Truly excellent video, production quality is spot on, your handling of the content and walking us through the process was really refreshing. Thank you for such a fine job.
Nice vid. Been thinking of doing this on my dyna front and back. This was very helpful conceptually. Certainly different models but I got the overall jist of it so to speak. Thanks for sharing!
Whale's butthole and fork oil coffee. 😁 Nicely done, sir! Good video. Really helpful to see the fork disassembled and reassembled and know there is another option without swapping out the front end.
Did you put pressure down on the forks to completely drain them? Alot of videos ive seen have people pushing down many times on the forks just to get all the oil out
John Randazzese that was my reasoning for taking my front wheel & fender off. My lift supports my bike in the center, so with my bike raised and springs removed, I can cycle the forks to completely drain each tube! Thank you for your comment!
I took the front wheel off to cycle the forks individually to ensure that I drained all the fluid completely. I’m just OCD that way. You technically don’t have to I suppose.
Why does everyone put in the same amount of fork oil that they took out? I'm not a mechanic, but that seems inconsistent to me. Doesn't the service manual tell you exactly how much fork oil should be in the forks? What if you had a small leak in your forks or in my case a broken seal and fork oil is just leaking everywhere.
Cupid when I finished draining the forks, I was measuring to see if there may have been any leaks prior to purchasing the bike, and also to make sure the right amount was in there to begin with. The factory service manual has the proper fluid level, which I used when doing this upgrade. Generally they tell you to measure the fluid, to see if any leaks occurred, as well as to make sure you don’t overfill causing a very dangerous situation.
I measured the amount of old oil in each fork for reference, to see if it matched the amount specified in the Factory Service Manual, to check for leaks. I also looked at and smelled it. My new-to-me bike only had 10K miles on it but the bike was 15 years old. The fluid was black, it stunk horribly and it had the viscosity of water. Evidently, time is a factor in this fluid's life as well as miles. I put the same spec back in it and the difference in suspension was unbelievable; it no longer bottomed out.
@@WetBananaMike I just ordered these and I believe the amount of fork oil will be different because the progressive spring is larger and would displace more oil. Either way great video. If it works it works lol. Question: why did you remove fender and wheel? I’m hoping to be able to not do that on my 08’ nightster.
@@cgm0826 I removed them so I could do each for individually, rather than fighting with both during the fluid change. I made a huge mess doing a previous set trying to remove all the fluid when everything was all together.
James Day its a 12 point. I couldn’t justify the cost of the “special socket”. No damage done to my fork caps, and if I did damage them, it would give me a reason to buy new ones!! 😁
You normally wouldn’t need to, but I changed fork oil and needed to cycle the forks individually to completely remove the old fluid. I could have cycled both at the same time, but I most definitely did no want that nasty sh*t all over the floor! Thank you for your question!!
My front tire wouldn’t clear the fender bolts. I took off the front wheel to inspect bearings, as well as to cycle the forks independently. You’ll have a hell of a mess unless you have drain pans on both sides of the bike. Cycling the forks independently assures that you completely drain the forks. On a side note, I don’t have any idea exactly how a whale’s starfish smells, but I would assume it’s pretty close! 😂🤣 Thanks for the comment!!!
So the 2018 sporty doesn’t have the drain plugs in the sliders I guess I just suck the fluid out with a small pump from the top I need to stiffin it up it bottoms out easy and I’m a light rider type e is 10 weight so I’m going with 15 weight belray and may try the washer trick for more spring pressure thanks for the vid
@@WetBananaMike yeah to get the most fluid out I’m gonna have to remove each tube invert and cycle it dang it Harley is it that much cheaper to not cast a drain hole, bike dives hard with braking and down shifting and I’m a light weight rider
@@Chris-sd4ri I went with the Heavy Duty springs, but you would be fine with the regular springs unless you’re going to be touring with added weight all the time. It’s easier to pour it out the top, it’s just a pain to keep it suspended inverted!!
@@WetBananaMike yes definatly I’m just going with belray 15 weight and maybe a touch more oil I think that will work I’m not adding any weight to bike so it should be fine it’s just crazy how easy it bottoms out and I’m only 153 lbs and not doing wheelies lol
Thanks for the vid also in my 2018 the service Manuel says I have to compress the shock to pull a nut off seems the spring is bolted inside with a compression and rebound spring so heavier fluid is the easy solution
