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The Front End

Completed 4/2001

Right upper tubeSteering HeadLower left tubeLower right tubeSteering Head

The front end of this bike is actually pretty simple. You just have the 2 fork tubes, and the steering head upper and lower. I removed the fork tubes first. then take off the upper head, remove the special collars, then the lower comes out the bottom. 

The Steering Head:

I inspected the front end bearings and races per the shop manual. All appear fine. Then I used Flitz metal polish to polish the lower steering head to a great shine. The upper head is painted black. Just grease the bearings real good, and replace per the manual. Nothing too tricky here. Just be sure to tighten the assembly completely so there is no front end shake. 

The Front Forks:

I chose to rebuild the forks by disassembling them, cleaning, replacing the oil seals and springs, then assembling them. I got a set of Progressive springs from and oil seals/wipers from Tim's CBX. The parts were about $100.00

To disassemble the forks, you remove the lower bolt in the bottom tube, then remove the dust cover and remove a large circlip with circlip pliers. Be sure you have a set with long reach tips on it. You need to get about 1.5 inches down inside the lower tube to get to the clip. Once the clip is removed, just pull the upper tube briskly a few times. This will hammer the upper brass guide out of the lower tube and release the tubes. There are a few smaller parts that will come out of the fork lower tube ( a spring and metering device ) so don't be alarmed. If yours is rusted in, like mine was, soak it down by spraying some penetrating oil into the area where the circlip is. this will penetrate around the brass upper guide, and allow it to break free when pulling the upper tube to separate the halves.

Once the fork are apart, clean the upper and lower tubes. The lower tube will probably have some junk in the very bottom, so don't forget to clean the bottom out. I chose to reassemble them first before painting the lower tube. 

To get them together, first place the parts back into the lower tube. Then install the upper tube and replace the lower bolt into the bottom of the lower tube. This will hold the 2 together. The new seal needs to be slid over the upper tube and seated into the top of the lower tube. Most shops have a seal driver, but I chose to make my own out of a piece of PVC tubing. I found a piece with a diameter that would fit over the upper and go into the lower. This PVC was just a little large to fit into the lower, so I ground some off to taper the bottom part. It now slides over the upper, and can get into the lower far enough to seat the seal. Slide the seal into place, and with the homemade fork seal driver, slide it up and down on the seal to seat it. I used a wood block and rubber mallet to hit the PVC driver to get a good seat. From here, slide the washer on, and insert the circlip. Then, install the dust seal and you're done the seals. Put the springs back in, add fork oil, 10 wt, and push down on the top caps and screw them back in. I bought new o-rings for the fork top caps and air valve seat. 

I painted the lower with PJ1 Satin Black paint. I left the dust seal off, and masked the lower portion of the upper fork tube. After a couple of coats, I pulled the tape and put the dust seal on. Done!

Slide the rebuilt fork tubes into the steering head to the mark on the top per the manual. Be sure the tubes are equally inserted. Also be sure there is no twisting from top to bottom.

It's not as hard as it looks!!

 

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