I bought a 2015 superlow that’s been sitting on a jiffy stand for 6 years. It would be great if you make a video about what needs to be done before getting it on the road
Anybody know if it's type E, or if its the heavy duty oil in a 2021 Street Glide (standard)? New oil obviously but My bike rides like it has 60lbs of air in the tires
Great video. I bought a 13 Goldwing. 1746 miles on it. Found oil on the left shock tube. Took it in. Had 3 faint scratches from factory. Tore uo the seal. Alway make sure you clean bugs off the tubes. Always check those seals. Anything can happen. Found my back exhaust pipe bolt loose on my 17 Street Glide, while washing the bike. Always look and check everything.
Ever since I purchased my Harley I’ve been watch Doc all the time. If Harley riders , regardless if they do their own work or take it to a service technician, just listen to this man, they’ll never be unsatisfied with their bike. This man obviously has a passion for this work and he’s as genuine as they come. Great videos Doc!! And don’t stop. Keep em coming . You help out so many of us in understanding Harley and our bikes . Thanks 🙏🏼
I have a 2022 tri glide ultra classic. Mine rides like a dream. I even added a lift kit and it’s even better than what it was. My husband has a 2021 CVO tri glide and he can’t stand the way it rides. He put a legends lift kit on it, but he said the front end rides very rough. Any suggestions?
Hey my husband and I are looking at doing this to our motorcycle. Do you need to replace the whole unit or can you just replace the spring along with changing the oil and seals? Or do you need the whole system? Our mileage is 50, 208 kms.
@@LowCountryHarleyDavidson as always my wife and I really apprecieate your advice and direction, all best from Fort Erie Ontario Canada. Our HD near us is the worst service and we often would prefer to cross the boarder into Buffaly NY. My wife and I were considering Legend Suspensions AXEO High-Performance Fork Cartridge Kit which is about 1400 cdn and buddy of our said just change the seals and oil - it would be alot cheaper and I said; Id ask an expert...Thanks Doc!
I have a flstc that has really bad front end dive when you apply front brake, could this be the fork oil needs to be changed, bike has 20.000 miles and has never been changed, or should I go to new progressive cartridges for better ride control.
It is your choice. Yes your front fork oil needs changed. If you are an aggressive rider and want more control the Progressive Cartridge is a great choice....Doc
My left forkleg is leaking from the top down, and now i see why the oil is silvergray☝🏼 the bushings are worn out. Time to rebuild the forklegs. Thanks Doc👍
Hey Doc I have a 2000 carbed heritage converted from a nightrain with a touring front end wheels dual disk, have been having handling issues tracks to the right always moving to the left is a pain and track’s straight when I keep the right hand pulled towards me , all sorts of alignment stem bearing fork oil changes done to no vain.
E mail me so we can hash out some things like, spike wheel front wheel? If so trued to center specs? 16” wheel or did you go with a 17, 19 cast wheel and the front end is raised? Both disc centered to the calipers? On touring front ends the spacers are of different lengths on each side of the wheel. And then there is the question of, used wheel with worn out bearings?…..Doc
I use Maxima fork oil. Good stuff and cheaper. HD oil is crappy oil that costs too much. Hell rotella t4 is better oil than HD oil. Been using it forever and can be found anywhere.
Does the fork oil need to be changed more often in a trike due to the extra weight of a trike? Approximately what is a dealer going to charge for this service? Thank you!!
Fork oil and brake fluid most neglected fluids in motorcycles. I've test ridden older bikes with low miles and they ride and stop horribly because of these 2 simple things. For me if your not putting a ton of miles on your bike you need to service somethings on a time table rather than on a milage.
I live in Las Vegas, and the temperature is over 90 to 115 degrees 6+ months of the year. I have noticed that now that the temperature is over 100 degrees most days that the front fork tends to dive more, even though I am not a particularly aggressive rider. Does ambient temperature affect the performance of the front fork oil? The HD mechanic who just did my 5k service recommended that I consider replacing Type E Oil with HD SE Heavy Oil. Your opinion?
