Leaking front forks

[dlan1263]

Front forks on 1800 goldwing champion trike are leaking. Thinking about putting progressive mono tube suspension in. Has anyone done this or heard of it being done? If so how is it working?

 

[Lee H. Mann]

Doug, welcome to Trike Talk from West Virginia.:wave4::wave4:

I lifted this information from Wing Stuff.

If your fork tubes are not worn, and springs still support the trike, just do a complete rebuild to what you have. If forks compress more than 2"-2 1/2" from fully extended to static without riders, springs may need replacing.

http://wingstuff.com/products/34033-progressive-monotube-fork-cartridge-kit-for-gl1800

Progressive Suspension Monotube Fork Cartridge Kit for GL1800 Gold Wing fits all Honda GL1800 Gold Wings and dramatically improves front end control and ride comfort by converting the old archiac dual damper rod forks to true high performance.

• Enjoy improved front end control and ride comfort
  
• Improved resistance to front brake dive
  
• Improved front end stability
  
• Improved cornering
  
• Improved bottoming control
  
• Kit contains a pair of high performance, gas charged Mono-tube fork cartridges complete with a set of fork springs
  
• No modifications to your forks required
  
• Direct internal component replacement for all Honda GL1800 Gold Wing motorcycles
  

Note - Will not work with GL1800 Trikes with EZ Steer or similiar aftermarket steering stems.



Progressive Suspension Monotube Fork Cartridge Kit Honda Gold Wing GL1800

 

[pwhoever]

If you were looking to upgrade the forks, I would say to rebuild them and just go with Progressive Springs. That is what I am using and very happy with it. It is a lot cheaper than the monutubes anyway.

 

[dlan1263]

Fork seals

Had good talk with Progressive about putting Mono tubes in forks. Rep said he would not recommend mono tubes in racked front in. Seeing how I already have Progressive springs and bike is only settling 1-1/2 inch he recommended rebuild forks put the springs I already have back in and using 15 weight shock oil. and let him know if that helps

 

[FRR]

Had progressive's when I bought my Trike. Had them removed. Rough riding. Hard on the front fender

 

[bcop31]

I just recently replaced the front fork seals and springs on my 2007 GL1800 with Champion conversion. Love the Trike! I was pleasantly surprised as to how much better the trike rode after replacing the springs. I Just rebuilt the suspension using all Honda parts and love it. Good Luck! Roy

 

[hogcowboy]

You might also be able to save a fork seal and not have to replace them with this



Worth a try.

 

[Ozarkryder]

We have a 2004 GL1800 trike. With the rake conversion on most trikes the guards over the tubes are taken off and dust grit and even bugs can get on the fork tubes and work their way under the seals. Had a leaking fork seal and made my own cleaner from a plastic milk bottle. Cleaned the seal, a bit of fluid came out so I wiped it up with a rag, bounced the front end a few times to seat the seals, went for a ride and all has been fine for 4000 miles.

Link to a How-To video:

Cost: 1 quart of milk in a plastic bottle. A gallon bottle will make a larger cleaner. Back through the mist of time we did this with a piece of 35mm film. Hard to find in these digital times,

 

[hogcowboy]

We have a 2004 GL1800 trike. With the rake conversion on most trikes the guards over the tubes are taken off and dust grit and even bugs can get on the fork tubes and work their way under the seals. Had a leaking fork seal and made my own cleaner from a plastic milk bottle. Cleaned the seal, a bit of fluid came out so I wiped it up with a rag, bounced the front end a few times to seat the seals, went for a ride and all has been fine for 4000 miles.

Link to a How-To video:

Cost: 1 quart of milk in a plastic bottle. A gallon bottle will make a larger cleaner. Back through the mist of time we did this with a piece of 35mm film. Hard to find in these digital times,

Yep, you got nothing to lose. If you got one leaking, you either have to replace it or cross your fingers and maybe dislodging some grit or around here a grasshopper legs or guts and you might not have to replace the seal for several thousand more miles.

 

[tfdeputydawg]

I always find thus topic very interesting to read because of the varied responses.

First, when I triked and talking to several installers about the front suspension on 1800 Gold Wings the responses were:

One told me he insisted on Progressive springs on the first 6 installs he did. After 5 of the 6 came back asking for the OEM springs to be reinstalled, he quick insisting and advised those that wanted Progressive to just install new OEM.

I too asked Progressive about Mono tubes and was advised there would be no warranty if installed on a trike and there was no plans to make any that would function on a trike!

Fork springs do wear out. I have replaced mine at 20,000 mile intervals with very good results. OEMs are not that expensive!

 

[lgjhn]

Had progressive's when I bought my Trike. Had them removed. Rough riding. Hard on the front fender

Agree.

