I have maxims 10 in there now. I read the type e is 5wt, b is 10, se is 15, and something else harley sells is 20wt. I'm not sure what was in there before yesterday. It was definitely slow pouring than the 10wt. The guy at my local hd dealer said the b oil is discontinued, and e is what they sell and recommend now, unless someone wants the se stuff. Ive read conflicting information on the fork oil weights, at least what the harley stuff is or isn't. I have more often seen that e is lighter than b. I have some e left over from rebuilding the forks on a 90 flhtcu I owned a while back. Maybe I'll try that.
The front end of this bike actually seems like it bounces off the road over pavement defects such as temporary repairs from new construction. It feels very bouncy, like it is way over sprung. The springs haven't been cut, the sliders aren't sticking or binding, they're dead straight as well. So the only thing I can think to change is the oil.

 

question - the springs from Harley the windings are the same full length - heavier springs have a section that the windings are tighter wound more of them per inch

if you have that - that is your problem

 

They're just plain ol equally round coils, not like a progressive style spring. They have factory made flat ground ends, nothing that looks cut and ground down or filed, I've found those before in narrow ironhead forks. Hell...even those narrow glide forks rode better haha.
I wonder of the spring rates are the same for all the fl bikes, or if hd used different rates for bikes like tourglides vs flht.

 

I also took the advice to use the 30wt lawn mower oil. Very happy.
I've passed that advice along a few times.

 

if you are bouncing over bumps, you may be under-damped, not over-sprung. try heavier oil. if you want to get into details, check the front end 'sag' to see if the springs are right or not. the internet is full of directions on how to do that, and it's the only way to know for sure.

 

I like what Joe12RK says...
and note that if I take an early front end apart... I add a rebound spring... especially to the Early 41mm...as they "top out" terribly...
Course... with that Banana rattling... ya can't always tell what the Noise is!!!

 

So terribly far from original, but it is a blast to ride

Baffles in those old fish tails, doesnt sound horrible
Been riding as a daily commuter this past week, well, since i got it on the road.
After about 100 miles with the 10wt oil, the front end seems to have settled. It doesn't crash around like it was, still firm, but not nearly as harsh. I'm still going to measure sag, when we have a rainy couple of days. But for now, it seems a bit better

 

what I see is the bike stance is a bit high it may have 2 over tubes but the cow bells are stock length

normally the cow bells are not at the top of the fender they are and inch or so down along side if it

 

I thought the same, but i measured the tubes when i had them out, and they're 20.75" long, which from what I've seen, Iliad believe is stock length for the late 77> tubes. The springs are 19" or so, can't remember the exact length. The back of the bike is lowered some tho, but not that much, maybe an inch. Has a kraftech adjustable swing arm.

 

Wait a minute....if my tubes are 20.75, and the springs are 19"...the doesn't sound like that would work correctly, does it?
The spring caps did shoot out with an *** of force...and it took me standing above the the fork tube, with the upper end of the tube in a vice (with soft jaws) with all my weight on a 3/4 drive ratchet, while a friend turned the ratchet handle. Maybe that's the problem....and that would make it over sprung. I have noticed when I raise the front wheel, the fork doesn't sag hardly any. My gl1000, on the other hand, does drop down quite a bit when the front wheel is raised, I did notice that. Maybe that has something to do with it. The spring length. Not the gl1000 haha