I picked up a used 2013 RG recently and the front forks, that are aluminum are pitted and look bad. I'd like to clean that area up some. I see these kits that add a chrome front forks to the bike. What I need to know are these simply slip overs, or is this a whole new front fork? That is a lot of money for simply slip over chrome covers!! The pictures do not show enough to tell you. If they are true replacements, how hard are they to change out?
You can change the entire fork assy out or just the lower tube. You can just change out the upper fork covers if the rest isn't too bad. There are a few choices of "cow bells" to choose from.
It's not hard either way. It just takes a few hours to GET to it and 20 minutes each to change them out. Like Frankie B. said, just get a manual, which will pay for itself many times over.
You can polish them up on the bike. Gotta get rid of the clear coat. I did it on my Yamaha Venture. I think I started with 400 grit Emery cloth. Sand lengthwise, then at a 90* angle til all the lengthwise marks disappear. Proceed with ever finer grits. Finish with polish. You can get them looking close to chrome. Don't clear coat, maintain with wax/polish. It's good zen like winter work, although I ain't gonna do it again.
From the sounds of thing this is a fork replacement. It is an aftermarket product, so I am not getting how a factory manual would help. I can get the forks torn down and back again, but was asking if these were simply cosmetic slip over chrome sheaths or a total replacement of the lower fork.. I did consider polishing them down to below the erosion areas but when I saw I could get chrome, I wondered what is up with that. Sounds like this is a total lower replacement at 550 plus $$?
It is just the lower fork sliders that you would be replacing and no it's not a sheath. The internals can stay the same but it makes sense to upgrade at a minimum the springs while you have everything apart. Most upgrade to Progressive Monotubes and they alone will run you about $300 or sometimes you can find a deal on Amazon for less. Doing just a spring upgrade is about $100. As far as the chrome fork sliders go you can do a chrome exchange program such as Willy Shiney's for a lot less than buying some of the other sliders. Once you get the chrome ones from them you just have to send your old ones back to them. Like some have said buy a manual and it will be well worth the cost. It will come in handy more times than you can imagine in the future and will save you in trips to the dealer. Yes the cost can add up for this upgrade but once it is installed you will feel like you have a new bike. New seals, bolts/washers, fork oil all need to be done. Do a lot of research and find a buddy that has done this and you can do it fairly inexpensive.
That was my reasoning. The job isn't hard but the seals and components have an orientation and sequence that must be followed. Nothing derogatory meant. It is handy for other jobs down the road as well.
Here are a few videos of the process. A service manual is definitely well worth the price and a necessary tool. Willy Shiny is a great resource, but may not do an exchange if they are pitted real bad. Wouldn't hurt to ask. Still, without an "exchange" you'd only be out $275 vs. what ever Harley charges. Which is probably almost twice that.
I didnt see any exchange stuff for the 2015 and up bikes on his website. Anyone know if he may do the new stuff i sure would love to have my stock wheels chromed and a chrome front end?
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