Tried this elsewhere didnt get much of a response soooo........

So my son had a spill on his 883L, he walked away without a scratch. His gloves, riding jacket and pants (both with armor) all were torn. Not a scratch on his FF helmet........guess his head never hit anything. The bike, though not catastrophic, didnt fare so well. One of the things that broke was the steering stop on the lower triple clamp. That and the fork seals leaking I decided to rebuild the forks. After reading the 7 pages of suspension eleventeen times I was confident about doing it. Because funds were running low he settled for progressives over the works dual rates, at least it would hopefully be better than stock.

Now the dilemma. I have the 2011 manual for my bike, it does list specs for an 883L. But his is a 2007 and I know changes were made to the forks over the years. The 7 pages says to start with the oem amount of fluid, I tried searching for someone posting the spec for 2007 but couldnt find it. So I went with the 2011 spec which said 364 ml. With the fork vertical in a vice, fork collapsed, I measured 5 5/8" oil level. The progressive instructions say to follow your manual but dont let the level go less than 5 1/2".....so I figured I was good. Then I put the spring in, loosely wound side down, fork still collapsed, and the oil level came up to just below the top of the fork. If any more spring would have went into the oil it would have over flowed. Went ahead and extended the fork, installed the washer, preload spacer and put the cap on.

Everything is back together, bike sag is under 1/4 travel. When I sit on the bike the forks do not compress any further. But Im only 160, my son is 225 and hasnt been over to sit on it so I can check things further. I can compress the forks by grabbing the front brake and pushing.

Then I started thinking about the oil almost over flowing with the fork compressed and the spring in the oil (cap off). With the spacer in and the cap on, when the fork compresses it will force more spring into the oil raising the oil level even further, I dont see how the forks would ever get to complete compression without hydro-locking. Do I have too much oil? Or will the springs get to full compression before the actual fork sliders do?

Anyone have the actual specs for oil amount from a 2007 manual?

 

2007 883L fork oil amounts.
12.3 oz (364 ml) when fork is on frame.
4.8" (122 mm) if fork has been disassembled.

 

I believe the measurement from the top of the tube to the top of the oil level is supposed to be with the spring inside the tube. The measurement should be the same no matter what brand spring you install but the fluid ammount may be different due to the ammount of space the spring takes up. If in doubt, call Progressive, they are very helpful and can answer any questions you have about their product.

 

Thanks Von, thats what I was looking for.......the amount for an actual 2007 model I think youve read the 7 pages of suspension, the guru there says to start with the oem amount and adjust from there.

The instructions from progressive specifically state tube collapsed, no spring. But your right, dont know why I didnt think of just calling them

 

That's the way I do it to get the level, then extend the forks and install the spring, washer, spacer and cap nut.

 

When I first put the spring in the oil level came up to almost overflowing......I immediately extended the fork so it wouldnt overflow.

 

Here's a dumb question...you are measureing from the top of the tube to where the oil hits? Remember if your adding the fluid with the forks on the bike, the forks won't be level and you will have to have your number between the high and low of the top of the oil. (if that makes sense)

 

Not a problem if you take the measurement from the center of the tube.



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No, mine was off the bike, vertical in a vice.

 

I have done a few Metric bikes and that is the way the Manuals say to check the level with the spring in the tube, they must do it different with Harleys