Ok, second question Front forks..

[mggf]

Do you add air to the front forks on a 2001 Honda GL1800?

If so where and how?

On my previous Yamaha I added air but as I search for info on this for the Honda I find northing. So how do you adjust the front forks for ride?

 

[GoldWingrGreg]

No ... no air to add to the front forks. Does your front end seem low ??? To tell ... put your fist (pinky down) between the front fender the front cowl. How much add'l room ya got ???

 

[mggf]

No ... no air to add to the front forks. Does your front end seem low ??? To tell ... put your fist (pinky down) between the front fender the front cowl. How much add'l room ya got ???

A bit more than a fist. The bike sits very level front to back. Based on my previous trike I thought I needed to check the front air, but no… so I don’t need the little hand air pump anymore.

 

[GoldWingrGreg]

A bit more than a fist. The bike sits very level front to back. Based on my previous trike I thought I needed to check the front air, but no… so I don’t need the little hand air pump anymore.

"A little more then a fist" ... humm. From here that sounds like you have very little fork travel before the forks bottom out. To tell ... take a nylon tie and tie it around the fork pipe, and tie it just above one of the outer fork seals. Go for a ride. At about 30 mph, force the front end to nose dive heavy, by slamming on the front brake. The idea is to brake hard enough to bottom your forks. Once back home, measure from the top of the fork seal to the bottom of the nylon tie. Total fork travel from top to bottom is about 4.5" While off the trike, how much distance you got ???

 

[mggf]

"A little more then a fist" ... humm. From here that sounds like you have very little fork travel before the forks bottom out. To tell ... take a nylon tie and tie it around the fork pipe, and tie it just above one of the outer fork seals. Go for a ride. At about 30 mph, force the front end to nose dive heavy, by slamming on the front brake. The idea is to brake hard enough to bottom your forks. Once back home, measure from the top of the fork seal to the bottom of the nylon tie. Total fork travel from top to bottom is about 4.5" While off the trike, how much distance you got ???

Well I’ve just spent a delightful morning (NOT) working on this bloody bike front wheel. Whomever designed this stuff should be shot. Case in point: installing the bolt in the clip that holds the speedo cable and the upper support for the aluminium wheel fairing. I can’t see the clip to get it in the correct position, my sausage fingers can’t feel it nor turn the bolt to screw it in. It took me an hour to get that one part back together. But I digress….

I wanted to check the brakes as they make a bit of a scraping noise when used but they appear fine. They only scrape when first applied and as I live on a gravel road I assume dust.

Next I wanted to check the Anti-Dive (I’ve read about) which has never been touched on this bike and I think was locked. When I disassembled it the bike rose up a pinch, the plunger is stuck out quite a bit. I tapped it with a plastic hammer and it popped back in/up. I immediately checked the seals and they appear ok, no leaks thankfully. I have ordered the spacer kit from Amazon to bypass it. I can now jump up and down on the running-boards and the front actually moves. I may have done this on a back road on my first ride where I hit a bad piece of pavement but wasn’t on the brakes at the time and the front really slammed down. The rear of the bike with the airbags didn’t seem to be bothered at all. So then I reassembled everything where each screw must hold multiple pieces. I really appreciate that..

I will attach a zip tie on the bottom of the left fork before going to town later and measure it when I return and comment again. Thanks for this suggestion it’s a great way to test and I sure wouldn’t have thought of that.

Thanks so much for your reply.

 

[cScjhb]

I added the shim that eliminated the anti-dive valve operation on my trike a couple years ago. Maybe my imagination but the trike seemed to ride a bit better. I also added a fork brace and that helped too. The anti-dive is designed so that the back wheel doesn't get light when doing a heavy stop. That's something that's not needed after the bike is converted to a 3 wheeler. Both the fork brace and anti-dive are very easy installs.....

 

[mggf]

I added the shim that eliminated the anti-dive valve operation on my trike a couple years ago. Maybe my imagination but the trike seemed to ride a bit better. I also added a fork brace and that helped too. The anti-dive is designed so that the back wheel doesn't get light when doing a heavy stop. That's something that's not needed after the bike is converted to a 3 wheeler. Both the fork brace and anti-dive are very easy installs.....

I’ve heard this before which is why I’ve ordered the shim. The brace may come later. Thanks

 

[GoldWingrGreg]

Thanks for this suggestion it’s a great way to test and I sure wouldn’t have thought of that.

Thanks so much for your reply.

You're welcome; however, I was thinking you had a 5th gen Wing (2001-17). So for all I know, all of my suggestion do not apply. For me, I totally live in the 5th and 6th gen world, neither of which have a speedo cable.

 

[mggf]

You're welcome; however, I was thinking you had a 5th gen Wing (2001-17). So for all I know, all of my suggestion do not apply. For me, I totally live in the 5th and 6th gen world, neither of which have a speedo cable.

I always look forward to your posts to again look at that cute gal…… oh back to my original train of thought…

Mine is a 2001, a full 22 years old although anyone here looking at it thinks it’s new. I have no idea what Gen that is. I assumed it’s the speedo cable as it runs down to the front hub and rides on teeth the circumference of the inside of a brake disk. Maybe not a speedo. This is my first Wing and I’m still learning. Our last bike was a white Yamaha Royal Star Venture I knew it inside and out.

I intended to ride it yesterday but was diverted to my car by the other half to pick up things we couldn’t get on the bike. Today for sure. Zip tie is on.

I’ve been removing weight from the front too like highway pegs that I can’t reach because of my legs. Man they’re heavy. Every little bit helps.

