Fork Lock ?

[Larry Sobczak]

My wife and I were in Utah at the Arches National Park when we saw a guy and his wife in a parking lot, in the middle of nowhere, working on the front forks of his HD. He had locked the front forks for security and could not get it to unlock. He could still start it, but not steer it. After working an hour he removed the switch cover and pryed the key switch up to release the fork, but the locking post still extended out of the bottom of the switch and would not release. He tied the switch up out of the way and drove back to his hotel. This HD was a rental from Eagle out of Denver.

I did not think much about it until I got home and was talking to a guy who works at the local HD dealer. He had the same problem a few months back. He had to have it towed back to the dealer where they had to cut off the switch.

I'm not sure if this a wide spread problem ?
Do you use the Fort Lock ?

I do not use my Fork Lock.

 

[Peter A.]

Lock

Had that happen once way back on my '88 H.D., called local shop and they sent out a mechanic, worked over an hour on it and then I rode it on over to the shop for a new lock, etc.
This is the only time I've heard of any problems with them.
Yes I still use the fork locks on both Harleys, OFF/ON.
:wave4:

 

[rhino 2]

I never use a fork lock on any bike trike... After i had one jam on a Cb 750 i had years ago' The intreating thing about that was' As i was yanking on the bars hoping to free it' This very large Moose of a guy came over and said let me unlock it for you.. He grabbed the bars and gave it a quick yank' And the pin snapped' with out any damage to the forks and i was able to ride off...:xzqxz:

 

[blksheep54]

Fork lock usage

I use mine all of the time.

 

[GARYD]

I use mine all the time too, but now you got me paranoid......thanks a lot!

 

[gerald martin]

loccking forks

My freewheeler fork lock gets stuck a lot. All I have to do is push on the bars a little to the left and then turn the key. It is the same as when your car gets stuck in park

 

[rhino 2]

I use mine all the time too, but now you got me paranoid......thanks a lot!

To Paraphrase FDR....A little Artificial Paranoia is good for the soul...

 

[clint44]

Used the fork lock, once. It took almost thirty minutes to get it unlocked.
No longer trust it.

 

[graygoat]

I use it all the time, no issues yet. :xzqxz:

 

[403calgary]

Used mine few years ago and twice it got stuck and kept playing with it and it worked. Don't use any more. Buddy of mine has. Road glide and has same issue

 

[MB1953]

Use it all the time but now... :AGGHH:

Paranoia strikes deep, into your life it will creep

 

[Big Jim]

Use mine all the time no problems

 

[Sunman]

It happened on my 2000 Road King. I finally was able to remove the lock mechanism by removing the headlight and going through the headlight housing to get to some screws that held the lock in place. Can remember exactly how I did it but a buddy of mine had read about how to do it on a Harley Forum. We were on the way back from the Arkansas State HOG rally and had stopped for lunch in Texarkana when it wouldn't unlock. When I got the lock apart we saw that it had broken apart inside. Looked like it was made from cheap pot metal. A few months later the same thing happened to another buddy's Police Road King. Ever since then I have not used the fork lock on any of my Harley's.


Sunman

 

[Jack Klarich]

My wife and I were in Utah at the Arches National Park when we saw a guy and his wife in a parking lot, in the middle of nowhere, working on the front forks of his HD. He had locked the front forks for security and could not get it to unlock. He could still start it, but not steer it. After working an hour he removed the switch cover and pryed the key switch up to release the fork, but the locking post still extended out of the bottom of the switch and would not release. He tied the switch up out of the way and drove back to his hotel. This HD was a rental from Eagle out of Denver.

I did not think much about it until I got home and was talking to a guy who works at the local HD dealer. He had the same problem a few months back. He had to have it towed back to the dealer where they had to cut off the switch.

I'm not sure if this a wide spread problem ?
Do you use the Fort Lock ?

I do not use my Fork Lock.

