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Do you have a link for this wheel? I like it as an alternative and need to consider something for a 16 x 3.5 rear wheel replacement. Curious about weight, fitment options and cost.
Yes. I have actually been looking at replacement forward controls with a master cylinder that would eliminate this situation all together.
It never ends, but in a good way!
Many years the reservoir was located near the rear brake switch at the back of the transmission. My 93 springer had it there. Much less convenient to check, but cleaner. Also.. your exhaust plug could be addressed by cutting it down so it fits inside instead of on top. You’d have to use care making sure the threaded inward side is cut back to not block exhaust gasses and you’d have to only tighten until flush… you’d probably need a sealant as well, but it would bring heat back away from the reservoir.
The bung on my Hooker step tuned exhaust have recessed plugs like I’m talking about.
Last edited by Rains2much; Jan 13, 2026 at 05:54 AM.
There is obviously a benefit I expect from the fork inserts, but I have also experienced a front-end "clunk" from time to time when hitting a significant bump at speed. Unsure the root cause so I am going all in.
Gonna break-in some new tools and swap the carb-cables for shorter ones to clean-up the front view as well.
It's a good idea to drain the forks BEFORE laying them on the work bench. Ask me how I know...
Found the steering head bearings pretty dry. Some of the grease was closer to a loose putty consistency than actual grease. That said, they were in better shape than I expected. The races are pretty clean - no rust or gouging.
They're smooth to my finger, so I've decided not to replace them - new bearings yes, new races no.
I've also decided to stick with the stock triple-tree and send back the Acutronix tree.
Few reasons here... First, I'm a bit uncomfortable with the upper bearing "install" as it appears to be press-fit with with the install of the upper clamp. Unsure about the effort to remove the tree with that bearing pressed in that way in the future should I decide to change things up (as we are want to do!).
I guess the tree would need to be punched-out, but this was the least of my concerns... Bigger issue was that the tree lower clamps on the Acutronix tree are narrower than stock which would cause the marks in the stock tubes to show. I don't have firm plans to change out the forks just yet.
And finally, I'm pretty sure I ordered the Acutronix tree after drinking a bit and "sober me" knows the $$$ can be better spent elsewhere.
All that said, the stock tree will clean-up nicely and do the job just fine. This is a daily rider, not a show-piece (but it is damn sexy, right!? I know!!!) And I was also a bit on the fence about giving-up the fork-lock / pad-lock functionality.
The Motion Pro bearing tool made easy work of both pulling the old lower bearing and installing the new one.
I've go a few parts I am waiting on, so this will take a week or two to completely button-up. I'll be rebuilding the shocks shortly - and I'll be spending some time on those spokes while waiting on parts.
Last edited by Old Sport; Feb 15, 2026 at 02:09 PM.
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