Put her on the center stand then floor jack under the engine to raise the front wheel off the ground. Remove meter panel and fork cover.
Stuff will drip oil in the following so protect your dash and tupperware. You'll lose about a half teaspoon of fork oil, so replace that much in each side.
Left side: loosen top pinch bolt (12mm) and carefully unscrew the #25 fork cap (15mm). It's under just a little spring tension. Remove fork cap and #28 spacer. Use an "antenna" magnet to pull the #11 spring seat washer. Use the same magnet to slowly pull the spring letting some oil run off and do the "Easy Rider gas nozzle" hand/towel under the spring for drips as you pull it out. Lather up your new spring with fresh fork oil and drop it in. Drop in the #11 spring seat washer (use a wooden dowel to tickle it if it gets sideways). Drop in the #28 spacer. Add 1/2 tsp oil. Wipe oil onto the o-ring (#40). Install cap. Tighten pinch bolt.
Right Side: loosen top pinch bolt (12mm) and carefully unscrew the #24 fork cap (15mm). It's under just a little spring tension. Pull up the fork cap enough to get a 14mm open end over the #23 damper lock nut. Hold the 14mm and unscrew the cap from the #19 rod. Pull the #8 spacer. Use an "antenna" magnet to pull the #11 spring seat washer. Use the same magnet to slowly pull the spring letting some oil run off and do the "Easy Rider gas nozzle" hand/towel under the spring for drips as you pull it out. Lather up your new spring with fresh fork oil and drop it in. Drop in the #11 spring seat washer (use a wooden dowel to tickle it if it gets sideways). Drop in the #8 spacer. Add 1/2 tsp oil. Screw the cap onto the #19 damper rod while holding the damper rod (not the nut) with your pinky finger stuck in under the cap until finger tight. Hold the 14mm lock nut and tighten the fork cap to the damper rod. Oil the o-ring and install cap. Tighten pinch bolt.
Button 'er up and go riding.
Note: you lather up the spring to replace the lost oil from the other spring. You add the teaspoon to replace what stuck on the spacer and seat.
CLICK THE PIC FOR A PRINTABLE VERSION
Install All Balls Bearings
Take
digital pictures of where all the stuff goes around the forks (throttle cables,
brake lines, wires et al). You WILL need them unless you have a
photographic memory. No special tools for the races, but I did have the bearing nut
socket. I put the new inner races and also the lower tree in the freezer
overnight to shrink them slightly. I used a small 12oz ball peen hammer and a drift pin to remove and
install the races in the frame. The races are easy to tap out with a hammer and
pin since there are spaces to do such at six o'clock and noon (see pic). Tap a
bit on one side, move to the other. Repeat.
Don't discard the old races, you will use them. To pound in, use a hammer &
pin on the new ones tapping lightly around the perimeter. To finish, use the old
races laid on top of the new ones, but the all balls are only a little less than
flush being wider than the old ones. When I took off my tree, the OEM bearings
fell all over the floor. No grease anywhere I could see.
The race on the shaft is a little more difficult. To take the old one off, I cut
it with dremel tool equipped with a small cutting wheel. Once it's cut you can
take it off with your hand. To put the new one on, I opened vice jaws just
enough and PUT ON THE DUST SEAL. Then I
put on the new race and set on the old race and inverted the assembly in the
vice whose jaws were open "just enough" for the shaft. I got a socket
that fit over the pipe on the bottom so I was pressing on the tree and not the
pipe. Then tapped the
bottom of the tree with the hammer while spinning the inverted tree 360º
stepping 15º at a time in the vice. It took awhile.
Don't forget to install the dust seal first! Pack with grease. All parts were
torqued to spec. Bearing adjustment nut 20 pounds (three times - tighten,
loosen, tighten) and the stem nut 76 pounds.
I did not remove the front faring -- just the fender, meter panel, forks and
what's necessary for the tree. I did not use a fish scale, just the test if it
stays where you turn and put it, it's good to go.
I'm not "anal" about stuff like this as you will note. I just go with
the flow until I'm pleased with the results. However, if you are "anal" about
this kinda stuff, here's a neat tool (Fred Harmon's idea) to precisely measure
the fork oil depth before putting in the springs (keep in mind, the Progressive
springs are much fatter than the stockers so you're oil ain't gonna be to spec
anyway once they are dropped in there). You need to measure the fork oil with
the fork completely compressed and empty (no spring, seat or spacer). Spec
for GL1800 is FIVE INCHES from the top of the tube.
Chetspages@rattlebars.com