Happened to me in 97 with a new 97 FLHT
Bummer had it towed and tied up for 2 weeks 500 miles on the clock I do lock it had it almost stolen 1 week ago

 

[Zammy]

I use my all the time, no problems yet but only 1 1/2 years old.

 

[Downtown Cowtown]

Lock mine religiously, an i bought a cable lock to lock the trike and the streetglide together when i feel the urge in public or the shop. So far so good.

 

[bronxbill]

I try not to use it, but I will if I think I need it. I hold my breath when it comes time to unlock it.

 

[Hogdoc]

My wife and I were in Utah at the Arches National Park when we saw a guy and his wife in a parking lot, in the middle of nowhere, working on the front forks of his HD. He had locked the front forks for security and could not get it to unlock. He could still start it, but not steer it. After working an hour he removed the switch cover and pryed the key switch up to release the fork, but the locking post still extended out of the bottom of the switch and would not release. He tied the switch up out of the way and drove back to his hotel. This HD was a rental from Eagle out of Denver.

I did not think much about it until I got home and was talking to a guy who works at the local HD dealer. He had the same problem a few months back. He had to have it towed back to the dealer where they had to cut off the switch.

I'm not sure if this a wide spread problem ?
Do you use the Fort Lock ?

I do not use my Fork Lock.

Funny you bring this up.

Just yesterday, I fork locked my Tri Glide for the first time.

I had difficulty getting it unlocked. Now, I am not sure I want to use it, as I don't want to have that problem and get stranded.

 

[Texan]

I've had my 2 wheelers lock up several times over the years. Don't lock up the tricycle at all. Just put brake rotor locks on both sides of my front wheel and forget about it. They want it that bad that's what a .40cal and insurance is for.

I DO however carry a little bent screw driver that I can trip that latch under the lock and remove it if I do have an issue.

One thing I'd starting doing several years ago was pulling the lock assembly off and lubricating it with white grease. Think that might be one of the biggest problems. They are exposed to all the elements and get gummed up.

8~\o

 

[Larry Sobczak]

Funny you bring this up. Just yesterday, I fork locked my Tri Glide for the first time. I had difficulty getting it unlocked. Now, I am not sure I want to use it, as I don't want to have that problem and get stranded.

I locked mine when it was new and at home in the garage, took 30 minutes to unlock it and I have never locked it again.

 

[Bikerbozo]

Always try and use mine. There were mechanical issues with ignition switch recently, lock worked sporadically. They replaced top section of switch. Turns on good now. But after a couple uses, lock no longer works at all. Next warranty issue for them.

 

[Bikerbozo]

Turned out lock just needed to be well greased. Why it wasn't done in 100k of service visits to HD is any bodies guess.

 

[DK Custom Products]

I use mine all the time while traveling. Never had a problem. But I do use some silicone spray in the barrel lock periodically to keep it working smoothly.

On a related note- I read some of the CVO's? had an electronic fork lock, that worked off the FOB.

I have not researched it any more, but plan to. Sounds like a REALLY DUMB idea to me. Would hate to have it malfunction and lock the forks while riding.

Kevin

 

[Phu Cat]

The fork lock on every EG I've ever had would hang up occasionally just like the steering wheel on a car where you have to move the steering wheel one way or the other to unbind the lock. What's the big deal? It's a normal occurrence on this type of lock from what I've seen. Never had one go to the extreme of having to take the lock a part. Yet.

PC

 

[PosseRider]

On the other hand, out of 10 Harleys & several over 80,000 miles, never had an issue with the lock. Use all the time, but when I service ,a little shot of graphite in every lock. No problems.

 

[bcop31]

When I had my new 2006 Ultra Classic the fork lock malfunctioned 3 times all within the first year! Luckily I was within about 10 miles of the HD dealership each time it locked up so the dealership sent out a mechanic each time to take apart the lock and get me going again. After the third time the dealership said there would be a recall coming on that particular lock model/year. I don't know if there ever was a recall not or not as I sold it and bought my Goldwing.