When I rebuilt my front forks on my RS due to a leak, I called Papa Zook to pick his brain a little bit on this particular subject. He suggested just going back with stock Honda springs for awhile and see how it rode. Man, whadda difference. Much smoother ride. The stock springs lowered the front done a tad from what I originally had, but the resulting ride was worth it. With the setup that came from my original conversion, it was like a straight axle in the front....no absorption hardly at all.

 

[dlan1263]

Have another question You guys that are putting factory springs back in front forks How much sag are you getting. By this I mean the distance between when the bike is setting mark the top of seal then jack the bike up until tire is off ground measure this distance between top of seal. distance should not be more then 2". Total travel distance in fork is about 5 to 6" add your weight and you are down to 3" when you hit a bump. Not much to keep it from bottoming out.

 

[tfdeputydawg]

Never measured the sag.

With the smoother ride w/OEM springs and 36psi in front tire, don't really care what the sag is. I've never 'bottomed" the front forks but, then I don't ride on roads that have that kind of bumps and pot holes.

 

[pwhoever]

I am also using 36-38lbs psi on my front tire but have Ptogressive springs. I dont find them to be rough at all. I would describe a firm feel but not rough. When I was running 41lbs psi on front tire, I would definitely say it was rough but by lowering pressure, no problems. I'm wondering if those complaining of the rough ride with Progressive springs are also running at 41lbs and are possibly dealing with anti dive valve issues. I disabled mine like was mentioned over and over after putting in the Progressives. Since a trike already has several hundred pounds of added weight, I like the idea of having upgrades springs. Even though OEM springs are cheaper, if you are replacing them every 20,000 or so miles, you will end up spending way more than just buying and using upgraded springs. My choice was Progressives but some have used Traxxion springs and there are others out there that would also fit the bill.

 

[pwhoever]

Some more pondering... I also wonder how much if any that rake degree might affect the rough feeling with aftermarket fork springs too. I have a 6 degree rake on mine. Would those complaining of the rough ride possibly be running a 4 degree rake?

 

[dlan1263]

Leaking forks

So tore front forks apart and to my surprise no progressive springs (Trike builder said he put them in ) What was in there was a 2" extension at the top a 6"spacer and a 12 spring (probably stock ) So ordered progressive springs which is 18". So I guess the the 6" spacer goes away. waiting for springs and instruction.

 

[lgjhn]

So tore front forks apart and to my surprise no progressive springs (Trike builder said he put them in ) What was in there was a 2" extension at the top a 6"spacer and a 12 spring (probably stock ) So ordered progressive springs which is 18". So I guess the the 6" spacer goes away. waiting for springs and instruction.

Doug, IF you don't mind my asking; who did the conversion? What were the "spacers" actually made of? The reason I'm asking is that sounds exactly what was in my shocks when I had to rebuild em. I sent Papa Zook pics of em once I had em apart, and he was pretty amazed by it. Feel free to email me, if you'd rather not post that data on here. Email: ljohnson@ivfservicesllc.com

 

[Marc H]

I think there was some mention of the additional spacers made By Greg in the 1800 tech section.Not the right way to do things at all.

Found it https://www.triketalk.com/forum/threads/43195-Front-feels-like-it-bottoms

 

[bikerbillone]

Not sure I understand Marc, are you saying that Greg's information is incorrect? Just trying to be sure I understand your comment, that's all. Couple of years ago I had the traction springs installed in my 2005 GW, 2012 RS front forks, I think it was the 1.0 spring, not sure......Bottom line here is, it was as rough as a logging truck after the install. My installer said it was done exactly per instructions, he actually tore it down to ensure it was to tration's specs. He replaced them with OEM Honda springs, so all is good now. Not critical of Traction because they work for a lot of riders, just didn't for me. Just so ya know, Traction was very understanding, I returned the springs, the returned the cost.

 

[Marc H]

He didn't like the adding of spacers.I agree.I did Racetech on my 1500 and I have played with scaper length a bit getting like I wanted but they have always rode better than the Progressives I took out.That doesn't exactly apply to this discussion since guys have 1800s.

 

[Lee H. Mann]

Doug, IF you don't mind my asking; who did the conversion? What were the "spacers" actually made of? The reason I'm asking is that sounds exactly what was in my shocks when I had to rebuild em. I sent Papa Zook pics of em once I had em apart, and he was pretty amazed by it. Feel free to email me, if you'd rather not post that data on here. Email: ljohnson@ivfservicesllc.com

If it is a stock fork assembly, it has a stainless steel tube (spacer) on top of each spring. They are different lengths for left and right. That is a spring spacer.