Removing Front Forks is a pain in the

[joemaniaci]

I am dying here. I can't for the life of me see the cir-clips that are constantly referenced. I have a 98 voyager with the stock front forks and the seals are completely shot. It was sitting for six years before I bought it in August and got it up and running.

So anyway, I can not see the clips. However, I did just run across this thread, http://www.amervoyassoc.org/forum/viewt ... f=3&t=3632, and was curious if that was my problem. From the bottom of the fork, looking directly up I could see what almost looked like the clip near the bottom, but still covered, by the black plastic air tube connector.

So I am wondering if I can take a pvc pipe and cut it in a way that I can get a big enough chunk of plastic to rest under the black plastic air tube connectors and hammer them upwards. This of course would be after lowering the shock tubes about half an inch(to give it some space) and then tightening them back down

[JHD]

Release air pressure on front forks. Loosen your top and bottom fork clamps. The o-rings in the air fork connecting pipe hold pretty tight so hold the connecting pipe, twist the fork tube with downward pressure. Once you have the fork tube past the connecting pipe you will be able to remove the retaining ring and pull the fork leg past the lower clamp.

[doug of so fla]

http://www.amervoyassoc.org/techtipsXII.php

Look about 3/4 of the way down the page and (D) is the clip you are looking for in the photos, see may other post on "Wyzard's Voyform's"

do not over think this, it is very simple once you get them loose. They may have a little corrision that you have to work thru. with a little lube and wriggleing.

[joemaniaci]

http://www.amervoyassoc.org/techtipsXII.php

Look about 3/4 of the way down the page and (D) is the clip you are looking for in the photos, see may other post on "Wyzard's Voyform's"

do not over think this, it is very simple once you get them loose. They may have a little corrision that you have to work thru. with a little lube and wriggleing.

Yeh I saw that and laughed, I can not see a clip anywhere in that picture.

[doug of so fla]

There is a groove that goes all the way around the shock tube about 1/16" and the wire spring clip is inserted in it and just a ridge sticks out and that keeps the shocks from going up to far or down to far.

[ekap1200]

Sounds like your needing to walk away from it for a nice Easter Diner and a day off.
As Doug of FL said they may be gummed up from dirt and whatever. with all the pinch bolts loose and if needed remove the top tree , spray it down with some light bolt ease, WD-40 whatever . be careful twisting the fork tube, as the crossover pipe can be damaged real easy. Dont twist the tube unless your holding firm on the crossover. That small pipe that connects both of them can be damaged
Patience is required, and if the front end has seen a hard life and the pinch bolts not properly torqued , the forks will get pounded up and those clips will begin to also get pounded up into the crossover tubes. There is a chamfer on the bore of the crossover tubes and the clips will land up into that chamfer making them difficult to see. If they are that tight , take the top tree off, and using a small peice of wood, even a paint stirring stick just tap them up just enought to get them moving. Again patience, if you get stressed walk away for a bit.

[chevyman1]

When you twist the fork tube and it slides down out of the air manifold you can take your hand and reach up there and feel the clip then find the one end and you can push it off with your hand

[joemaniaci]

I guess I should mention I've been trying to do this with all of the body work still on.

However, my speedo cable is also defective, so I need to remove all the front body panels necessary for that anyway. So I am sure I can see what is what once that is done.

[doug of so fla]

You do not have to remove any body panels to take off forks or speedo cable if you do not want to, other than remove headlite ring & headlite, to make it easier to get upper cable connection undone. I do it by removing right front turn signal lite. A little lube on the shock collars and a little tap on the top of them with some turning they should come out fairly easy, but to get a better picture of how it all goes together and everthing works you can take the front faring off and it will give you quite a bit of experience on how to work on it in the future. The XII is a very easy M/C to work on after you get to know it.. Good luck..

[joemaniaci]

You do not have to remove any body panels to take off forks or speedo cable if you do not want to, other than remove headlite ring & headlite, to make it easier to get upper cable connection undone. I do it by removing right front turn signal lite. A little lube on the shock collars and a little tap on the top of them with some turning they should come out fairly easy, but to get a better picture of how it all goes together and everthing works you can take the front faring off and it will give you quite a bit of experience on how to work on it in the future. The XII is a very easy M/C to work on after you get to know it.. Good luck..

