Adding chrome front lowers.....is it difficult?
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Big Kahuna HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 28,128
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From: US poverty capital, california
Adding chrome front lowers.....is it difficult?
Has anyone done their own chrome lowers on an 06-08 WG? how difficult is it? To me it look like I just need to remove the wheel, undo the the 1 bolt at the bottom and slide them off, slide on the new chrome ones....fill it up with oil....
I just bought a new set of lowers and hate to give the dealer$$ for something I can probably do myself...
Anyone done it?
I just bought a new set of lowers and hate to give the dealer$$ for something I can probably do myself...
Anyone done it?
Last edited by teqsand; Nov 17, 2010 at 07:45 PM.
That "1 bolt" can be a real stumbling block. I recently swapped in chrome lowers on my '08 Night Train, which has a Wide Glide front end. Do yourself a favor and ignore the service manual where it tells you to remove the fork cap first. Leave it on, so that the fork leg internals are still under tension. Then start the bolt (above the axle) with an impact driver... don't remove it, just break it loose. THEN you can remove the fork cap, and the rest of the dissasembly will be pretty routine. Reassembly is by the book, but you don't need the "special" tool to install the seals... just use a small section of PVC pipe and a rubber mallet. I forget what size pipe you need, but just bring a seal with you to Home Depot and match it up. It should be obvious. Just be sure you have the tube innards already fully assembled in the correct order before driving the seal into position. Once it's seated, you won't get it out w/o damaging it... and if you try pulling the tube out and then reinserting it through the backside of the seal, it will leak. Also pay attention to the position of the seal spacer when you take everything apart. I think they mention it in the service manual, but it bears repeating... the flanged side goes UP. It soundsl ike a lot, but it's really not a bad job if you take your time and pay attention. GL!
Last edited by Mr. Lucky; Nov 17, 2010 at 10:15 PM.
Road Master
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 859
Likes: 14
From: Millsboro Delaware
It is a fairly easy job as Mr. Lucky stated. You will need 2" pvc pipe to drive the seal back into the leg. Make sure you have the service manual as it gives step by step instructions on how to remove and re install the legs as well as the proper way to fill them with fork oil. The fork oil is not a standard amount and the manual gives you the procedure for correctly filling them.
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 4,722
Likes: 7
It's not that difficult but not as simple as you are making out. There are several DIY threads floating around here that you can search for that will walk you through it, but a service manual helps as well. However, the service manual will tell you to completely remove the front forks and that step isn't necessary. You can do it with the forks still in the trees.
You have to lift the bike, remove the front wheel, and then creatively figure out how to keep the lowers from spinning while you break that bolt in the bottom loose on each side. I used vice grips to do mine. I clamped them over a towel to the fender mounting tab on one fork slider and then braced it against the other fork slider, also with a towel in between to prevent damage, and then broke the bolt loose. Do this on each side to remove the bolt and then again when you go to tighten the bolt back up. The sliders don't just slide off, they also have to be broken loose by sliding them up and yanking them back down until they come loose and then remove them. The other challenge, after putting the new sliders on, is seating the oil seal into the new sliders. Most DIYers have taken a piece of PVC to do this step and have had success.
When refilling with oil, you'll have to remove the fork caps on the top and those will have a lot of spring pressure behind them. So, be careful as you loosen them so they don't pop off and damage the bike or damage you for that matter. I used a large, heavy 1/2" socket wrench and kept downward pressure at all times when removing those caps. So, when they came off, I was pushing down on them so they couldn't go anywhere.
Unless the size has changed, you'll need a 12mm hex key to remove the bolt in the bottom. Most tool sets don't just come with these. I picked one up at Sears for 8 bucks. Also, remember that everything on the front end is metric so you'll need metric tools to do the work.
You have to lift the bike, remove the front wheel, and then creatively figure out how to keep the lowers from spinning while you break that bolt in the bottom loose on each side. I used vice grips to do mine. I clamped them over a towel to the fender mounting tab on one fork slider and then braced it against the other fork slider, also with a towel in between to prevent damage, and then broke the bolt loose. Do this on each side to remove the bolt and then again when you go to tighten the bolt back up. The sliders don't just slide off, they also have to be broken loose by sliding them up and yanking them back down until they come loose and then remove them. The other challenge, after putting the new sliders on, is seating the oil seal into the new sliders. Most DIYers have taken a piece of PVC to do this step and have had success.
When refilling with oil, you'll have to remove the fork caps on the top and those will have a lot of spring pressure behind them. So, be careful as you loosen them so they don't pop off and damage the bike or damage you for that matter. I used a large, heavy 1/2" socket wrench and kept downward pressure at all times when removing those caps. So, when they came off, I was pushing down on them so they couldn't go anywhere.
Unless the size has changed, you'll need a 12mm hex key to remove the bolt in the bottom. Most tool sets don't just come with these. I picked one up at Sears for 8 bucks. Also, remember that everything on the front end is metric so you'll need metric tools to do the work.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 2,938
Likes: 4
From: NC
Follow the service manual for the front end teardown, but follow the notes that Mr Lucky gave ya along the way. Complete dissassembly is required and you need new oil seals before you start. Complete job will be around 2-3 hours. No way around dissassemby.
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