Motorcycle Repair: forks on 03 883 hugger, plastic spacers, fork oil

Question
they seem really weak,get on brakes even easy,they bottom out,shop said 30 wieght,did it,seem worse,I know theres not much travel,but normal braking they slam to the bottom?

Answer
Hi Brian,
When you went and replaced the fork oil, and you replaced the seals as well, then theres a good chance you dont have enough fluid in the forks. EMPTY, meaning washed out and dry, you should have about 9.2 oz of oil in each fork. but the 30wt should have done it good alone. Also if you have a ton of miles on the bike, plus you are a bigger guy (as myself) the springs might be whats called "sacked out" and need replacing. I needed to install pre-load spacers on top of the springs for my size and the bike I rode...they are just about 1-3" plastic spacers(depending on how stiff you want it)  that go on top of the springs to make them a bit more stiff...

Hope this helps!

~Mark