I never changed a seal on my previous bikes and all seemed fine. Maintainance schedule calls for disassemble forks, drain, refill and reinstall. My 20 K has been rough, probably equal to 40k on most. I see no visible problems, everything still feels fine. Warm weather is back. I want to ride, not wrench. So, how important is it? The 2 year warranty is almost up, I'm not worried about voiding it. I'm gonna kill the extended warranty anyway. Who needs it with a bike that doesn't break?Harley owners - mantainance question?I change my fork oils every year. It's not that hard to do and it gives you the opportunity to check out the condition of the forks by looking for grime, metal shavings, rubber pieces, pieces of seals. I change all my fluids every year in the springtime I just got done draining and flushing my front and rear brakes and rebuilt the calipers on the rear as they were showing some signs of wear. It is better to do the maintenance when you can instead of waiting until it leaves you stranded.Harley owners - mantainance question?I'm well past the 20K mark and I never changed mine. My brother is probably near the 50K mark and I'm sure he hasn't changed his (he's not big on that whole maintenance thng). I've never changed the fork oil on any of my motorcycles and never had a problem.
Now you got me thinking I should change my fork oil. Dammit.Harley owners - mantainance question?When was the last time you changed the fork oil on your other bike? If it ever was changed.
Notice any difference?
If you plan on changing it, at least you have another bike to ride.Harley owners - mantainance question?I actually ignore the mileage.
I do it in the winter time when it's too crappy out to ride.
(But here in SoCal, we don't have very many crappy days to wrench)Harley owners - mantainance question?If it ain't broke don't fix it. Take apart and change things sounds like an order for problems.Harley owners - mantainance question?the first time you change it theres nearly always a little metal or pasty looking stuff in the oil.
after that first time I think its a waste of of time %26amp; oil.
I usually manage to chip my paint somewhere anytime I mess with the front end. one time I put a sleeping bag on the tank so I wouldnt chip it. I forgot I had a 2 inch spacer on top of the spring, %26amp; when I loosened the cap nut it flew up %26amp; knocked a big chip out of the rear fender.
if your as clumsy as I am,%26quot;if it aint broke dont fix it%26quot; is a good motto.Harley owners - mantainance question?Now I see your question is for Harley owners which I am not but I want to throw my two cents in. I have owned a few sport bikes for a number of years now and have begun changing the fork oil at the recommend intervals for say the last 6 years. You would be surprised at the improvement of your suspension when you change it. Day and night. I believe it degrades slowly over time so you really don't notice it getting sloppy until you change it. When you do the front feels new again, a much better feel and it will bite a considerable amount better in a corner. Your call still since the bikes are intended for different purposes and I really have no idea how you like to ride but I wanted you to know that it is worth the time to do it. Its not really a hard job either on a Honda and I bet the job cannot be much different on a hog since the basic suspension is similar, I think I read they are even both Showa forks. It will pour someday and you could get it done in a half day if you are mechanically inclined and have the tools on hand easily. At the end of the day it is still your call since it will not just fail without giving you a warning, leaky seal, and even then I don't see why you could not continue riding it until you get the time to fix it.Harley owners - mantainance question?I'd change the fork oil %26amp; seals if that's what the manual is calling for. You will see an improvement in performance immediately. Pay close attention to how the seals fit, because they can be installed upside down believe it or not. If so they will leak and you'll have to tear them down again. If your local HD shop sucks try calling around to others within a days ride for service. I had to do that to get fork seals replaced and they honored the warranty even though I didn't buy the bike from them. good luck either wayHarley owners - mantainance question?if you're like me, you buy something all shiny and sparkley at least once a month and bolt it on. sooner or later you'll do something on the front end that will take a little time in the driveway, just do them then. not like it'll never get done, just not yet. mine's at 19500miles, and i'm not gonna sweat it cause i know i'll likely put a chrome lowers kit on sometime this summer anyways, i'll just do mine then.... and if i don't, i'm sure i will buy the lowers sometime through next winter, it'll get doneHarley owners - mantainance question?All Harley's need repairs and maintance, if the book calls for it, just take it to Harley and let them do it.
Oil does go bad after sometime, so just change it. If you are a heavy rider, then put 40 or 50 weight oil in them.
The purpose is to remove any metal shavings in the oil.
No comments:
Post a Comment