First time Fork Replacement


sunny23

sunny23

New Member
Wish me Luck. With the help of a friend of mine who has rebuilt his own cruiser and youtube, I will be taking my forks off. I'm not mechanically inclined whatsoever so it will be a learning experience.

The reason for this is to assess the damage that occurred when I hit a curb at an angle while slamming on the front brakes causing me to do a stoppy and land on its left side. More of the story is detailed here

I will post progress pics as I take it apart. I have the two car jacks on the way as I will be lifting it by those as Marthy does. Any input or advice is appreciated. Also note that a motorcycle mechanic shop looked at my bike and without taking anything apart, deemed it to be "totaled" because they said the frame is bent. I don't believe it and will measure for that as well. Bike has 300miles and pulls to the left hard. Front left fork looks bent into "C" shape with the curve going laterally out to the left side.
 
sunny23

sunny23

New Member
Should I worry about changing fork oil and springs while I'm at it? Bike is for commuting to work and is my first bike ever and might be traded within 2yrs anyhow depending. Sorry the forum keeps rotating my vertical pics, have to tilt your head to the left to see the ones showing the forks
 

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Chucker

Active Member
How heavy are you? If you're 175LB or lighter, I would change the oil to 15W. If you're closer to 200LB, I would suggest springs and oil.
 
sunny23

sunny23

New Member
Going to raise it up tomorrow and take the rest off for inspection. I hope this doesn't bend the headers. Got plywood on the floor jack arms and will put a jack under the rear swing arm on each side to steady it.
plastic and headlight removed so far
 

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FastFreddy

New Member
Personally, I'd avoid jacking up on the headers, looks like a long lever to me that will twist on the header studs and bolts. I've heard of people doing it though.

Strapping the handlebars to the roof and dangling down worked for me when I changed fork oil. Just make sure your tools will still fit on the fork caps. Note, you don't get the cap flying off when the forks are dangling in full droop, its safe this way.

You might need to hook the front brakes on something, make sure you make particular note of which direction the front brakes and brackets all hook up. The forks will slide out easily after you loosen the triple tree bolts.
 
sunny23

sunny23

New Member
Had it checked by the dealership and they said that on top of new fork assemblies it needs a new front tire. I'm not looking to spend this kind of money on it, I have too many expenditures this year. With a slightly scratched left fairing, bad forks and bad front tire, how much should I expect to get for it sold "as is?"
It's 2013 with 390 miles
 

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98Deathmage

Member
sunny23 said:
Had it checked by the dealership and they said that on top of new fork assemblies it needs a new front tire. I'm not looking to spend this kind of money on it, I have too many expenditures this year. With a slightly scratched left fairing, bad forks and bad front tire, how much should I expect to get for it sold "as is?"
It's 2013 with 390 miles
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If you are selling to a dealer, sell it as is. They wont give you nearly as much as you would into the bike. Craigslist on the otherhand is the opposite story.
 
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