[westlandharley]

I have a 05 softail deluxe that I want to change my stock lower forks form stock to chrome. I just got the new chrome forks in the mail and the dirction say I need a spring clamp. I have talked to a few people who say that this is not needed and that it is an easy job to do it my self and not pay the 200ish dollars to have a dealer do it. Has anyone done this job before and was it tuff?

P.S. im no master mechanic but I can hold my own =)

Any help would be great

[dutch]

I would say this job requires tools and skills that may be more than you want to take on. If you feel that you have what it takes get a service manuel for your bike and let it guide you through the job. Dutch

[hotroadking]

You can do it if you can turn a wrench and have the tools and patience to do it right.

I would suggest you buy a SM for the bike, and get the parts manual as well in case you break something and need the part number.

You will need

Socket set SAE and Metric (Brake bolts at 10MM Metric)
Allen socket or wrenches

Hand wrenchs
Floor Jack (Sears has a good one)

Fork oil from HD
New Lower Fork Seals HD
Upper tube Seals HD
Hammer dead blow or rubber
pvc pipe



Jack the bike up and tie it down

Remove Handlebars and lay over tank on a towel
Loosen but don't remove the upper fork nuts on triple trees (you need a large socket for this) You can use an open in adjustable but it can slip and damage the chrome but you wont' have to take off the bars. your call

Put bike on jack and tie down take it up just to be straight up with wheels still on the ground.

Remove Seat
Remove front and rear tank bolts,
Slide tank back about 4 inches max
Disconnect headlight connector on left side of frame under front edge of tank
Remove Headlight bolt,
remove headlight assembly
Remove upper fork tins front and rear
Remove Front Brake caliper
On the bottom of the forks inside is an allen bolt that you have to get out and you'll need a long allen to fit and a big wrench to turn or an impact, prefer a longer wrench
Remove Front Axle
Remove lower drain plug on forks (one at a time) Drain them into a container



Jack up bike to get wheel out
Remove front fender

Now loosen the clamp bolts on the front of the lower fork, one side at a time
This will release pressure on the fork. Remove the upper cap
Slide Fork down and out of triple trees

You can keep the forks in the lower trees and loosen the upper cap on the upper fork let the lower triple tree clamp hold the fork in place, make sure the bikes secure and this will take some effort a breaker bar on the wrench is a good idea and watch the tank so you don't dent it

Watch the cap don't let it fly off over the room and get lost, and be careful you don't pinch your fingers or loose an eye

Do the other fork same way

Now remove from trees

Now remove the retaining clip on the lower forks by the seals
pop off the lowers
replace with new lowers nice shiney chrome ones

Replace the upper cow bells NOW with chrome ones the stocks won't look chrome with the lower forks on and you dont want to have to do it all over do you!

put seals in, use a PVC pipe to help force them in tapping it with a dead blow hammer.
put in retaining clip
reinstall upper fork cap and new seal

tighten lower fork allen
refill with fluids (make sure you put the drain screws back in.
Reverse the removal proceedures

Also you might consider replacing the upper tins behind the headlight because they are not chrome and will not look right with the chrome lower forks. and you don't want to do this again right? LOL

Now put it all back together

It will look good you've done the work yourself and spent the $200 on tools and a new floor lift.

Or go to the dealer give them your Visa and get some lunch come back with shiney forks.

[maxpower_hd]

Nice detailed reply Hotraodking. I've never gone wrong buying tools to do a job and reading a book whether it be a motorcycle, boat, car or whatever. I have yet to buy a tool I haven't used twice and I've never used a service manual only once. Plus the bike lift comes in handy for all sorts of things. I would suggest getting one even if you decide not to do the forks yourself. I have the Craftsman one and it works great.

Good Luck!

[hotroadking]

Remove upper fork tins front and rear
Remove Front Brake caliper
On the bottom of the forks inside is an allen bolt that you have to get out and you'll need a long allen to fit and a big wrench to turn or an impact, prefer a longer wrench
Remove Front Axle
Remove lower drain plug on forks (one at a time) Drain them into a container

Whoops got a couple out of order, you need to drain the forks,
remove the axle
then remove the allen you can't get to it with the axle in.

[Killer-B]

Yep, Yessiree. Hey westlandharley. All you need is a good manual. It is not hard at all. And if you can’t afford a jack; a milk-crate and a little muscle has worked for me more than a few times. Good luck.

[westlandharley]

Thanx for the reply Roadking. I bought the Sears jack a couple years ago... best 100 bucks spent yet=). I have my service manual and all the parts needed to chrome my front end from top to bottom..... IM GOING IN... roadking talked me into it=)

Ill post back later and let ya know how it went.

Thanx for the info peeps.

[westlandharley]

Well I did it. If anyone has thought about doing this job to save the labor cost I would say go for it. I did the chrome lowers,uppers and a nacelle headlight kit. The cost at a dealer was around 600 for all 3 pcs. I did it my self in a bout 3-4 hours and used the money I saved to buy new handlebars=)

Next project will be running wires through my bars and putting on shorter clutch/throttle/break cable and lines. If anyone has any pointers on this project id love to here them.

Thanks,
Don

[hotroadking]

http://biketalk.directparts.com/show...=5103#post5103