I've read most of the posts on installing chrome lowers and still had a few questions. Do you need to remove the springs, damper tube, etc. from the slider tube or can this all stay intact? Can you remove the damper tube screw without an impact wrench? If an impact wrench is required, what is a recommended pressure (torque) to crack the bolt free.

Thanks in advance for your responses.

 

Bugslplat, there is no need to romove the springs or damper tube. As you may already know you will need a 6mm allen to remove the damper tube screw. I did mine with a breaker bar on a socket wrench. Be carfule not to strip. I spent a day drilling out my buddies after he stripped it. Then we had to replace the lower(he was getting them powder coated) and damper tube.

Again as you know be sure to replace your seals. I would re-fill with Amsoils Shock Therapy. Great stuff!

 

Bugsplat, its a job to change out the lowers. If you do strip out the 6mm bolt, drill it out with a left hand drill bit. Right when it gets down in the metal of the bolt it usually comes out on the drill. Do not loctite these bolts. Have a bolt and the copper washer ready if you have to drill. I suggest a 3/8 impact gun and a long 6mm allan socket. Wrap all the chrome on the front that you can't take off easy with towels and tape them up (aux lights,turn signals,headlight) to prevent scratches. When you get the lowers off, look up in the old lowers and shake them hard and make sure that all the pieces are out. and replace back in the same way. Here is a breakdown of the forks in the picture below (2006 Manual). Once you drop the tubes down, you can replace the cans. Have a jack or lift that can lift the bike way up, I mean way up. Sorry if I didnt answer your questions on the parts its just a lot to remember, and I don't recall.

 

Now that I think about it , yes I had to remove the spings after I droped the tube assembly.

 

Thanks for the info Rockyriver - the manual schematic looks pretty intimidating. Sounds like a pretty common problem to strip out that 6 mm bolt. Looks like a job that requires a lot of patience.

 

Thanks for the info - I think i'll try that amsoil shock therapy. Your ride is sweet looking!

 

as long as you dont strip the 6mm your smooth sailing bro and make sure you got new seals bro

 

Thanks man - I'm getting paranoid about that damn 6mm bolt.

 

If you got a set of left hand drill bits the stripped bolt (if it strips) is usually an easy fix (have extra bolts and copper washers handy). You also need a special tool to seat the new seals in the chrome lowers, you can't seat them till the lower assembly is almost together. The tool is 2 pieces and looks like a pipe cut in half length wise.

 

It might be easier to get a small 'ez out' with the right sized 'righthand' drill bit. Lh bits can be hard to find, it seems, mostly when you need one...lol. 'Ez outs' are usually available at most box stores like Home Depot or Lowes, or at a good hardware store.