Later…

 

[pwhoever]

What you are describing sounds like the front ABS sensor.

 

[mggf]

What you are describing sounds like the front ABS sensor.

Ok, it’s the ABS sensor. Good to know.

 

[mggf]

"A little more then a fist" ... humm. From here that sounds like you have very little fork travel before the forks bottom out. To tell ... take a nylon tie and tie it around the fork pipe, and tie it just above one of the outer fork seals. Go for a ride. At about 30 mph, force the front end to nose dive heavy, by slamming on the front brake. The idea is to brake hard enough to bottom your forks. Once back home, measure from the top of the fork seal to the bottom of the nylon tie. Total fork travel from top to bottom is about 4.5" While off the trike, how much distance you got ???

Ok, measuring as per your description from top of my zip tie to the seal is 12cm (4 5/8 inches).

 

[pwhoever]

Just curious but what is the end result you are looking for? Is the ride too stiff? And if that's the case, do you know the last time that the forks were serviced and new fork oil used? Do you know the weight of the fork oil used? And what are you running for front and rear tire pressures?

 

[mggf]

Just curious but what is the end result you are looking for? Is the ride too stiff? And if that's the case, do you know the last time that the forks were serviced and new fork oil used? Do you know the weight of the fork oil used? And what are you running for front and rear tire pressures?

I’ve been having a discussion with Greg about my front end. The ride was rough and I was trying to determine why. In other correspondence above I’ve checked the anti dive to find it stuck, which is now ok. The travel is now good and so now all is fine. Between adjusting the tire pressure and the bags the bike now rides really well. You kinda came in at the end of our discussion. I was reporting back to

Greg the fork travel…

 

[pwhoever]

No, I've been following it since first post but it wasn't clear exactly what you were after. I was just bringing up several points that hadn't been discussed in an effort to help further. I am assuming your ride has been a bit rough but there are many factors that could affect ride quality and was just trying to address them.

If your happy, I'm happy.

 

[mggf]

No, I've been following it since first post but it wasn't clear exactly what you were after. I was just bringing up several points that hadn't been discussed in an effort to help further. I am assuming your ride has been a bit rough but there are many factors that could affect ride quality and was just trying to address them.

If your happy, I'm happy.

Yes it was quite rough initially but our ride today was very different and much improved after making some changes.. so now I’m a happy camper. It’s been a learning curve.

 

[GoldWingrGreg]

I always look forward to your posts to again look at that cute gal…… oh back to my original train of thought…

Mine is a 2001, a full 22 years old although anyone here looking at it thinks it’s new. I have no idea what Gen that is. I assumed it’s the speedo cable as it runs down to the front hub and rides on teeth the circumference of the inside of a brake disk. Maybe not a speedo. This is my first Wing and I’m still learning. Our last bike was a white Yamaha Royal Star Venture I knew it inside and out.

I intended to ride it yesterday but was diverted to my car by the other half to pick up things we couldn’t get on the bike. Today for sure. Zip tie is on.

I’ve been removing weight from the front too like highway pegs that I can’t reach because of my legs. Man they’re heavy. Every little bit helps.

Later…

Ok then what I wrote is valid. Those teeth trigger a pick-up coil for ABS. Your Wing is equiped with ABS brakes. However, trike kits bake then disabled that system.

 

[GoldWingrGreg]

Ok, measuring as per your description from top of my zip tie to the seal is 12cm (4 5/8 inches).

Are you're measuring with the front wheel on the ground ???

- - - Updated - - -

I always look forward to your posts to again look at that cute gal…… oh back to my original train of thought…

Later…

I like her too, but it's time for a change.

 

[mggf]

Are you're measuring with the front wheel on the ground ???

Yes, I measured just after pulling into our garage.

 

[GoldWingrGreg]

Yes, I measured just after pulling into our garage.

At rest you're describing forks that are fully extended ... but when test rode, and when applying the front brakes, they have full travel.

I'd unbolt the 2 allen bolts that hold the ADV in place. If there is no change to your 4-5/8" measurement from the top of the seal to the nylon tie, then the forks need dissembled and inpected. From here it sounds like the springs are to stiff, or someone has added an add'l spacer making them that way.

At rest, the measurement from the top of the fork seal to the nylon tie should probably be in the 2-3 measurement range". That also means that the fist test that we started with, with the pinky touching the top of the fender ... the space between the top of your fist to the plastic cowl is probably well more then an inch. Is that correct ???

 

[mggf]

At rest you're describing forks that are fully extended ... but when test rode, and when applying the front brakes, they have full travel.

I'd unbolt the 2 allen bolts that hold the ADV in place. If there is no change to your 4-5/8" measurement from the top of the seal to the nylon tie, then the forks need dissembled and inpected. From here it sounds like the springs are to stiff, or someone has added an add'l spacer making them that way.

At rest, the measurement from the top of the fork seal to the nylon tie should probably be in the 2-3 measurement range". That also means that the fist test that we started with, with the pinky touching the top of the fender ... the space between the top of your fist to the plastic cowl is probably well more then an inch. Is that correct ???

I tend to think it’s ok, because as soon as I get on it the front compresses, remember I’m heavy. When my little wife gets on I don’t know because we can’t see. She checked it when I mounted. I don’t think it hits top or bottom now when riding and the front suspension feels really good on the bumps. The bike rides better than it ever did now. I’ll bet it has heavier springs but they’re not that heavy when we’re both on it. We’re probably creating a 425 to 450 load, us and our crap.