Yes temperatures effect fork oil. In our area a few riders have opted to the SE heavy. Worked well in summer but in fall and winter a noticeable “clunk”in front end due to slow thick oil movement. You can consider upgrading to the nitrogen cartridge that replaces fork oil. Thanks ~ Doc
Hey Doc, I just purchased the Screamin eagle heavy fork fluid and I’ve been calling my local dealers and asking what the weight is on this and I can’t get an answer. Somebody said online and it’s 20 weight is that true? Thanks
How much fork oil do I need for my ‘99 Road King Classic? I find references in blogs and such that say 11.1 oz, but the owner’s manual says 7.75 oz. When I drained the old oil, I got about 10 oz out.
Hey Doc. I stumbled on your videos looking for useful technical info on my 2004 HD V-Rod (VRSCA). Your videos are absolutely awesome! It took about 10 seconds to realize I had a Master HD Mechanic talking to me. After reviewing all of your videos, however, I saw nothing on how to care for my V-Rod. I know we V-Rod owners are the redheaded b*%#&$d step children of the HD world, but the V-Rod is such a well built bike. I was hoping you would consider a few videos on how to maintain this beautiful bike. I know many people would value any technical guidance you feel should be addressed. Regards from San Diego!
Really good reminder not to ignore your forks, which are probably the most ignored maintenance item on bikes. I think many guys trade for new before it's really an issue though.
My King is at 50,000 + , tech told me to bring it this fall/winter and we'll take care of that. Honestly, even my old Ironhead as far as I know has never been changed ever. Thing I never think of unless seals are leaking. Thanks.
What weight is "type E"? I've come from 10w to 20w, modded Sporty rider here, 10W way to light, nose dive, rebound to slow etc etc etc, do i ride passes, yes i do. Been running Motul 20w Full Syn for the past 2 years. I do my fork oil change every 4 months.
Let’s be honest though. Harley’s fork dampening setup from the factory is trash, and frankly antique and barbaric in design. Unless you get a model that happens to come with a cartridge setup.... Cheapest upgrade you can do to a Harley for comfort and handling is a set of Ricor valves and change the fork oil. Those valves have inertia sensing discs to control the flow of oil. AND THEY WORK. And for most bikes are an extremely simple drop in you can do while changing the fork oil anyway.
Hey Doc as always another great and informative video, I just wanted to take a second to wish you, your coworkers and y’all’s families a very safe and merry Christmas 🎄🎁
Good video. I suspect your type E is a 1 weight oil and your screaming eagle is a 5 or 10 weight oil. My 97 fatboy on hot days when it was sitting would seep oil out of the seals on both sides and it was clear oil but was very thin. I feilled mine with 20 weight oil from the drain screw holes with a tube and syringe and the leaking stopped and the nose dive at stopping still gives me some good give
Hi Doc, I'm in the process of changing my 07 Dyna stock front end with 49mm x 25.5" long slider tubes, to a Dyna Switchback 41mm x 26.25" long slider tubes. I'm replacing everything including the triple trees, lowers, and headlight. I have to increase the 41mm length, because the stock Switchback slider length is a half inch shorter with a stock length of 25". I don't wanna go down in height so I plan on increasing the length to the next available size at 26.25". My question is, how do I calculate the correct internals to accomplish this? Thanks, John
Hello Doc, I had chrome forks put on . I went for a ride up in mariposa cunty that’s in cali. But when I got furthest away we stopped for lunch and noticed oil all over front and back. Found it was fork oil what can I check .? Thanks for your help.
Haydock really enjoy your videos they are so informative and you remind me of a favorite teacher that always keeps me interested and always teaching me some thank you so much for the blessing of sharing your knowledge keep the videos coming God bless and take care
yes, forks are no 1 forgotten item in my experience. is there a gas cartridge replacement? that would be an improvement too, in addition to require less maintenance. thanks
Wow! Thank you Doc! How fascinating! My 2010 Street Glide will be due for her 15,000. Yeah! I do not ride enough. 😊 I will mention this to my dealership when I take her in. I will stick with the type E fork oil. Thanks again!
Doc how can I get in touch with u, the 2 Harley dealers I use have changed management & all the people I dealt with are gone & the new people are young kids with attitudes or ambition to help
Yes, but of coarse the air must be bled out of the forks before disassembled. Had a rookie try to drain the oil before removing the air. Dang what a mess😆 Thanks ~ Doc
Doc, shocks my interest! I have adjustable top, bottom front shocks on my 03' fxdx. How to adjust an set them up together top & bottom for various load rides? Thanks! P.S. at some point I want to rebuild them as your doing here! What differences in rebuilds!
