Fork Rebuild Time...

[Gold Rush]

I posted this in the General Discussion Forum but didn't see near the action I expected. Just to make sure the Goldwing owners get a look I'm going to post here also..

Just thought I'd pass on a little bit of interesting information.... Differences in trikes and riding styles might change my experience slightly but this is worth considering at least.

I had my '06 GL1800 converted to a Motor Trike Adventure with just over 73,000 on the odometer (Jun '11). When I raked my trike about 25,000 miles ago (Jul '11) I rebuilt both forks. As part of my winter major maintenance and just for curiosity sake I got the parts and rebuilt them again yesterday. In that 25K the guide ware was far greater then in the previous 73K as a two wheeler. The additional stress of the trike conversion and rake kit puts a lot more on the front end of these bikes. Looks like at least every 25K I'll be doing that rebuild again...

It's not all that difficult to do. Just time consuming and really nasty.

As mentioned several time before the left fork oil was much dirtier then the right but neither was as bad as the first time.

 

[msrvpeig]

Question: what are the symptoms for needing a fork rebuild?:Shrug:

 

[riverrat]

my guess would be leaking seals. :Shrug:

 

[Stephen]

my guess would be leaking seals. :Shrug:

That's an excellent guess but leaking seals don't always mean the seals have to be replaced. Sometimes you can run something close to 35 mm camera film in between the fork leg and seal and get the dirt, bug or other out. Now GR has some mileage on his ride but replacing seals is not always called for. But no matter what on any M/C forum you will run into people who are anal on M/C maintenance (not sure this applies to GR and not implying that). I've got about 50,000 on my ride and no seal problems, 20,000 of that is triked. I do know if you have the money and you do your own maintenance and that's what you enjoy doing then as far as I'm concerned... go for it. When you have the balls to do your own work and do it well you save a lot of money even if you over maintain your ride. Anyone who must take it to a shop better have a good paying job cause them boys ain't cheap.

 

[Gold Rush]

Question: what are the symptoms for needing a fork rebuild?:Shrug:

To be honest I don't know if I could pin down the full affect from worn fork slides and other internal parts. The difference is very minimal that's for sure. I do it primarily as preventative maintenance. Like Stephen says the parts aren't too costly and I sure had plenty of time. Just had my right hip replaced and today was the first time I've ridden in a month. Sure felt good to be back in the saddle.

Would I do it so often if I were not able to myself? Good question - won't ever know the answer because I do all my own maintenance. The two big benefits are me knowing everything is in good shape and hopefully the dreaded GL1800 leaking fork will not visit me...