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1300 Fork rebuild how to

66K views 47 replies 27 participants last post by  Vinish 
#1 ·
Ok...let me preface this by saying I'm also upgrading the fork lowers to chromed units from Stump. But I did have a leaking seal so why not upgrade. :coffee:

And I'd like to warn that I kept the pics bigger for details. If they need to be smaller let me know.

This is what I've got to change out on the bike. New fork lowers, new fork seals and a chromed kick stand which I'll cover later.



Tools I used..
M6 and M8 T-handled allen wrenchs
12mm, 14mm, 17mm & 22mm 6point sockets
3/8 racket
Small and medium flat head screw driver
Hook pick
Locktite-blue tube medium strength
2 cheap 13x9 aluminum cake pans
Bungee cords
Newspapers for laying the forks and internals on
Plenty of shop towels. This is a messing job.
Brake cleaner
32oz bottle of fork oil...10w or 15w your preferance
Cheap plastic measuring cup. At least 20oz size.

First thing I recommend is to break loose the front wheel(22mm), the pinch bolts(6mm allen) and break loose the two 12mm front brake caliper mount bolts from the forks.

Once that's done, if you have a windshield that mounts to the forks you'll need to remove that.

Now jack the bike up and secure it on a stand.



Once you have it up and secure, remove the brake completely from the wheel, securing it to the right side footpeg or anywhere out of the way with bungee cords.


Remove the wheel by pulling the axle out the left side, but make sure you're holding the wheel. ;)

Now, with the M6 allen wrench loosen the top triple tree pinch bolt just a little bit. You're gonna leave the lower one tight for right now.

Take the 17mm socket and remove the fork cap. It's under some pressure from the spring. Have a shop rag handy when you pull the spacer, washer and spring out. They will drip quite a bit of oil. Do this to both forks.


Now that the springs are out you can take the M6 T-handle and remove the center bolt and washer through the hole in the bottom of the fork lower. Make sure you have one of the cake pans under the fork you're working on. Removing this bolt drains the fork.


Be sure to get the copper washer with the bolt. I did have one stay in the fork, but the pick got it out to be cleaned and reused.


Once both forks are done draining for the most part you can loosen the lower triple tree pinch bolt(m8) and slide each fork out carefully.

Take one fork, stand it on it'd lower end and take the smallest flat head or pick and gently pry the dust seal up and slide it off the fork. If undamaged it can be reused after a light cleaning.

And I'd highly recommend working on one fork at a time just to keep the parts on the same side they came off of.


Now to remove the retaining ring. I used the smallest flat head I had to pop one side of the ring out of the retaining groove.


Once the retaining ring is out, grasp the lower fork in one hand and the upper fork(slider) in the other hand. With quick pulling motions pull the two apart.

Once apart slide the old seal up off the slider


Slide the guide bushing up with the flat washer.


Now, here's a big tip I learned doing this. You need a special tool according to the service manual...nah...not really.

When you take the forks apart the guide bushing expands back and is a bear to put back in without said tool. But, the easy and much cheaper way is to buy new guide bushings.

Honda part #51414-krc-003 $22 at my dealer vs $70+ for the tool.

This is the forks completely apart. Labeled in order from bottom to top. Reverse the number order for reinstallation.


Now, since it's all apart and you have a bundle of parts laid out it's time to clean them with some brake cleaner.

Once all the parts are clean, drop the Oil lock piece closed end down into the fork lower. Or like me drop the piston ring and rebound spring down into the fork slider and then slide the oil lock piece onto it to keep it on alignment.

Slide the slider with the piston ring and oil lock piece back into the fork lower. Add some lock tight to the center bolt and reinstall it. This locks the two pieces together.

Once you're here you can reinstall the guide bushings. I slide them down as far as I could by hand then put the thick washer back on top to drive the bushing back into the fork with a flathead or chisel. Careful not to dent/scratch the slider tube.

Once the bushing is flush with the lip leave the washer in and you may now install the new fork seal.

I got the Leak Proof Classics part #7247..J&P part #zz23193

Coat the seal with some new fork oil and slide it into the fork per the instructions of which ever brand you get.

I used the rounded part of the pick to push the seal all the way in, placed the new seal washer over it and reinstalled the retaining spring.

Clean up the dust seal and reinstall it. Congrats, you've done one side of the seal install.

Once you've got the other one done, reinstall the forks onto the bike.

I dropped the spring and washer in each side, then refilled each side with 15.5 oz of oil..more or less changed the ride...less makes it softer and more makes it firmer.

Just a small tip to reinstalling the fork cap. Have a helper gently pull the lower fork down a bit as you reinstall the cap to help make things alot easier than you trying to press down and turn the cap at once.:cheers:

Once you have both forks reinstalled and refilled reinstall the front wheel and brake in reverse order of the removal.

This is the front end back together with the chromed lowers and the new front Undertake mocked up. I ran outta weekend to do the write ups on it and the HID light. I'll do those my next days off.:choppersm

 
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#5 ·
Thanks Toasted! NOW STOP with all of the shiney stuff......PLEASE. Oh, and when did you grow a boob and start painting your nails? LOL

That happened sometime last week...accident at work caused it. :p
 
#7 ·
Great write-up Joe. Can't wait to see pics of it back together with the chrome.
 