You have a great bike for learning dialing in suspension. Your owners manual and factory service manual have basic settings. I have limited dealer knowledge on damping, compression, rebound and preload. There are many websites that explain and advise. Zone in on FXD forums. Thanks ~ Doc
Hello Duck I have a 2014 Triglide trike with a 21 inch front tire looking for legend suspension what model number what I need for this bike do I use the standard or the 21
Doc Harley posted a video a short while back and provided part numbers to the fork holder tool and screw cap assembly tool. I would consider those 'must haves' if you service your own forks. That would make the whole assembly process 100% easier!
First of all harley davidsons forks are crap !!! The stock showa forks on my stock sportster are way under sprung and the 5 weight fork oil is way too light !! Did the RACE TECH FORK EMULATOR INTERNAL CARTRIDGE KIT ON IT AND WENT WITH 20 WEIGHT SCREAMING EAGLE FORK OIL ! Night n day difference between the two !!!
Thanks Doc. Do you think you can do a video on the same subject but more info on front ends that have air ride. I have a older Ultra that has this system and i'm not sure how to change the fork oil with this setup and i really need to change that fork oil. Thanks
i dont have the harley type E available nearby, I can get a Motul Fork oil Dlivered instead, Confused for which grade to buy 10w or 15w, I stay in india and normal temoerature ranges between 15 Deg Celcius to 35 deg Celcius.
Can you show a vid on upgrading from 60's technology inside the fork to something everyone else has been using since the 80's? Let's talk about a cartridge. Then we can move to the 90's technology with an inverted fork later. 8*)
Typical Harley Mechanic taking a jab at the customer for wanting to clean his bike or change his oil. Those stick on weights fall off from the factory with out any help. Vid was useless.
A bouncy front fork is caused by lack of oil or thinned out oil. It is the oil being pushed and pulled through the holes that dampens the ride. Fork oil thins out over time it dose not get thicker. If fork oil got thicker your customer would have said his front end was stiffer not bouncy. I am not sure Doc has ever rebuilt a fork.
If you have a model that can use them install a set of Ricor Intimidators in your front forks, you'll swear you put a $1,200 set of Ohlin fork tubes on the front, they're absolutely amazing. A company called Race-Tec makes a similar set of drop in valves that work well to but they don't have the inertia valve on them. The Ricor Intimidators are only $175 and I can promise you that you'll swear it's the best $175 you ever spent on your bike.
Hey Doc. After watching this video it got me thinking about a question I want to ask you. My rear brake foot pedal is hanging up every now and then. This just started after I washed it (lathered it up pretty good) the other day and I am wondering if the soap got in there or something. I am contemplating taking it apart and regreasing it. Any suggestions? Thanks! I always enjoy watching your channel.
@@LowCountryHarleyDavidson it is a 2013 Dyna FLD Switchback. I bought it last year (2018) and it was a one owner bike with 173 miles on it. The guy bought it, put 173 on it, and stored it in a garage for 5 years. After I bought it and put the first 1k miles on it, I took it to my local HD and they did the HD 1,000 mile service, at which point they checked the brake fluid with the electronic tool you showed in your 14 point inspection video. They said that the moisture content was within tolerance and didn't show signs that it needed to be changed. (My HD dealer personnel are not the most pleasant to work with and when I asked if I could bring it by for them to check the moisture for this year with that tool they said that if I scheduled and paid for a service they would do it but not just out of curiosity). So, long story short, they concluded that it doesn't need to be changed yet and advised me just to simply look thru the master cylinder view port on the handlebars and if it doesn't look milky, then I'm fine. What are your thoughts on this?
I can see where they are coming from with the service cost, mechanics have to be very careful when removing the cover to check the fluid which takes time. Also the Dyna rear master cylinder is hard to get to. As for the brake pedal, if you are having issues with it returning then I'd suggest re-greasing where the pedal is attached. Personally I would change your brake fluid after 5 years of sitting, regardless of it showing within tolerance just so you know you have fresh fluid so you can maintain it every two years while you own it.
@@LowCountryHarleyDavidson Dear Doc, here they use motul brand oil. Thank you for the teachings. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-VbMKLqv5gl8.html
