I'll be curious as to your riding impressions after some miles.
Looks like a winner for tuning your shocks for rebound and compression speed (action).
Did both shocks drain equal amounts of factory oil?
Seems I read that the capacity was 10 oz from a couple sources.
My 06 FLHT was certainly overly soft , but my 09 FLHTCU is much stiffer and I like it this way.
Good writeup
Mick

 

Both shocks measured pretty close.
I also read 10 oz. from other posts.
I will do a follow up with the ride.Not expecting a major improvement but will find out.
Thanks for the interest.