Thread Rating:
  • 6 Vote(s) - 3.17 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
front forks
Was taking my 85 GL Interstate to a local shop to get new tires front and back ( can't do a lot of work myself do to back problems) anyway every time I used the front brake the front end would dip so bad it felt like they were bottoming out guess I need new fork seals The guy @ the shop said he will change them for $200. Plus a 10% veterans discount. So 20 bucks off does this sound like a fair price?




Thanks
Bob M. ( Ironhead)
Reply
#1 03-02-2014, 12:36 PM,
My bike did the bottoming out replaced the front springs with progressive springs . It stopped the bottoming out, really improved the handing . Change the fork oil if you need seals it will soon leak out.
joe
Reply
#2 03-02-2014, 06:57 PM,
One advantage with putting in Progressives up front. No air pressure. That might let you get by without seal replacements.
New oil helps a lot.
My 84 Interstate would bottom badly with the spec fork oil in there. One seal blew while I was transporting it so I put in new seals, progressives and ATF for oil. What a difference.

If it needs seals I suppose $200 wouldn't be too awful bad of a price. It is probably 2hrs labor at least to clean and replace.
Almost worth the little extra time to put in Progressives and seals with new oil same time. While the springs are about $100 the labor shouldn't be that much over a seal replacement. with a 30yr old bike you will enjoy the upgrade...
Andy
Silver 1984 Interstate
GWRRA WAO
Reply
#3 03-03-2014, 08:32 PM,
are your seals leaking?
is there oil on the fork tubes?
if the seals are leaking, the seals may just have some dirt wedged between them and the fork tubes.
there is a 'tool' out there which will remove the dirt....it slips between the seal and the tube
rotating the tool around the tube while lifting the tool out will remove any dirt particles.

One of my seals was leaking on my 84I, I read about what was involved with seal replacement and about one guys nightmare in replacing his seals..... whatever he installed would leak a short time later.
The fork oil was damaging his brakes pads so he wrapped a cloth around the lower leg to catch the oil. He called it a diaper.

Anyway, I took a piece of thin mylar sheet, lifted the dust seal on the leaky leg and tried the procedure. It did pull out a bunch of dirt. So much dirt, I did the cleaning two more times with a clean section of the mylar.
Did the same for the non-leaking leg.
The leaking has stopped and it has been some 35,000 miles since.

Not to say this will solve your bottoming situation, but it saved me from replacing seals which just needed to be cleaned.
enjoying the view from the saddle....... due mainly to the people and information found within this site
Reply
#4 03-07-2014, 09:13 AM,
There is a lot of oil on the fork tubes and the forks dip when using front brake & the front end feels like it's all over the road but that could also be to how bad the tires are. There is a front tire on the rear of the bike that is slick as owl s^&t and the front tire will not hold air for no more than 30 min. Getting both tires changed to Dunlop's 491 Elite II and doing the front seals just to be safe next month or 2 going to replace the rear shocks thinking of going with Progressive Suspension 416 Series Air Shocks then I'll have a nice smooth ride. The bike sat outside in south Texas was told for 6 months I think it might be 9 months or more with all the dry rot I found.

Thank You
Ironhead
Reply
#5 03-07-2014, 09:38 AM,
Without being able to see or test your bike I am going to guess that perhaps there are contaminants on the rotors and pads which are causing the brakes to be grabby. If there are no visible signs of oil or brake fluid leaking onto the front brakes I would get a can of aeorosol, no residue, brake cleaner and wash, clean and dry thoroughly the fork tubes, pads and rotors then drive the bike for 50 miles and see what happens. After the cleaning you will be able to tell if the oil leak is coming from a loose cap at the top of the fork tube, from leaking O-rings at the air manifold on the fork tube or from someplace in the lower part of the forks. Another thing you can try is to take a very thin guitar pick and carefully slide the guitar pick in between the fork seal and the fork tube all the way around gently as sometimes this will dislodge a piece of dirt or debris causing the leak and instantly the leak will be gone after you remove the debris. Good luck and let us know the end of this story please.
Ed (Vic) Belanger - 1954-2015
Founder of gl1200goldwings.com

Reply
#6 03-07-2014, 11:06 AM,
The bike is in the shop getting the new tires put on and he is going to look @ the front forks also has to check brakes among other things so it is safe to ride & so it can pass the Texas state Inspection that has some strange laws like you can ride without blinkers if non are installed but if they are installed on the bike they must work and a few other things that are like that. I can't do a lot of work on my due to a bad back injury but nothing will stop me from riding even if I have to go to a trike later. On my old HD I needed a backrest I don't think I'll need one on my wing because the sitting position is (better) different.