#20 ·
Hello all!
Getting ready to tackle replacing the fork seals on my 2005 1300c. Can't find a mechanic in my area that will do it for less than $400; so I hit a sale and got a jack, seals, and fork oil.
My question... does anyone have a 1300c maintenance manual they can send, or tell me where to download? I'm mechanically inclined but have never done a lot of M/C overhauling, just general maintenance. Any helpful hints or tricks would be appreciated.

BnD aka "Shorti"
 
#24 ·
Thanks for the write up and part numbers. Noticed some small oil spots on the garage floor last weekend when pulling the bike out. Didn't see where it was coming from until I got back from a 200 mile ride. One of the front forks on my 06 VTX 1300 R was dripping oil. I guess at 10 years and 60,000 miles it's time to do mine too. ;-) Was glad it was the left side and not the right. At least the left one doesn't drip on the brake rotor like the right one might especially while parked on the kickstand.
 
#26 ·
great write up!

quick question: you said get a new guide busing instead of putting the old one back in because its a bear to get the old one back in....so why isn't a bear to get the new one back in?
 
#27 ·
toasted' hasn't been on the forum since July of last year, reason unknown... so, don't know if you'll get an answer... just read it for the first time myself, and this IS a great write up! I also don't understand why the difference between putting back the old bushing vs. a new one. He said, "When you take the forks apart the guide bushing expands back and is a bear to put back in without said tool. But, the easy and much cheaper way is to buy new guide bushings." He must mean "contracts" not "expands"?? But, that still doesn't explain it... anybody know?
 
#28 ·
Thanks for resurrecting this thread! I wish that I had this when I rebuilt my forks two months ago.

Here is the relevant part of that thread;
Done! It took ALL day, but I'm done. I'm glad that I looked into this, because it was the beginning of a more seroius problem.

...

The main issue with the right fork is that the guide bushing (the upper bushing in the fork) must have been loose. The slider bushing (the lower bushing) as a result of the fork not being aligned properly, was SHOT! Here is a comparison on the right bushings and the left bushings (installed on the fork tube);


New bushings in place, and old bushings in the background;


And this is what they looked like removed:



I believe that the trick was getting the upper guide bushing fully seated. I seated the bushing by placing a flat screwdriver blade on top of the bushing, and set the bushing by GENTLY pounding the bushing into its seat. Here is a picture of me seating the bushing;


You may notice the pile of oil and dust seals in the background. That is because I buggered the All Balls seals while incorrectly trying to seat the bushing. In the end, I used the OEM Honda seals, but think that the All Balls seals would have worked just as well.

Here is a comparison picture of the seals, showing both the Honda and the All Balls;


While I was here, I cleaned the rear wheel, and replaced the drive dampers.



After completing the work, I took the bike out for a brief test drive. I was amazed when I crossed the gutter in front of the driveway, because I am used to a "clunk" every time that I cross. After installing the new bushings and seals, no clunk!
I believe that 'toasted' put the old bushing on top of the new bushing, and applied pressure to that (hammer? / screw driver? :shrug:) to seat the new bushing. You can see in my pictures (above) that the bushing is split, and it expands when you let go of it. I seated my bushing with a flat screwdriver blade. So far, so good, but the danger of slipping and scratching the forks is real. I was careful (and lucky).
 
#29 · (Edited)
eherlihy, thanks for the info!

few questions (i have a 07 vtx 1300R):
1) how do you know what parts to order before you take the forks apart? i have oil dripping at the bottom of my fork cover.
2a) looks like i will have to take the forks apart to know if any of the bushings are bad...i wonder what would be a sign of bad busings...? you have a 1300 as well, right? so using the screw driver, did you have to apply a lot of force to get the bushing to seat? i guess i could add masking tape on the tip before using it to apply pressure...?
2b) what fork oil - weight and manufacture did you use?
3) how did you post your post from another thread here?
4) its been a very long time, but I've forgot how to a picture from google photos here...any quick direction on how i can do that?
 
#30 ·
eherlihy, thanks for the info!

few questions (i have a 07 vtx 1300R):
1) how do you know what parts to order before you take the forks apart? i have oil dripping at the bottom of my fork cover.
You're welcome.

Do what I do; if there is any doubt that a part may, or may not, be needed, order it anyway. In the worst case (you don't need it, and don't want to install it) you can send it back. This is FAR better than not ordering it and needing it, in which case you have to submit another order, and will be down for a longer time period. I ordered seals (two sets!) and bushings for this job, and was glad that I had ordered everything. This is also FAR less expensive than taking the bike to the dealer.

2) looks like i will have to take the forks apart to know if any of the bushings are bad...i wonder what would be a sign of bad busings...? you have a 1300 as well, right? so using the screw driver, did you have to apply a lot of force to get the bushing to seat? i guess i could add masking tape on the tip before using it to apply pressure...?
leaking forks, and a 'clunk' when you hit a bump are both signs of bad bushings. Yes I have an '05 1300S - now with whitewalls! All that I had to do was tap the back of the screwdriver with my hand to get the upper bushing to seat. Masking tape WOULD be advisable.

3) how did you post your post from another thread here?
4) its been a very long time, but I've forgot how to a picture from google photos here...any quick direction on how i can do that?
The answer to both is that I am a freaking genius!:bleh:

Use the '
' delimiters around the URL of your image file (JPG/GIF) and you will be almost as good as me.:icon_hahano:
 
#31 ·
Thanks!

it use to work, but now with google photos, i can't seem to make it work...even when i use the share option.

how did you share your reply in another thread into another thread.
 
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