Fork Oil Capacity 2016 RS

[Grumpy Goat]

The factory procedure for simply changing the fork oil is to remove the innards. My guess: that this is the simply the fastest way to get all the old oil out. Professional mechanics don't have the time to spend 20 to 30 minutes pumping the fork leg to drain or refill the oil. I have never removed the innards of either leg because to remove the bolts holding them requires more force than I have the means or the courage to apply. I don't have a vice and any good way to hold the fork leg while applying that force.
Even if you do remove the damper, there is still the step after reinstalling it and pouring in the oil where the factory manual says "Repeatedly move piston rod (1) of the damper unit up and down. Air is expelled from the damper unit. Allow the oil to settle for a few minutes. Repeat the procedure until the oil is free of bubbles and the oil level no longer changes."  In my experience it takes 30 minutes of constant pumping to "bleed" damper in this way. What professional tech has time for that? My guess is they leave the refilled fork sitting for half a day and hope it bleeds itself. Hence, fork oil change takes a whole day.

I agree with your assumption and maybe that is what happened in my case, although from what they said they gave me the impression they did not have much experience doing this and got into some difficulties. Who knows.

Every process that I saw for replacing the fork oil involved removing the innards and for precisely the reasons you gave, I backed off doing it myself. It is done relatively rarely so it makes sense that this is one of the times I bring the bike to the shop. BUT if they are not going to do it per the manual then that also gives me pause.

Maybe changing the oil your way is the best approach. After all, most of the oil is changed and that is way better than none.