Road King Front End

[Rags722]

Long story short ( well, as short as I can make it).  My buddy rode a well worn mid- late 90's RK and got a chance to upgrade to a seldom used 05 RK.  He took the deal to get away from the M&M injection and some oddball noises the old EVO was making.
He's in the process of doing a full service to the 05, and realized they no longer have the air over oil system for the front forks.  Since he used to be able to break out the mity-vac and do the fork oil as easy as watching TV, he is now faced with pulling the nacelle, removing the fork caps and dumping in fresh oil.  I had a wild thought and suggested as long as he has to go to all that trouble, why not see if he can pick up a set of earlier cap stems, and all the hardware that would let him convert back to an air over system.  So, heres the questions.
1.  Will an older RK's fork caps fit an 05?
2. Will the banjo's and associated plumbing he would need fit an 05?
3.  Is there room under the nacelle for the extra hardware?
4. Is there an easy way to change the fork oil that does NOT include removing the nacelle & fork caps on the 05?

He does not need the plumbing to go all the way to the back fender like the old bike.  As long as he can tuck a schrader valve in someplace he would be fat dumb and happy.

Rags

[crow]

I may be wrong but I believe the 05 will have a cartridge in one of the fork tubes. This will most likely make Air a non option...

[Rags722]

I may be wrong but I believe the 05 will have a cartridge in one of the fork tubes. This will most likely make Air a non option...

Nope, the 05 RK, unlike the rest of the 05 tour bikes does NOT have a cartridge.  At least I know someone could reply to this thread.  Thanks

[JohnS_Rosamond]

Okay, let me throw my wrench in.  I don't believe that there is any reason that the older fork caps with the threaded air hole (and the associated 1994 air reservoir) wouldn't bolt up and be no problem.  I can't believe that they (Harley) would have somehow re-done the threads in the end of the lower fork cap.  Were just talking about the upper fork cap that holds the assembly to the upper triple clamp.  Yes, you're right that the RK remained "standard fork" both sides.

[Beave]

I don't know if the early caps fit, but I tapped my 05 RK stock fork caps (1/8 NPT) and installed fittings to plumb them to a gauge and valve so that I could service the forks without removing the nacelle.  I was having a little problem bottoming out and just 5 psi in the forks fixed that too.  There is plenty of room for an elbow fitting with 3/16" air line.  Now changing fork oil is fast and easy.  I run  an onboard pump connected to both front and rear shocks for complete ajustability on the fly.