I don't see the point in fighting with it, 4 bolts to get the fender off, the two pinch bolts on each side and its off................much easier that way. Just fill up the tubes most of the way (compressed) work the air out ant set the level with a fork level tool (which can be just a horse syringe measured length of tubing) and its a done deal - stick them back on and know its right. You really don't want fork oil in there for 50K miles.

 

I agree with P51bombay. It takes 5 minutes to get the fork tubes off. Makes it easier to do the job, especially if your changing out the fork oil. No need to rebuild them just cause your taking them off. Definatley keep hold of the cap when u unscrew it, it will go flying. Not a tremendous amount of pressure but still. I always found that when putting the cap back on, the easy way to go (if the tubes are off the bike) is to hold the cap with the socket and lean on it to get it in place, then just turn the tube. its harder to push against the spring and spacer and thread in the cap at the same time.

 

First off, let me say I could not disagree more with the guys advocating yanking the tubes from the bike. It is a major, major pain in the ***, and screw H-D and the horse they rode in on for not providing a fork drain, like the touring bikes have (and the early, early Dynas have). It is not a five minute job, it is a several hour job because the tubes have to positioned exactly right in the fork clamps, wheel assy reinstalled, etc, etc. Oh, and I don't like the potential for scratching the fender, either.

1) Yes, I did mine with the forks in place. I do not have the nifty H-D p/n xxxxxx fork fixture. One could use a vice with padding, I suppose, but ....
2) Yes, the special tool is really, really nice. It also enabled me to apply lots of preload (along with a stubby 3/8" snap-on ratchet) on the spring to get the nut to catch a thread when re-installing.
3) No, leaving the tubes on is not a totally stupid idea. Here's what I did. I have one of those small plastic gear oil "pumps" the auto stores sell to pump gear oil into diffs, etc. Attach a length of clear tubing onto the end of it, and one can pump out 99% of the old fork oil. Guess what, even after a few thousand miles it is going to be black. Go purchased 2x the Belray or SE fork oil you think you are going require beforehand, so you have plenty. I found that it took several attempts to get the fluid just right so the front end was not a) hydraulically locked, or b) way too loose. Buy new o-rings, while you at the dealer, too. No, buy three sets of O-rings.

Yank out the old springs, install the new. Pour equal amounts of new fluid in to each side. Start with a level about 5 inches below the top. Install the preload spacer. CAREFULLY install the fork nut things with a new o-ring. Lower the bike off the jack and go find some big potholes and bumps to drive over. (You want to check the performance of the suspension with positive and negative bumps.) Adjust the fluid level if necessary. Here's another thing I noticed - the right side tube and the left side were not the same color. Because the front is cocked over when parked it causes the oil to age much faster for some reason.

 

Although it's not as easy as it would be if it had a drain, several hours is a bit of an exaggeration. I can replace the oil in both front forks and mount a new front tire in about 1.5 hours and I don't work that fast.

 

well to each their own I suppose but I have had bikes in the past with a drain hole and found that to be a major PITA - painfully slow doesn't begin to describe the process whereas turning the tube over and pouring it out is too easy.

I dont have the special fork tube fixture either, Park tool sells them if you really wanted one but we never had them back in the day and did just fine working on forks all day long - in fact fork seal jobs were and I'm sure still are an easy money job but I digress. Harley did give as all a free (to a degree) fixture though - it's called a triple clamp. I simply use it with the tube either raised or lowered as need be to hold the tube while I work on it.......slightly slower that way but much easier working alone and it never slips and drops the tube like I might. A large syringe and bit of tubing will work for a couple bucks or you can get the spendy special tool like I did to set your level - both work, one just works a little faster and more precisely and you have to ask yourself that it it took several tries to get the level right then how much of a PITA is that had did you really save any time over pulling the tube and getting it right the first time?