| Author | Message | ||
     Yan |
The Service Manual calls for fork oil change at 10k. I called the dealership they said the forks have to come off and taken apart and it's going to be around $300. Is that what needs to be done at 10k or they are trying to suck me into some unneeded repairs? Thanks! | ||
| Tootal |
I have no doubt that it's $300.00. It is a lot of time consuming work. I'm sure after you do a few of them you could get pretty quick at it. When I changed my triple trees on my 06 to the 08 versions I did a thread on it. During that procedure I also changed my fork springs. If you want to see what it takes to change the fork oil you can bypass the triple tree part and just read the spring part. Maybe you can do it yourself and save some bucks. You could also wait till 20,000 miles and give yourself some time to save up! http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/442538.html?1236474150 | ||
| Fordhotline |
You can do it on the bike. Get the front wheel off and take the caps off. Open the drain and bleed out by compressing (once caps and spring are out). You will get most of it out. Off the bike though the best way to get it all out. Are your seals leaking or thinking of replacing? Then they would have to be taken off the bike. I have 36,000 on mine with no problem yet. Added a little bit more oil is all i did when i purchased bike. Maybe wait until 20K or seal leak if you are going to pay to do it to save a buck? | ||
| Froggy |
Skip it for now. The book calls for doing every 10k, but I personally do it every 40k. The 1125R is more reasonable and says to do it every 18.6K, but I skipped it too. | ||
| Yan |
Thanks! I'll skip it - there are no signs of oil leakage. | ||
| Discochris |
Independent shop that I get tires from quoted me 1.5 hours of labor. I did not do the change at 10k, but I'm at 20k now and so I'm debating it, since I need tires anyway. Otherwise, I may wait til Spring. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
I just changed a seal on my left front fork and this time I changed the dust seal instead of reusing it like the last time. Probably why it only lasted the year. Sure, it's a PITA but really isn't that hard to do and when you do it yourself you keep your wallet thick. Removing the fork is very quickly done, it's just the rest of the job that takes a bit of thinking and time. If you had to do it every day then it might only take a couple of hours. Once every few years makes it almost like you are doing it for the first time each time you do it. | ||
| Brown_e |
Just blew another seal at 47 k. The first one went just 15 k ago. | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
You can get a race tech fork spring compressor for about $130. Forgot where I ordered mine, but it makes the DIY job exponentially easier and faster. Seal drivers are about $40 from Motion Pro but unlike the spring compressor, can be easily imitated with cheap materials. I made one out of some PVC pipe and a hose clamp. | ||
| Uly_man |
Although you should probably change the oil at 10k on a bike I never have. I do my suspension by "feel" and what works for me. But thats just me? I would not worry any on it myself. | ||
| Discochris |
Dropped the bike off with the independent shop tonight for tires. Talked to them about fork oil, and the guy said to wait unless there was some serious handling issue or the seals were leaking. He said he'd do it but didn't think it would be $250 well spent on my part. | ||
| Cyclonedon |
An independant dealer in Kenosha quoted me new fork seals installed for around $220 TO $240. That sounded like a fair price to me but I haven't taken it in to have it fixed yet. I also need new front brake pads and a new front rotor, but money doesn't grow on trees. | ||
| Arcticktm |
$300 sounds very high for just a fork oil change. I do them myself with no special tools. I used a tie down strap through the holes in the spacer in place of the spring compressor tool. Not very elegant, but it worked. I had a leaking seal this spring, so I took off forks and paid the local BMW dealer to replace both seals. Don't remember the cost, but it was less than $200 including the seals. If you want to get it done, at least take the forks off yourself and that should lower the rate considerably. | ||
| Skifastbadly |
My 08 has near 20K on it now. At around 10K I developed a leaking seal, so had to replace it on the right side. Of course when I did that, I had to replace the oil on the right side. So now I have a left side with 20K on the oil and a right with 10K. Will the bike suddenly start going in circles? | ||
| Buellerxt |
LOL I've missed your posts, Skifast!  When I scrolled down I was wondering what 'twist' and clever funny comment you'd have and sure enough I got a chuckle. | ||
| Skifastbadly |
Been too busy riding to post. And nothing to bitch about or ask about, as the Uly is performing like it should....Oil, gas, air, tires. Belt hasn't broken, ECM hasn't puked, nothing's fallen off, rusted off, exploded, or burst into flames. And it's summer in Seattle, both today AND tomorrow. | ||
| Idaho_buelly |
FWIW,I removed the forks and did the oil change myself,about 1.5 hrs give or take,(complete job)..I bought the recommended oil from HD and it used 1 bottle exactly for each fork.Mine is an 09XB12X..I did it at 20K and the oil looked pretty good...  | ||
| Xbimmer |
Buy the tools, do it yourself, replace both seals and the bushings, ridiculously cheap and easy. There are fine alternatives to giving HD any of your hard earned money for oil or service, and I wouldn't trust any shop that doesn't have specific experience with your specific forks. I haven't had any seal issues since I buffed off a burr on the the right leg and installed these:   http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142838/476586.html | ||
| Uly_man |
I have a leaking seal at less than 5k miles. I am going to try to clean the seal first. You know that "old school gag" by running some photo film under the seal. I added some heavy oil a while ago and a bit of "something" may have got into the fork and settled to the bottom while it has been standing. I have never had a leaking seal but there is no harm in trying and it is free. | ||
| Luftkoph |
When I did mine at 20k the slide and guide bushings were showing some wear,parts are cheap,made my own little thing to kompress the spring and hold it down,and filled'er up with 10w yamalube fork oil.If you pm me your email I will gladly send pictures of what I made. | ||
| Dr_greg |
I faithfully replaced my fork oil every 10K miles on both my '06 Ulys. Replaced fork seals (and all bushings) at about 35K on '06 Uly #1 when one started leaking. Home-made tools primarily. Not too bad a job, and forks always worked well. --Doc |
