[telescopes]

One thing remains consistent about our ******...they are expensive. I'd held off doing the recommended maintenance on my Vintage as long as I could. The book calls for an overhaul every 15, 000 miles. I'd planned on doing the overhaul only after they started to leak, but I'll be darned, they never did leak. Finally, at 40,000 miles, the bike was in the shop with a cracked spark plug cap and I thought, "Just Do It." And they did.

Riding home, I was amazed at the improvement in handling. Just like the day I took her home from the pound.

I'm wondering about and would be interested to hear your fork overhaul stories.

If they leaked, at what mileage?

Is there anyone still out there having never changed them and well past the expiration date?

I can say this... what a difference.

 

[CraigB1960]

It makes a big difference in the ride by removing the forks, disassembly and cleaning then putting in equal amounts of fresh oil. (Change seals and if needed the bushings).

One of mine was slightly leaking at 20k. I should have done the job at 15k, oil was very dirty. Also, good time to repack bearing and adjust the triple tree.

 

[splitt]

I was going to have mine rebuilt at 40k, but they started weeping on me at 33k. So I had them rebuilt this winter. I removed the forks myself and dropped them off at the dealership and they rebuilt them with new seals, sliders and oil. It was around $300 cheaper if I removed the forks myself rather than having the dealership do it.

 

[telescopes]

One wonders why they are made so labor intensive to overhaul in the first place

 

[TigerGA]

One wonders why they are made so labor intensive to overhaul in the first place

They’re cartridge forks, so they have to be removed to change the oil. Many suggested tapping a hole in the fork bottom as a drain; however, you’d never get all the oil out that way.

 

[Hatt]

The beating that fork oil takes is far more significant than most people realize.
That being said, many people do not realize how much comfort and performance they leave on the table by not doing that maintenance regiment.
Your results are common in regards to level of surprise.
Was for me as well coming up. I now do it on time or earlier if I know I ride the machine hard over significant time frame.

 

[GreatWhite]

As I rode down the highway today on a fabulous ride today - doing maintenance on the forks came to mind.
Here is the topic. Well everything is original on my 2014 Chieftain. 38K so probably time

 

[telescopes]

As I rode down the highway today on a fabulous ride today - doing maintenance on the forks came to mind.
Here is the topic. Well everything is original on my 2014 Chieftain. 38K so probably time

The positive change in the ride was incredible. Like riding the bike when it was new.

 

[theMucker]

One wonders why they are made so labor intensive to overhaul in the first place

They aren't any more labor intensive than cartridge forks on any other model or brand. Cartridge forks ARE more complex than the old basic damper-rod forks. But they are ALSO far superior in ride control.

 

[TedMan]

Per Rob Gregory advice, I plan on doing mine when I change the front tire. About 20k.

 

[telescopes]

They aren't any more labor intensive than cartridge forks on any other model or brand. Cartridge forks ARE more complex than the old basic damper-rod forks. But they are ALSO far superior in ride control.

I can see that and agree. My problem with the forks is that I put 15,000 miles on a bike per year at a minimum. $550 just for forks, on top of the cost for tires, brakes, and possibly brake fluid each year makes maintenance an overly hefty cost.

 

[GreatWhite]

I can see that and agree. My problem with the forks is that I put 15,000 miles on a bike per year at a minimum. $550 just for forks, on top of the cost for tires, brakes, and possibly brake fluid each year makes maintenance an overly hefty cost.

You could take note of the state of the forks oil, and determine if you can double the service interval based on what the service results are.

 

[telescopes]

You could take note of the state of the forks oil, and determine if you can double the service interval based on what the service results are.

Precisely. At least, that’s my plan. I got 40,000 on the forks before I felt the ride had deteriorated enough that it had to be done. I’ll aim for 30,000 next time.

I am hoping others find this is working for them as well and that it is a reasonable compromise with maintenance.

 

[2Cool]

I've had fork oil seals break 2 times over the years where the seals just broke with Boo Koo oil coming out, my Gilroy Indian had it's seals go at 60,000. The Indian and the Harley both cost an average of $125. I'm at 40,000 now on my Classic and the ride and control is still very good so once again I'll go on until the seals break or the ride deteriorates.

The Ft Meyers dealership quoted me $550 which appears to be a good price if anyone else is considering having this done.

 

[Dtaz]

Just wondering if progressive suspension makes cartridges for Indian bikes? I put a set in my Harley Street Glide, 2013, and have not had to touch the front end at all??? Frank

 

[Kost]

Just wondering if progressive suspension makes cartridges for Indian bikes? I put a set in my Harley Street Glide, 2013, and have not had to touch the front end at all??? Frank

I'm a big fan of Progressive Suspension fork springs, when it;s time to rebuild mine, I will be going with their springs, they work very well, the ride is like night and day, especially during breaking, fork dive is reduced by large amounts.

 

[Dtaz]

I'm not talking about springs, I'm saying they made a sealed cartridge that replaced all the guts in the forks. A sealed unit that requires NO maintenance.

 

[Captain steve]

We all know how expensive Indiian dealership services are. I have the local dealer do all of the required services at the recommended mileage but...
At 15K they wanted to do the forks and add hundreds of dollars to an already pricey service. I spoke with a couple of techs off the record and they both agreed there is no reason to do them at 15K unless you have a problem {ride/handling leakage}. Servicing the forks is not a "required' service necessary to keep the warranty current at 15 or even 20K. At the 20K service it did not come up and I was told they look and the bike rides and handles just fine which mirrored my opinion.

I am going to have them done at the 25K service unless I see a problem in the next 2,500 miles. Since my bike is a Springfield there is no fairing to remove and the windshield comes off in seconds so I do not expect to pay labor charges commensurate with most of the other models... we'll see. I don't expect to see a huge difference in the ride and handling when they are done as both are and always have been awesome but if it gets better hooray!.