Front fork question?

Energy One
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OldDog

New Member
New to the BigDog forum, new to the BigDog, just traded for a 2002 Pitbull with 4500 miles and I have a question. The front forks seam to not be correct, I can push down on the handlebars and the the forks compress and somewhat stay compressed, I can then pull back on the bars and extend the sliders back out past what I would call a normal position. This just doesn't seam normal, any hints? Thanks for any help you can give me.
 

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Nukeranger

Nukeranger

Nukeranger
I would probably ride it awhile and see if exercising the forks doesn't lubricate the slider and seal enough to correct the problem. You don't have many miles on the bike. Fork Oil Change is every 10,000 miles per my service manual. However, the fork oil is 9 years old so you may want to change it first prior to riding.
 
CCRainman

CCRainman

Well-Known Member
I would first start by changing the fluid. I was running 15w in mine. It's a really easy job, do a search and you'll find the how to. If that doesn"t work then you might want to try to rebuild the fork with new seals, which is also in the how to section.
 
erldawg

erldawg

Guru
CCRainman said:
I would first start by changing the fluid. I was running 15w in mine. It's a really easy job, do a search and you'll find the how to. If that doesn"t work then you might want to try to rebuild the fork with new seals, which is also in the how to section.
Click to expand...
I concur and would also change the bushings as well. All these parts can be bought at your local HD dealer.
 
erldawg

erldawg

Guru
Not hard to do. Gasman has a how to on this.
Only change I would make is take the lowers apart while the upper is still in the tripple trees and then .....

Remove the old seal by sliding it down the fork.

Remove bottom bushing.

Clean off lower end of fork where the bushing was with brake clean.

Wrap the bottom where the bushing sets with duck tape so you don't cut the new seal during installation.

Slide new seals, spacer and bushings on.
 
RRRUFF

RRRUFF

Well-Known Member
Don,t know how much you are talking about but the forks won't fully extend with the of the bike on them. Pulling back on the bars lifts some of the weight and they will extend. Change the oil anyway.
 
8ball

8ball

Active Member
did you ask the person you traded with if he had the forks apart for any reason? and are you seeing any oil passing the seals at all?
 
2004BC

2004BC

FREEDOM!!!
FWIW when I first got my 2004 Ridgeback with 3,000 miles on the clock the front end was very stiff and didn't dampen very well. Stayed compressed a bit as well. Before I went to town rebuilding it I sprayed a little teflon spray down between the chrome cover and the fork tube. Pushed it up and down a lot and sprayed again. Been riding it ever since and the ride is very much noticeably improved. Big difference. I guess the seals had dried out over time and there was a lot of friction. So far so good.
:cheers:
 
spadesluck

spadesluck

Active Member
We roll on just normal 41mm forks. So any 41mm fork seals will work. Above comment did make me laugh though.
 
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