Changed the fork oil in the Glide today. Fluid change was no big deal putting the cap back on clutch side fork was a 2hr endeavor. Had to tilt handle bars out of the way and and move the headlight cover to get the correct angle. Lots of cussing and griping. It would have been easier if I had a thin wall socket but the only 35mm socket I had was a thick wall impact.
That being said it was worth it, the test ride was smooth, brake dive was gone, and much less bounce in the turns.

 

What weight did you use? (thickness of fork oil)

 

Used the E type oil from the stelaership.

 

I bought a rubber coated 3/8 drive socket special for the fork nuts and used a t-bar
I marked the start of the thread so when I compressed the preload spring I was right there.

 

Use gloves too, just saying.....

 

I went through something similar a few days ago. I increased the amount of pre-load on my progressive springs to soften the ride and it was tough trying to start a cap thread while holding it down with seemingly about fifty pounds of force.

 

There's a little trick that helps with getting the caps back on under load...

Leave the spring out to start with. Place the cap on top of the hole. Rotate the cap until you find the point where the thread just bites. Make a mark across the cap and the tube with something like a chinagraph pencil or anything that will wipe off after. Now put in the spring and place the cap on top so that the mark lines up and then back off a fraction of a turn. Push down and rotate the cap and you will find the bite point easily where the marks line up.

 

I bought a 2011 Wide Glide about a month ago And have been thinking about Putting progressive springs in the forks Because when I hit a bump I feel like I take up most the shock from Bump. Should I try just change into different fork oil weight

 

You can but don't go mad. I've tried 15W and found that too hard in my Fat Bob. 10W was the sweet spot for me.

There's nothing wrong with the Harley fork oils, apart from the lack of information on just what viscosity they actually are. By eye, I'd say the "Heavy" is somewhere around 10 to 12W.

Of course, the best bet is to replace the springs and the oil.

 

Anyone know what the stock Fork oil weight is?Kinda hate to replace it with The same oil weight