I did it! I replaced the fluid in my front forks. I removed the ignition switch, and panel, and unhooked the two connectors. Then I removed the two disc brakes and the front wheel.

Here is where I deviated. I did not remove the front fender, but did put a strap to hold it up and in place. I then removed the two bolts on the left side holding the fender to the left fork. The forks are held in place with three hex head bolts, one at the top and two on the bottom. I loosened them, and slid the whole left fork down and out. I made a clamp out of wood to hold the fork so I could remove the fork cap. Now let me warn you that the hex head is a 19mm hex head, and you need to hold the fork tube tightly to remove this cap. It is HIGHLY SPRUNG, so when unscrewing it, be prepared when it clears the last thread. It does fly off. Once the cap is off, remove the metal tube, washer, and spring. Draining it is a piece of cake. Just turn upside down and let the fluid out while working the forks from fully extended to fully collapsed. Mine had about 22.5 oz of yucky brown fluid. I then poured about 2 oz of fresh fluid in and swished it around and then poured it out.

My bike is a 2015 Limited, and the manual says to add 24 oz of HD fork oil Type E, while working the fork, again from extended to collapsed a couple of times. With the fork fully collapsed, and my calipers set to 3.74", I measured the depth of the fluid in the fork. I then poured some out until it just touched the bottom of my caliper.

I added the spring with the smaller wind at the bottom, the washer, and then the metal tube. I put it back into the wood clamp and into a vice, and then installed the cap. THIS WAS HARD TO DO. You have to push down real hard to get the plug back into the fork tube, and then turn to engage the threads. I tried 7 to 8 times before getting the screws to engage. Here is a picture of my clamp. It was hard wood flooring with tongue and groove, a fairing cover off my 09 lower fairing which I used to protect and hold the fork tube from turning, my caliper set at 3.74" and the end probe which I used to measure the fluid level.

 

Thanks for the write up and pics!

 

Nice write up. I have been watching some you tube videos and plan to upgrade my front suspension soon. One trick I learned was to loosen the top cap while it is still held in place by the bottom clamp on the triple tree.

What year model is your bike and how many miles?

 

That might work, didn't think to do that, but you still need a clamp to hold it tight to start the plug into the fork tube. Let me tell you that I was standing on a chair so I could push down hard enough to get that plug into the tube.

2015 Limited.

 

just took mine apart for power coating, just loosen the 3 hex bolts let fork slide down enough so a 19mm allen wrench clears. tighten bottom bolts and break loose fork cap. I was able to use a short 1/2'' drive ratchet and a 19mm socket while holding fork with my left hand and using my right hand with my weight putting pressure on cap thread cap back on fork. my forks took more then 24 oz to bring it to a measurement of 3.740 but they were total disassembled for powder coating.

 

I hope this isn't a dumb question, but why did you change the fluid?

 

I changed the fluid because I knew that at 28,355 miles on her, the oil would be dirty. I am going on a trip across country this summer and wanted to just change all fluids, and from an mechanical standpoint, just to see how hard it was to actually change fork fluid.

The maintenance manual says to change fluid at 50,000 miles, so am about 11,000 miles early. I seldom keep a bike over 50K miles, and from personal experience, when I drained the fluid on my 2009, the fluid was dirty brown. My 2009 was real easy compared to my 2015 however, and I won't be doing this again. Too hard to put the fork tube plug back into the fork tube.

 

There is no way I could have held the fork tube off the ground with one hand and then compress the spring enough to get the plug into the fork tube while juggling the fork cap on top of the spring collar while trying to turn the hex head. On my bike, the spring collar was about 3" above the fork tube. It was a bitch to get the fork cap engaged, even with it clamped in my vice and me standing above it and applying a lot of pressure to push it into the cap, while turning it and trying not to cross thread it.

 

You can use a shock bolt to break the cap loose. 3/4" bolt, with 2 nuts tightened together. Slide the leg down a few inches, set the bolt upside down, use the double nut to loosen and retighten. Great write up bro.

 

You're actually 21,000 miles early, but who's counting?

I asked because I've read about others who have gone with different oil or mixtures of oil, with mixed results I might add. Or, they upgrade the suspension. You did neither, so I was just curious why.

Thanks.