Well I have no choice since I at least moved the air collars up enough to feel the c-clip, but there is still no protrusion that I can see that would allow me to use a tool for removal.

[chevyman1]

You do not have to remove any body panels to take off forks or speedo cable if you do not want to, other than remove headlite ring & headlite, to make it easier to get upper cable connection undone. I do it by removing right front turn signal lite. A little lube on the shock collars and a little tap on the top of them with some turning they should come out fairly easy, but to get a better picture of how it all goes together and everthing works you can take the front faring off and it will give you quite a bit of experience on how to work on it in the future. The XII is a very easy M/C to work on after you get to know it.. Good luck..

Well I have no choice since I at least moved the air collars up enough to feel the c-clip, but there is still no protrusion that I can see that would allow me to use a tool for removal.

You should be able to pop them off with your fingers they are vary light c clips, wrap your hand around the tube find the ends and pull on them

[joemaniaci]

You do not have to remove any body panels to take off forks or speedo cable if you do not want to, other than remove headlite ring & headlite, to make it easier to get upper cable connection undone. I do it by removing right front turn signal lite. A little lube on the shock collars and a little tap on the top of them with some turning they should come out fairly easy, but to get a better picture of how it all goes together and everthing works you can take the front faring off and it will give you quite a bit of experience on how to work on it in the future. The XII is a very easy M/C to work on after you get to know it.. Good luck..

Well I have no choice since I at least moved the air collars up enough to feel the c-clip, but there is still no protrusion that I can see that would allow me to use a tool for removal.

You should be able to pop them off with your fingers they are vary light c clips, wrap your hand around the tube find the ends and pull on them

So today I pretty much said eff it, I am going to make headway damnit!

Well, let's just say not being afraid and having the right tool made all the difference.



I finally replaced my telescoping mirror and used that to finally look underneath the collar. Then I just said, "Screw it, if I break the collar I'll just replace it." So I tugged up on the collar without restraint and finally got it to move up so I could expose the c-clip.Sum'bitch!

However, after looking at everything separated from each other it all looks pointless. Looking at it, it looks as though the c-clip was only preventing the air-collar from sliding down while the fork and everything is installed. Meaning, it shouldn't have even been an issue so long as I was pulling the forks out from the bottom.

[ekap1200]

You do not have to remove any body panels to take off forks or speedo cable if you do not want to, other than remove headlite ring & headlite, to make it easier to get upper cable connection undone. I do it by removing right front turn signal lite. A little lube on the shock collars and a little tap on the top of them with some turning they should come out fairly easy, but to get a better picture of how it all goes together and everthing works you can take the front faring off and it will give you quite a bit of experience on how to work on it in the future. The XII is a very easy M/C to work on after you get to know it.. Good luck..

Well I have no choice since I at least moved the air collars up enough to feel the c-clip, but there is still no protrusion that I can see that would allow me to use a tool for removal.

You should be able to pop them off with your fingers they are vary light c clips, wrap your hand around the tube find the ends and pull on them

So today I pretty much said eff it, I am going to make headway damnit!

Well, let's just say not being afraid and having the right tool made all the difference.



I finally replaced my telescoping mirror and used that to finally look underneath the collar. Then I just said, "Screw it, if I break the collar I'll just replace it." So I tugged up on the collar without restraint and finally got it to move up so I could expose the c-clip.Sum'beach :-)!

However, after looking at everything separated from each other it all looks pointless. Looking at it, it looks as though the c-clip was only preventing the air-collar from sliding down while the fork and everything is installed. Meaning, it shouldn't have even been an issue so long as I was pulling the forks out from the bottom.

Oh its still an issue, those same ring-clips still need to come off in order for the tube to pass thru the lower clamps.. the o-rings can be stubborn when dried out. shoot some spray lube around the collar. Keep at it.

