Bunbun Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 With any luck, I should be receiving a pair forks tomorrow (hopefully). I leave for TEXXT on Friday at noon. My question is "How long does it take to remove and replace the forks on the blackbird?" Never done it and I'll be doing it in sub-optimal conditions. Think shade-tree mechanic. Got all the tools though. I REALLY want to get them on the bird before texxt so I can get some help sorting my suspension and to actually have some good handling. Anyway, thoughts or ideas from those that have done it before? I figure I have ~2 hours of daylight assuming I bust ass home from work on Tues, Weds and Thurs. Possible? Bun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 If you're just doing an R&R, it shouldn't take more than a couple of hours, three tops, and that would be working slow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockmeupto125 Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 *Loosen the front axle bolt. *Get the bike on the centerstand and your jack under the oilpan. Raise the jack so the rear wheel is just touching the ground. Be sure its flat or slightly uphill to the bike. If you don't have enough room to work, put a board under the centerstand for a little more height. *Remove the calipers from the fork legs. *Unbolt the brake lines from the forks. On the right you have to loosen the forward facing bolt to get to the side facing bolt (10mm). Those big blocks don't hold brake fluid...just the pipes and hoses. *Take a bungee cord and give the brake assemblies a little support. *Remove the front fender. *Loosen the two clamp bolts on each fork leg, remove the axle nut, and pull the bolt out. Lift the wheel with the left hand, and twist the axle with the screwdriver you inserted through it with your right hand, and it should pull right out. *Remove the safety rings and loosen the handlebar allen bolts. The safety rings are not tight and do not require any great pressure to remove. Loosen the upper triple clamp allen bolts, then lightly retighten them. *Secure a blanket over the tank. Remove both handlebars and run a bungee cord between them, hanging them across the tank. *Take a 14mm wrench and loosen both lower triple clamp bolts. Its tight, but can be done. *Now loosen one side of the upper triple and twist the fork tube while pulling it downward out of the clamps. Take care to note how hoses and cables are routed around the tube so that you can reinstall the new ones correctly. Do the same with the other side. *Swap your leg guards out if necessary, and reverse the process. You should be able to do this in two hours if you have your tools and plan in place. Don't forget to space the axle to correctly position the left caliper over the rotor. This is only a guide. Use with a liberal dose of your common sense for those things I forgot to mention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 Damn Joe, how many times have you done this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockmeupto125 Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 Well, I don't take them off to drain the oil out.....Buwahahahahahaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunbun Posted October 7, 2008 Author Share Posted October 7, 2008 Nice write up, thanks a bunch! I was afraid I was going to have to remove the upper fairing, etc. Bun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockmeupto125 Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 Nice write up, thanks a bunch! I was afraid I was going to have to remove the upper fairing, etc. Nope.......but that lower triple bolt is tight getting to. It can be done, you might have to flip your offset wrench a few times, but it loosens quickly and doesn't need to be removed, only out a couple turns. The downside is that without mui bizarro devices, you can't use a torque wrench on them without removing the fairings. Just tighten them to the same pressure as it took to unscrew them. Millions of bolts get tightened daily without the benefit of a torque wrench, and its all good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcrich Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 Millions of bolts get tightened daily without the benefit of a torque wrench, and its all good. <Gasp> Unthinkable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockmeupto125 Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 No, really. Its true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpg Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 FWFW, Hobi (I think it was him?) had a really nice write-up on this a while back, see if search dredges it up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobicus Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 FWFW, Hobi (I think it was him?) had a really nice write-up on this a while back, see if search dredges it up... Thanks! Here you go http://www.cbr1100xx.org/forums/index.php?...66&hl=forks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Williams Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 With any luck, I should be receiving a pair forks tomorrow (hopefully). I leave for TEXXT on Friday at noon. My question is "How long does it take to remove and replace the forks on the blackbird?" Never done it and I'll be doing it in sub-optimal conditions. Think shade-tree mechanic. Got all the tools though. I REALLY want to get them on the bird before texxt so I can get some help sorting my suspension and to actually have some good handling. Anyway, thoughts or ideas from those that have done it before? I figure I have ~2 hours of daylight assuming I bust ass home from work on Tues, Weds and Thurs. Possible? Bun Yeah, it's possible. Last time I did it it took me about 2 hours, I think. Just make sure you have some lights if the project end up taking longer than expected... seems to always happen to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skull Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 Millions of bolts get tightened daily without the benefit of a torque wrench, and its all good. As long as you're not Nik. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunbun Posted October 19, 2008 Author Share Posted October 19, 2008 Yay! Forks finally came in yesterday. I got up this morning and replaced the my forks with the lightly used racetech built forks. True to estimates, it took exactly 2 hours. Maybe slightly less. Went out for a ride after lunch and... holy crap. I have a new bike. It's one of those "why the hell did I not do this earlier?" feelings. With the penske in the back and racetech stuff up front, the bird is significantly better in the corners and I don't even have it dialed in properly. I need to adjust for better turn in, however I have so much more stability and tracking. Not to mention the ride quality. Thanks mrbadexxample for the forks, Joe for the writeup and everyone else for the help. I don't think I'll want another bike for a couple more years now. Well, I'll WANT one, but won't buy one at least. Bun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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