Checking the condition of fork oil (on the bike)

[VetteJim]

Quick question, is there a way to get a quick check of the condition of the fork oil by taking a cap off and dipping something and looking at it? I.E. can the caps be taken off and reinstalled painlessly? It's a new bike to me and has 53k miles but I don't know when the last time (if ever) the fork oil was changed out. Just wanted to see if there was a quick way to do that. I have replaced fork oil on my VTX and it was not real easy to get the caps back on.

Thanks
Jim

 

[Obo]

There's not really an easy way.
You can lift the front end, loosen the top clamps and undo the caps, but if the springs are stiff and extend, you may not be able to get the caps back on.
I don't think I'd recommend trying it.

 

[ToddC]

Over 50k and not sure if ever changed........
Time to pull the forks and go thru them. It's not that hard and you can rotate the tubes to wear the opposite side and inspect the sliders.

 

[Willsmotorcycle]

More frequent has to be better then less frequent. My votes on pull and inspect, then you know. All the gunks going to be at the bottom anyway. The stock springs are not hard at all, hand pressure and turn to put the caps on.

 

[Bush]

Good idea to use a synthetic fork fluid for replacement too.

 

[Sadlsor]

@Obo has recent forking experience; his words are worthy of careful consideration before you dive in there.
There are several forking threads and articles, easily found with that magnifier upt' right by the word "Search."

 

[VetteJim]

Hmm.. OK I will have to consider doing the full service then. Heck I'm probably most of the way there anyways at this point. Last night I took the front 'nose' off to get access to the windshield mechanism and the headlights. I have a lot of things in the air at this point. I have on order thermostat, LED bulbs, fuel filter and who knows what all else. Oh well it's still January.

 

[VetteJim]

I am knee deep in the 'WHILE I'M AT IT'S' now!

 

[Sadlsor]

I'd store Larry's WCP number in speed dial.

 

[dduelin]

Hmm.. OK I will have to consider doing the full service then. Heck I'm probably most of the way there anyways at this point. Last night I took the front 'nose' off to get access to the windshield mechanism and the headlights. I have a lot of things in the air at this point. I have on order thermostat, LED bulbs, fuel filter and who knows what all else. Oh well it's still January.

If you are going to replace the t-stat go ahead and order the O-ring that seals the t-stat housing.

 

[Obo]

The stock springs are not hard at all, hand pressure and turn to put the caps on.

*IF* they are stock springs...

 

[dduelin]

The spring stack in my 05 was lengthened by 16mm which increased the pressure needed to bring the cap down and thread it into the tube. I found the trick for me was to use a jig to hold the fork tube and slider upright and with a 17mm hex in a breaker bar or rachet I used the weight of my upper body against the palm of my hand to press the hex down to the tube and hold the cap still. The free hand then turned the tube so as to engage the threads. I didn’t turn the cap, I turned the tube.

 

[DeanR]

Give the cap a turn backwards to catch the engagement point of the threads to prevent cross threading which apparently is easy to do.
Having said that, I need to do my forks too. Have only been in there once, quite a few years ago.

 

[RaYzerman]

At 53k, when is your intended service for the forks? Another 10 or 20 k? Then think about it, take the forks off the bike now, give them a refurb and you'll be good for ??? miles. I'd get the proper springs up front and the normal thing is 15mm of preload, so the caps shouldn't be abnormally hard to re-install.