What can be done to improve the forks so they are not so stiff for fire roading and light off roading.

As far as the rear suspension, a softtail won't ride a smooth as one with a swingarm, as the softtail has less travel.

On the front end, Harley has three different "thicknesses" of fork oil, light, medium, and heavy, which gives different suspension dampening.

If the front forks are too stiff, you could try a lighter fork oil.

Change fork seals and cha he fork oil sounds like dirty fork oil or low on oil but do change oil and seals gx luck if u want a stiff front end can also use thicker oil check OEM oil viscosity and what they recommend for stiffness

Well, this is not unusual, especially on the Fat Boy or the dressers. You've got a lot of stuff up there that will rattle if you hit a big enough bump.

It could be being caused by either too stiff of a fork assembly or too soft in the case of it bottoming out. Bottoming out is a dangerous situation. The way you change the "stiffness" of the front end is by change the viscosity of the fork oil. Most Harleys use "H-D type E" fork oil that is stated by most websites as being close to 30 weight. A 20 weight oil would make the forks "softer" while a heavier weight oil would make them "stiffer".

On dirt bikes, I've drilled additional holes in the damper rods inside the forks to give them quicker action and more bump dampening but I've never done it on a Big Harley.

Good Luck
steve

The "clicking" noise you are hearing when you make a "hard stop", is the springs inside the fork compressing. This is not unusual. You can change your fork oil viscosity to stiffen the forks but they may be too stiff once you've done it, The only way to tell is try it.

There is a small screw or bolt on the down low on the fork lower slider. Take this screw out and work the front end up and down, The fork oil will be pumped out the front end. This makes a terrible mess so don't do it in your living room.

Once you have the oil out of the front end, it's best to lift the bike off the ground. Remove the top cap from each tube and refill the fork tubes with the proper amount of oil for a "wet" oil change. Sorry but I don't have that information but it will be somewhere around 10.2 ounces. Check to make sure for your year model. I put 30 wt. fork oil in my FXDWG and the forks are a bit stiff but that's how I like them. Try it and if it's too stiff, you'll just have to change it back to say 20wt or maybe Honda might have a 25 wt. oil. Do one side of the forks at a time.

dont use 10 wieght its stiff as can be i recomend 7.5 or 5 wieght but a quart in each fork will do.

All bikes use a special oil in the forks, and do not have the forks completely full. There needs to be room for the compression of the forks when hitting a bump. Most forks are only filled 3 to 5 inches from the top of the fork. That is why the liquid in the forks can sometimes be heard.

Please top rate this answer. Thanks!

could be worn gear selector dogs/forks....wont really know until visual inspection done internally.

but does anyone have experience of adding a firmer fork oil to the 900 Sei? Road tests I've read suggest that it may improve handling and hard braking particularly in reducing rear wheel chatter when throwing out all the anchorsThe 900 Sei uses damper insert cartridges in the top of the fork leg. The oil is ONLY for lubrication of the fork and tube. All the damping work is done by the cartridge therefore changing the oil will have no effect. The only thing you can do is change / upgrade the damper units. When I rebuilt my bike I used some air assisted ones by FAC. I'll have to look up the details for you, but mine are up for replacement now too so this is quite a current topic for me too,,,

front and rear. Panniers were full tankbag was full no topbox riding solo. THE BIKE originally shipped 20 weight oil for the forks. That was much to stiff for me. I talked with them and they suggested trying 15 weight and that 10 would probably be too soft. I tried the 15 weight and it was improved but still pretty harsh especially on small bumps. A friend with lots of experience related that he uses Silkolene 2.5 weight in his sport touring bikes (such as his Honda Hurricane and Ducati ST4). I installed 4 weight (actually aircraft hydraulic fluid, previously known to old Beemer riders as Aeroshell 4). I LOVE IT!! Compression damping is just fine. Rebound damping might be a tiny amount too little, but not enough to matter. Even dive under heavy braking is reasonable....much less than with the stock springs. ,It is difficult to get the right oil viscosity for everyone. Typically I ride 2up with wife, 400# plus gear, plus luggage, easily 440-450# total load. Even under those circunstances I may try W15 next time, but for sure not less. The Dutch WP is working with BMW, supplying the shocks and spring for the new K1200 S /R /PowerCup models. WP engineers (like Hyperpro) have designed a retrofit to the Front Springs for the Capo, as well as a rear shock. BTW, by coincidence those front springs are progressive too. They recommend from 5 to 20, depending on the typical bike loading. I suggest a look into the WP website, good stuff there. Here I am pasting some info from WP: ...the progressively wound Pro-Line front fork springs of WP Suspension play a fundamental role in the operation of your front fork. The springing and damping characteristics of your front fork can be fully optimised if the correct springs are used. Many motorcyclists know the problem of too soft front fork springs which can result in bottoming of the front fork when braking or too much movement and poor handling of the front fork during braking and acceleration. Original front fork springs can also be too hard which causes the front fork to shock the steering and the entire bike to feel uncomfortable on uneven road surfaces. With the WP Pro-Line front fork springs you are taking the first step towards optimum road holding at an attractive price. The springs, progressively wound from high-grade silicon chrome spring steel, ensure that your front fork will respond better (improved comfort), and react more controllable when compressed under braking (more stability, resulting in greater safety). In most cases motorcycle manufacturers use linear wound front fork springs which are often in the beginning but also at the end of the stroke, either to soft or to hard. Progressivity is lacking. With progressively wound WP springs you can solve this problem, once and for all. __________________ ,,,