Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Fork Oil Change

This might sound Dumb --- but I need to change the fork oil on my 08 America is there any tips, have done it for years on Nortons, Meridan Triumphs, B.S.A's, could someone tell me what to do please

Hey, Hoffo, long time no post, nice to hear from you. How's that sexy original Norton of yours?

I used a small hand pump siphon to change my fork oil realizing that I wouldn't get the tiny bit of sludge remaining in the bottom because I went in from the top with the forks still in place. I think the best method would be to pull the forks and hang them upside down to drain but I was too lazy to pull the entire front end apart.

Hoffo, rather than a wooden dowel, I used a piece of threaded rod with a big fender washer pinched between 2 nuts to provide the reference measurement for filling the tube. I simply fill until the oil touches the bottom of the threaded rod, and if it is too high, I suck out a tiny bit. The fender washer simply rests on top of the fork tube and sits in place with no need to hold it. If you want to get REALLY fancy like I did, I just tie-wrap the suction hose from my little hand operated vacuum pump/brake bleeder to the threaded rod, so that the end of the hose is just slightly (1mm) above) the end of the rod, so that I can fill as I please and then suck down until I lose suction. Either way seems to work equally well....