[joemaniaci]

You do not have to remove any body panels to take off forks or speedo cable if you do not want to, other than remove headlite ring & headlite, to make it easier to get upper cable connection undone. I do it by removing right front turn signal lite. A little lube on the shock collars and a little tap on the top of them with some turning they should come out fairly easy, but to get a better picture of how it all goes together and everthing works you can take the front faring off and it will give you quite a bit of experience on how to work on it in the future. The XII is a very easy M/C to work on after you get to know it.. Good luck..

Well I have no choice since I at least moved the air collars up enough to feel the c-clip, but there is still no protrusion that I can see that would allow me to use a tool for removal.

You should be able to pop them off with your fingers they are vary light c clips, wrap your hand around the tube find the ends and pull on them

So today I pretty much said eff it, I am going to make headway damnit!

Well, let's just say not being afraid and having the right tool made all the difference.



I finally replaced my telescoping mirror and used that to finally look underneath the collar. Then I just said, "Screw it, if I break the collar I'll just replace it." So I tugged up on the collar without restraint and finally got it to move up so I could expose the c-clip.Sum'beach :-)!

However, after looking at everything separated from each other it all looks pointless. Looking at it, it looks as though the c-clip was only preventing the air-collar from sliding down while the fork and everything is installed. Meaning, it shouldn't have even been an issue so long as I was pulling the forks out from the bottom.

Oh its still an issue, those same ring-clips still need to come off in order for the tube to pass thru the lower clamps.. the o-rings can be stubborn when dried out. shoot some spray lube around the collar. Keep at it.

Oh I got it, and it's already getting rebuilt. It's just that I got the impression they had to be removed to get the collar off of the top of the forks. So yeh, now I know.

Question though, looking at it, it looks to me as if the only thing keep air from leaking out around the collar is dirt. No rubber gaskets or nothing. Does that mean I have to continually keep putting air into the system?

[triton28]

No, the balancer tube is designed to hold air in the fork legs. There are 4 o-rings, 2 on each inside face of the air balancer tube. They have the part # 92055-1364 and if you check the parts lists, or look up www.partzilla.com and click to your model year and category, they are shown on the front fork diagram.
If any, or all, of these 4 o-rings are missing or damaged, then yes any air you put in the forks will leak out.
Dave

[ekap1200]

That dirt is what your O-Rings turned into. You will need four P/N 92005A o-rings
That fit into the air tube..
While you have the front end apart it would be a good time to check those inserts in the plastic fender. See my post on front fender tip of the day. Also remove the speedo cable from its jacket and lube up with a good water-proof grease. Check your wheel and triple tree bearings.
There are quite a few posts on rpl of the seals and a few alternative tools to install . And at least a dozen ways of removing the top plugs of the fork tube . And a few ways of the bottom allen screws. And feel free to keep asking for

[chevyman1]

Just a little addition to ekap1200's post make sure the speedometer drive has grease.
When you put the wheel back on make sure the speedometer drive is keyed in the wheel properly.

[joemaniaci]

Just a little addition to ekap1200's post make sure the speedometer drive has grease.
When you put the wheel back on make sure the speedometer drive is keyed in the wheel properly.

I actually ordered a new speedo cable anyway because it's snapped at the transmission adapter that bolds to the left fork. But yeh, grease is a good idea. I'll look inside the collars and see if there are o-rings still there, I was pretty hasty when I finally got them out.

While you have the front end apart it would be a good time to check those inserts in the plastic fender. See my post on front fender tip of the day.

I could not find that post about the front fenders...

[JHD]

Just a little addition to ekap1200's post make sure the speedometer drive has grease.
When you put the wheel back on make sure the speedometer drive is keyed in the wheel properly.

I actually ordered a new speedo cable anyway because it's snapped at the transmission adapter that bolds to the left fork. But yeh, grease is a good idea. I'll look inside the collars and see if there are o-rings still there, I was pretty hasty when I finally got them out.

While you have the front end apart it would be a good time to check those inserts in the plastic fender. See my post on front fender tip of the day.

I could not find that post about the front fenders...

http://www.amervoyassoc.org/forum/viewt ... f=3&t=7777