Anybody? Do the fork set angled in the upper clamp or same distance around the fork tube protruding the upper clamp?

 

Brian, your forks should be flush with the upper triple tree or close to it. A quarter of an inch or eighth is okay, but anymore than than that you need to loosen up the triple tree and adjust the forks.

 

There is a slight angle - so if you are seeing that it is ok. The rim of the top cap nut should be flush at the midpoint of the triple tree - you may see the forward edge and the rear edge slightly higher / lower in relation to the flat surface of the triple tree. The only thing that really should be protruding is the 5-point nut top portion of the cap.

The most important things are to be sure both sides are even, and you have torqued them in the proper sequence and to proper spec per the service manual.
If you want to get millimeter perfect with the height of both fork tubes, with the front wheel off the bike measure each fork tube leg from the bottom surface of the lower triple tree to the top edge of the lower slider cap. both sides should measure evenly and be within 1mm.

To make adjustment easier make sure the top triple pinch bolt is loose and the lower pinch bolt is slightly firm enough to hold the tube in place. then use a rubber mallet to tap the fork tube up or down until you hit your measurement. then tighten the lower triple pinch bolt just enough so it does not move. assemble, torque pinch bolts.

BTW putting some WD40 on the upper fork tubes helps with sliding them in and out of the triples and prevent scratches to the tubes. Always make sure the tubes and any grime around the triples are spotless beforehand, any grit present can scratch the tubes on sliding in / out.

 

Thanks, I disassembled to get some parts powder coated(which has been an experience). I reassembled seen the angle and freaked, thinking one more piece got jacked up. I've not seen a tripple tree where the top of the tube is at and angle compared to the top clamp.

 

best thing to do if you want to be 200% sure is to post a picture, that way other BO owners here can give you assurance that what you are seeing is normal or not.

Check this- If you slide the fork tubes into the triple, and you see the tops at slight angle, are they the exact same angle on both L/R sides? if so that is a good indication it's normal since it would be very hard to have both sides "tweaked" exactly the same. And it would probably be very difficult, cussingly so, to even slide the fork tubes through the triples if they are really tweaked.

And, when the tubes are sitting in the triples, do you see any odd gaps between the fork tube body and where it goes into the triple openings? if they truly were tweaked you would see some gapping going on vs nice even fit all around the diameter of the tubes at both the upper and lower triple tree slide-through openings.

Anyway good luck and post up some pics when done- I'm sure it's going to look great when completed. I've been meaning to do the same thing with mine / just been too lazy. hah.

 

Curious about the comment that the round LED boards made specifically for HD's are "junk". I assume you're talking about the ones sold by Custom Dynamics for example?

 

Well hey I'm not trying to insult anyone's mods or parts- I have used those round boards myself back when it was the "cutting edge" and you could only get that type of led. And I'm not naming anyone's products either since there are several of this type ranging from "no name" to "brand name".

JMHO- you can get the newer gen brighter LEDs, which are actually bright as heck in daytime as well, with a projector lens, for less than half the price of the older tech round boards- in some cases it's 1/3rd the cost.

Plus it sort of pains me that places are still charging upwards of $100 for a pair of one-dollar led boards, that are using 5+ year old led tech. come on. I could see the high price tag 10 years ago when this tech was new, but that's well no longer the case. that's all I mean by "junk" since IMO that is a crazy price point for what they are now in the scheme of tech.

If you're not familiar with the different led types out now- there are a lot of new ones- the smd and cob led's put out immensely more light than the older gen versions, and they usually come with internal constant-current driver IC's - which maens they do not fluctuate in brightness with engine rpm / they are always bright.

But unfortunately most all of the newer type of led 1157 bulbs don't fit our small rear tail light housings due to the shallow depth and narrow neck on the reflector. 24V found a reasonably decent set of bulbs that fit without mod, which is a decent choice at much less cost than round boards, and I found a set of the latest "ultra bright" projector style bulbs that fit with very minor mod. And they are re-diculously bright- maybe 3x what you see with the typical round boards and fully visible in direct sun.

So this is just another option presented in case anyone else wants to do the same thing. If you are fine with the round boards and not having to do any modding, that's totally cool too. Happy Holidays

If I insulted anyone using the round boards on their bike my apologies - not intended.

 

both are at the same angle, I also checked for gaps around the clamping area and the fork tube I didn't see anything, I went to the local dealer today to pick up a jacket while I was there I looked at a new one, looked the same. moral of the story pay attention when you're disassembling!
thanks for your help Dog I appreciate it!

well post pics when I get it together, waiting on some replacement parts now, the guy that done the powder coating used acid to remove the chrome plating and in the process it removed the threads of some parts ( rear signal housings, risers/speedo housing)...
understand I put it off for a year now lots of work to get them triple trees off....

 

Yeh lol that will get you every time. you take things apart and some detail not noticed at disassembly becomes a "wtf" on reassembly. I got in the habit of taking a boatload of pics with my iphone before i take something apart. doing that has been immensely helpful since i can zoom in and see how it was before I messed with it.

so the guy used acid on your aluminum triples? they are polished, not chrome. acid would f them up real quick / not required. or maybe i misunderstood.

 

I always take pics of wiring but from now on I'll photograph every step!
The guy used acid on the risers,speedo housing,and the rear turn signal housings, those are the parts with no threads now and the ones I am waiting on.