Special Tools for Dismantling and Adjusting Front Forks

When your Harley starts to wobble around its vertical axis it's time to check the steering head bearings, treat it to a fresh quantity of grease or simply change them. Early adjustment nuts do not have convenient hex flats, and you will need special sockets fro them. Classic hook spanners that are also available from W&W will fit neither. And no, we don't want grab a pair of pipe wrenches for this job.

As we're speaking of steering head bearings … since 1960 — Panheads were brand new models then — the factory uses conical roller bearings on the Big twins and the ServiCars, and from 1978 on on the Sportster models, too. Whilest you remove the inner races of the former ball beaqrings quite easily from the fork stem, the inner races of conical roller bearings sometimes need brute force to be removed. Such work is then best been done by a set of extractors and drivers. Tire irons and big screw drivers are no-go for such jobs.

Fork Tube Disassembly

The first advice goes to Sportster, Dyna and FXR-owners: you will want to loosen the top plugs of 39 mm forks while they're still clamped in the tees. Just unscrew the top tree clamping screws a bit, loosen the plugs and that's it. The dismantling job is best done on a table or work bench. The fork tubes that do not have any drain plugs are drained upside down. Japanese forks by Kayaba or Showa require a special trick for further dismantling: to prevent the damper tube from spinning, the bottom Allen screw is best unscrewed while the damper is spring-loaded and you will happily chose a pneumatic power tool for this job.

Hydra Glide forks: the damper tube has a threaded lower section with two flats. These two flats are withheld in the aluminum fork tube and prevent the damper from spinning.

Fork Tube Assembly

Big Twins 1984→ and Sportster 1986→: Disassembly will invariable require to exchange the seals as pulling the tubes apart means to pull out the bushings and since the latter can damage the sealing lips you will not want to reuse the seals.

First you will push the steel tubes into the aluminum tubes together with both pairs of bushings. The top bushings are pressed in by a heavy hollow driver that slides on the steel tube. Now the seal rings are installed over the steel tube and then chased home by the same driver (it has two different ends). Finally the bottom damper screw is tightened (under spring load, don't use power tools but a torque wrench!) and the tubes are topped up with fork oil. Usually fork tubes are filled without the springs installed so you will have to take them out again, one last time. All forks that require fork oil level adjustment (most from 2000 on) will require removed frok springs and collapsed fork tubes for this task.