clutch and brake fluid flushes: worth it?
 

Hi 2015 Limited, 124,000 km (77,000 miles), brakes and clutch perform as new.........is it really worth it to get the DOT 4 flushed? Fluid color looks fine through the windows. I'm a bit of a "ain't broke don't fix" kind of guy. If I do go ahead, what should I expect in terms of labor hours?

Buy a fluid tester specifically for the fluid type if it passes keep on going if not good insurance to replace it JMO.

Yes you need to flush it. Dot 4 gets moisture in it and can fail. Had it happen to clutch going over Sonora Pass on a hot summer day. Lots of twisties at 9000 feet. Think about no clutch on a 1000 pound bike with back rider. I had to pull over and let the bike cool off for an hour then clutch worked again. Flushed both when I got home.

It's worth it. As stated the moisture that builds in the brakes due to heat caused by the newer abs has already caused some of the earlier abs bike to have issues, so the flush is actually needed. Also the clutch fluid will actually be pretty dirty when drained, trust me !!

Do all you can to properly maintain the braking system.

Price out the replacement cost of the ABS Module. Over 700 bucks just for the part, and it doesn't come with free brake line flushing after. ;)

Not to hijack but do you all get these fluids changed based on time, miles or anything else, color, performance, etc.? I'm at 3 1/2 years, 17K miles, everything looks fine and works perfectly. I'm sure the manual says I should have done it already so what do you all think? Thanks and sorry for the question on your thread OP...

I'm guessing HD suggests every 2 years (or whatever- I think that is what is in the maintenance schedule for my Limited) the same reason that the suggest 5K oil and filter changes- conservative and on an regular interval.

I'm willing to believe that at 5K miles, my oil and filter doesn't magically stop doing their jobs, nor the primary at 10K miles, the trans oil at 20K, etc......

Same with brake fluid. At exactly 2 years, the stuff likely still fine, and may be fine for months past then.

But it's way easier to just change things on a regular basis.

I'm in your boat, the brake fluid in my Limited is 3 years old, still looks fine.

But how much longer? No way to know

My dealer performed a moisture test on mine changed the brake fluid said the other could go a little longer 15 FLHTk 25k mi.

Brake fluid flush required every two years per your owner's manual

I've seen a couple techs at different dealerships use this to test DOT 4 fluid in the clutch and brake systems. Certainly cheap enough for anyone to own.