Thanks
Ironhead
Reply
#7 03-07-2014, 04:16 PM,
My suggestion is that you educate yourself about your bike so that a shop can't easily take advantage of you and your wallet. I fully understand about how you are limited physically, but, don't let any shop handicap your wallet by bluffing you into paying for repairs that may not be needed. Hopefully your shop has integrity and experience on a bike like yours, but, more than anything else I hope that you'll spend some time learning about the issues with your bike and get as much help as you can here from the extremely knowledgeable members who really know these bikes and love to help other 1200 owners. Don't be afraid to ask any questions, even the most basic ones because you learn and we learn together which is exactly why I created this forum.
Ed (Vic) Belanger - 1954-2015
Founder of gl1200goldwings.com

Reply
#8 03-07-2014, 04:37 PM,
Thank You. I did what I could to learn about the shop before I went there I use to do all my own work but with time and being the first non Harley I ever owned. I spent some time looking @ shops around San Antonio that work on old Goldwing's and he had the best reviews and he had quite a few Goldwing's in his shop and what helped me decide was the fact he gives 10% off to veterans. Not saying there are people out there that will take advantage of anyone even a vet, but after talking with the guy I went with my gut. I will be doing the rear shocks myself on one of the forms someone said HD shocks will fit but they did not say what model and I was wondering if the rear shocks have to be 14.25" or if you can go with shorter shocks and still have a safe comfortable ride?

Thank You so much for looking out for a brother don't find that to much anymore
Bob M.

I did what I could before I took my bike in I made sure all the lights & blinkers worked had to replace the headlight and the 2 little lights on the sides of the headlight so if this shop tells me he had to change the lights then I know he's dishonest. My best friend saw that all the lights worked and he's one of those 6'4" Harley rider that looks like a 6' 4" Harley guy. He's giving me a ride to pickup my bike next week so I don't think we will have problems. Sorry just in strange mood today.


Thanks
Bob M.
Reply
#9 03-07-2014, 06:36 PM,
(03-07-2014, 06:36 PM)ironhead1970 Wrote: Thank You. I did what I could to learn about the shop before I went there I use to do all my own work but with time and being the first non Harley I ever owned. I spent some time looking @ shops around San Antonio that work on old Goldwing's and he had the best reviews and he had quite a few Goldwing's in his shop and what helped me decide was the fact he gives 10% off to veterans. Not saying there are people out there that will take advantage of anyone even a vet, but after talking with the guy I went with my gut. I will be doing the rear shocks myself on one of the forms someone said HD shocks will fit but they did not say what model and I was wondering if the rear shocks have to be 14.25" or if you can go with shorter shocks and still have a safe comfortable ride?

Thank You so much for looking out for a brother don't find that to much anymore
Bob M.

I did what I could before I took my bike in I made sure all the lights & blinkers worked had to replace the headlight and the 2 little lights on the sides of the headlight so if this shop tells me he had to change the lights then I know he's dishonest. My best friend saw that all the lights worked and he's one of those 6'4" Harley rider that looks like a 6' 4" Harley guy. He's giving me a ride to pickup my bike next week so I don't think we will have problems. Sorry just in strange mood today.


Thanks
Bob M.

What is true about the Harley-Davidson air shocks is, they use the same seal as the GL1200s.
The Harley-Davidson shocks are shorter, eye-to-eye by 1 inch, (I think).
Changing to the Harley-Davidson shock would change the ride height and the ride geometies. Do your homework before taking the plunge!

BTW - I refer to Harley-Davidson as I do because both the Harley family and the Davidson family have earned the respect of having both of their names used when refering to their product. Both side have worked equally hard over the last 100 plus years.
I don't currently own a Harley-Davidson as the current economy forced the selling of my 1980 FLT and 1979 XLCH.

It is what it is.....

-Ride On
enjoying the view from the saddle....... due mainly to the people and information found within this site
Reply
#10 03-17-2014, 02:31 PM,
Thanks I might not have to change the rear shocks they hold air just the boots are dry-rotted. I'm afraid I might of made a mistake, (I also think I owe 85GL1200I the admin of this site a apology he told me to be careful with bike shops I did not listen & sounded off like I know what I'm doing sometimes, ok most times I can be a a%s-h*&e sorry man). I by the shop yesterday & my bike is still sitting there no work done on it yet I understand the shop is busy & the front tire I ordered took about a week to come in but it has been in the shop since the first of the month. I was promised it will be ready next week we will see.

Thank You
Reply
#11 03-21-2014, 05:04 PM,


Possibly Related Threads…
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  Front forks PanMan75 20 5,180 04-11-2011, 04:31 AM
Last Post: PanMan75
  front forks 3 1,676 10-29-2010, 10:42 AM
Last Post: Guest
  air in front forks mikey b 3 1,681 09-13-2010, 07:22 AM
Last Post: neoracer
  front forks SIR tricky 6 2,341 08-24-2010, 08:55 AM
Last Post: edbikerii
  Front Forks Help! aspengold 6 2,260 09-07-2009, 11:04 AM
Last Post: aspengold
  Need Help on front forks 14 4,253 06-20-2008, 05:40 AM
Last Post: catman
  Drain and Refill front forks 3 1,611 06-16-2008, 02:02 AM
Last Post: Guest
  front forks racejunky 6 2,567 01-09-2008, 03:22 AM
Last Post: pappy
  How Much Oil in Front Forks? Mr Wizard 6 2,599 10-23-2007, 02:14 PM
Last Post: admin

Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 2 Guest(s)

Contact Us | GL1200 GOLDWINGS | Return to Top | | Lite (Archive) Mode | RSS Syndication
google-site-verification: googled4b4fe31e07b65d8.html