Regardless of what you put in the front end...as mentioned earlier, it's not the new parts that contaminate the fork oil, it's the stock HD parts that remain, particularly the bushing. If I'm not mistaken, it is made of a realtively soft metal (brass?), and has a coating similar to Teflon, if it's not actually Teflon. They wear quickly. The coating wears off, contaminating the oil, in addition to the metal particles from the bushing itself. Any bike with a traditional type of fork has springs in the fork...that's one of the things that control the compression of the front forks, the sag, etc. Also, another factor...I hear a lot about folks thinking that doing work like this "raises" the bike, whether it's front fork work or rear shocks...it does, but it's not because the travel of the fork/shock has changed, it's because there is less sag in the suspension, and if the suspension is set up properly, there is a more appropriate level of sag (necessary for proper operation of the suspension) than with the stock crap. Just take a stock bike off the kickstand and watch how much the front end sags with the weight actually on the fork springs...then you add a passenger, luggage, blah, blah, blah and the performance of the suspension is further compromised, i.e. less potential travel before bottoming out. These bikes aren't race bikes, and don't need that kind of suspension performance, but they also don't have to ride/drive like a Buick 225 with bad shocks.
It really sucks that HD can't come up with at least a mediocre suspension system for their top of the line touring bikes, instead of using the cheapest chit out there, and low bid at that.
Personally, I would recommend changing the fork oil at least at the recommended intervals, in addition to the bushing and any other parts that are subject to wear, like seals.
Also, depending on the material used in construction of the springs, the constant compression/rebound of the spring causes some of the metal to "flake" off over time which is another contaminate of the oil. So, change the oil, IMO.
Not saying that people don't go well over the 20-25K mark without servicing the forks...but, have you ever smelled overused fork oil? It stinks really bad. The problem with degradation of things like fork oil over time is that it happens so gradually, people don't notice and think everything is hunky-dorey because they have lost their basis for comparison. It's the same thing as when you upgrade the suspension components...you very quckly forget how bad the old stuff was until you get on another bike without the upgrades. THEN the difference is huge.
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Topic: Anyone have the new 2010 Progressive Monotube Cart System? (Read 35315 times)