Servicing 49mm fork tubes?
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Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2014
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From: NW Ohio
Servicing 49mm fork tubes?
Am I reading the service manual correctly in that the only way to drain a 49mm fork tube is to remove it from the trees and invert it?
And is the bottom bolt, inside the axle bores of the slider, really an 11mm hex? I was poking around HF last week and couldn't find any 11s. :/
And is the bottom bolt, inside the axle bores of the slider, really an 11mm hex? I was poking around HF last week and couldn't find any 11s. :/
Am I reading the service manual correctly in that the only way to drain a 49mm fork tube is to remove it from the trees and invert it?
And is the bottom bolt, inside the axle bores of the slider, really an 11mm hex? I was poking around HF last week and couldn't find any 11s. :/
And is the bottom bolt, inside the axle bores of the slider, really an 11mm hex? I was poking around HF last week and couldn't find any 11s. :/
Road Captain
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 529
Likes: 36
From: WV
The bolt on my '11 Street Bob is a 12 mm. I couldn't find one long enough locally so I cut the bend off of an allen wrench and put it in a 12 mm impact socket. Eventually I'll tack weld it to keep it there, but for right now it's all good.
If you pull the bottom bolt most will drain out, but you definitely won't get it as empty as if you take it apart and dump it.
If you pull the bottom bolt most will drain out, but you definitely won't get it as empty as if you take it apart and dump it.
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Feb 2015
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From: Galt's Gulch - MI
The bolts are 12mm; I use a 4" long hex bit socket to reach them. And yea, you need to invert the tubes to drain them 
Edited to add: this is the long hex bit I've got:
Due to their size have 2 liters of fork fluid on hand when you go to replace the fluid...
In the image, that's how much additional fork fluid drained out leaving them sit overnight
Edited to add: this is the long hex bit I've got:
Due to their size have 2 liters of fork fluid on hand when you go to replace the fluid...
In the image, that's how much additional fork fluid drained out leaving them sit overnight
Last edited by TinCupChalice; Apr 24, 2017 at 12:06 PM.
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Extreme HDF Member
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From: NW Ohio
Yeah, I noticed the left side was buried in there pretty deep. I don't have a set of long hex drivers and have needed them before so I'll just buy the whole rack, SAE & Metric.
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Road Captain
Joined: Nov 2016
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From: Berlin
Also just a little tip for when you are topping up the forks, I just got a large syringe and stuck about 12 inches of clear tube on the end, that way you will be able to add or take away oil a little easier, as it has to be spot on in both tubes.
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Extreme HDF Member
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From: NW Ohio