Ok is it possible to change fork oil and springs without removing the forks from the bike? The reason I ask is I ride/commute daily and so I want to limit my down time yet refresh the front suspension. TIA for any input.
Haha you could if you can suck it out with a tube. The proper ways is to remove them so you can clean them thoroughly. Ootv and I spend about 4 hours. Be careful to get the front wheel off the ground to release spring pressure before open up the folks cap.
It is not the hard, take your time get some cold beers and get it done. The screw on the bottom of the folk can be a pain. Take your time Come back if you need help :thumb:
I should probably add that we also changed the fork seals on Scubalong's forks so that was some extra time involved there for that. We also polished up the fork tubes due to there being some minor pitting going on. Someone had posed this same question not too long ago and there were several good methods discussed there as well, but ultimately, removal is the best practices method. As Scuba said, we're here to help. If you don't have the Honda Service Manual, PM me and I'll send you a copy, it's a must have for the DIY'er. Cheers!
If you're just changing springs and fluid and not doing the seals, then like scuba said, you could just suck the fluid out with a brake bleeder or something similar, but you wouldn't be getting all the fluid out.. It's not that big of a deal to just remove the wheel and fender and pull the forks. If you are doing seals, it really helps to use an air gun on the bottom allen bolts to remove them from the fork internals. Should only take you @ 2 hrs/ max to change the oil and springs.
