I want to change the front fork fluid to the screaming eagle fluid. Too much nose dive on breaking.
The service manual says you have to remove the forks and dump the fluid out. There is a plug in the bottom of the forks. Can I just pull it and or suck the fluid out of the upper caps. The service manual calls out for 29 ounces of fluid per side and then top it off with their handy dandy harley tool. That seems like a alot of fluid in each fork. Any one changed their fork oil on a Fat Bob?

 

I was able to add 1 oz. of screaming eagle HD fork oil in each tube to improve it alot. Will completely change oil @ around 20,000 miles. Will probably modify them at that time.

 

i swapped to a 10w/15w blend in my forks... on all my bikes... it is great! I did not use SE fork oil I use Spectro... all my buddies that race track bikes use this and if it can hold up to track racing, it is going ot hold up in our bikes no problem!

 

The bolts on the bottom are not drains. Removing the forks is really the only way to go for a couple of reasons. First it's nearly impossible to get all the old oil out without removing and literally pumping them. Second, when refilling, I'm not sure about the 29 oz, think its better to measure from the top. The service manual also has a measurement that you do with the forks collapsed.

Removing the forks is no big deal compared to getting the fork caps off and back on again. Make sure to break the caps loose before loosening the forks in the triple trees. And don't try to reinstall the caps until you get the forks temporarily installed and at least semi-tight in the triple trees.

 

You have to remove the fork & invert it to get it out. Not hard really. If you want to reduce brake dive though you will be better served with different springs. Using heavier fluid only slows the compression of the cartridge by making it harder for the fluid to pass through an orifice. The result is a rougher ride but you have not taken care of the problem which is an under sprung front end. I prefer straight rate springs as opposed to the popular progressive rate springs. The spring compression is constant and for me the handling is more predictable with better feedback. Progressive coils are softer at first the the rate increases as you compress them. This gives you a smooth ride over irregularities but you still need to load the suspension up before it gets firm. The most important thing to remember is that fluid viscosity has nothing to do with how much your suspension compresses it just controls how fast it does.

 

Another tip for loosening the caps is to loosen the top triple clamp bolts first with the bottom ones still tight. You would be surprised at how much pressure that clamp puts on the threads.