Front forks seem nearly locked up?
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Tourer
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 379
Likes: 38
From: Nebraska
Front forks seem nearly locked up?
First ride on the bike since repairs after hitting a deer in September. Bike was banged up pretty good but I rode it to the repairing dealer. Did not notice any problems with the front suspension then. My forks have .95 Racetech springs and Ricor intimidators modified by Fabric8tr (spelling?). Ride was excellent after the mods. Dealer disassembled the forks and checked everything for straightness and while apart I had them install spacers that were 1/4" longer I had made to adjust sag. I have nearly zero sag now and can not make the front compress at all while on a hard front brake. Bumps are brutal and when hitting larger bumps while watching the forks there is little movement. What could have been assembled incorrectly in there to cause this? I'll be tearing into them Monday, just looking for some insight.
Road Master
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 843
Likes: 43
From: Louisiana
First ride on the bike since repairs after hitting a deer in September. Bike was banged up pretty good but I rode it to the repairing dealer. Did not notice any problems with the front suspension then. My forks have .95 Racetech springs and Ricor intimidators modified by Fabric8tr (spelling?). Ride was excellent after the mods. Dealer disassembled the forks and checked everything for straightness and while apart I had them install spacers that were 1/4" longer I had made to adjust sag. I have nearly zero sag now and can not make the front compress at all while on a hard front brake. Bumps are brutal and when hitting larger bumps while watching the forks there is little movement. What could have been assembled incorrectly in there to cause this? I'll be tearing into them Monday, just looking for some insight.
Club Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 45,429
Likes: 2,898
From: Bedford UK
Quite possibly, but under-serviced, if the dealer gave it back to you in that condition! It's a simple enough thing for the mechanic to check, as you have, that the forks move freely as they should. How did you get it back home?
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Tourer
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 379
Likes: 38
From: Nebraska
After dealer did majority of mechanical repairs this winter they delivered the bike via trailer to my shop and I did the paint, as well as redone some of the work they did. Yesterday was the first ride since repairs and noticed it right away. Thought possible fluid level problem too. Just looking for any wisdom here if someone has had this issue. At first I thought they may have mistakenly installed a different set of springs but I doubt that, and if they did most springs would be about the same strength, or less since this is a 2013 FLHX.
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Tourer
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 379
Likes: 38
From: Nebraska
update
Drained out 5/8" of fluid into a couple Dixie cups nearly the same diameter as the fork tubes. There was a noticeable improvement in the very short ride I had a chance to test it on. Bike completely died about 1/4 mile into the ride. Called dealer and they towed it back to the dealership. They thought it was a problem with connections in the fuel tank. Find out tomorrow. Think I will do everything myself in the future, including pulling the forks to check things out. Nobody is perfect, but they had way to many not perfects on this project.
Tourer
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 451
Likes: 3
From: Laurel,Ms USA
Drained out 5/8" of fluid into a couple Dixie cups nearly the same diameter as the fork tubes. There was a noticeable improvement in the very short ride I had a chance to test it on. Bike completely died about 1/4 mile into the ride. Called dealer and they towed it back to the dealership. They thought it was a problem with connections in the fuel tank. Find out tomorrow. Think I will do everything myself in the future, including pulling the forks to check things out. Nobody is perfect, but they had way to many not perfects on this project.
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Motonaut
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Mar 6, 2015 08:30 PM
