Progressive fork springs install problem...

[timmerz_1]

Hope somebody might have run into this before....I am not mechanically inclined, more musician than wrencher, so I had a buddy with a shop install the Progressive springs in the forks for me, and now the forks are binding at the top...if you apply the front brake and haul down on the bars the forks work, but the stiction right at the start is almost solid, small road bumps cause the front of the bike to go up and down rather than get absorbed like they should...my buddy knows there is a problem, and they are going to get dismantled again, but does anybody have any idea what to look for that would cause binding right at the static resting spot of the forks?
Thanks for any help at all, really appreciate this forum!
Tim

[JHD]

When installing the progressive springs you are to omit the spring collar and filter that are used for the stock springs.

[ekap1200]

Did he remove the wheel and fork tubes to do the spring change ? Or just change out the springs with the front end on.
Doing just the springs should have no effect to the binding you encountering.

[timmerz_1]

Took them off completely...I had taken him the written procedure I found here on the site, but am not sure if he realized that some parts needed to be left off on re-assembly...JHD, do you think those parts you are indicating would cause binding if they were re-installed with the Progressive springs?

edit: did a complete rebuild, I bought all the parts, seals, wipers, etc....he does great work, is well-known in our area as a stickler for detail...I'm wondering if the forks are bent, or something??

[ekap1200]

Hello again, I would give the mechanic a call. If it were me doing the job, I would want a happy customer
One happy customer will tell 10 people, an unhappy customer will tell 100 people.
Gene Kap

[timmerz_1]

Yeah, he's totally on board, planning on taking them apart again, he's a good friend, we'll get it right, just wanted to see if anyone had any advice before we dug back into it...

[voyager55]

I get tired posting the instructions, seems nobody even reads the info.
Your friend isn't a mechanic

http://www.abbikeboard.com/jeff/spring/spring.html

[Highway Rider]

Or you could go here.

viewforum.php?f=43

Or here same as above but accessable to all. Scroll down almost to the bottom.

https://amervoyassoc.org/techtipsXII.php

Go here for the manual on the XII

viewtopic.php?f=40&t=10639

[timmerz_1]

Your friend isn't a mechanic

Yes this comment is what I would say is tied to this rule: #5 No flaming, rude, obscene, name calling, swearing, personal attacks, or the use of other objectionable or offensive language will be allowed.
No where in the the authors post did he mention any thing about being dissatisfied with what the mechanic has done to his bike as of yet. It is up to the author to make those assumptions.
Added by Administration

That is 'way too harsh, there's no way you can say that without all of the factors here figured in yet....
Guys like me appreciate all the hard work you've put in before us, and your instructions do everybody good, they've been printed hundreds of times, there's absolutely no reason for you to slam a guy's efforts because something didn't go right in some way the first time around...

[ekap1200]

Hello again. One more question, does your machine have the chrome rotor cover trim on it ? I have seen installs of this trim that have NOT had the REQUIRED machining done to both the right side spacer and the speedometer drive. Which will spread the bottom of the forks outward.
Also some have reported issues with the ( super-brace ) style of fork brace causing issues.
Best to start over again and remove both fork tube's and inspect each one for binding if no other issues are found to be the cause.

Will it bind up just sitting on the bike and pushing down on the bars ? If so , and before removing the front end. Loosen the fork brace and the axle ( pinch bolt- right side ) and see if that helps ( without driving the machine ) If it seems to not bind , then re-torque those fasteners and road test.
Gene

[Highway Rider]

Your friend isn't a mechanic

Yes this comment is what I would say is tied to this rule: #5 No flaming, rude, obscene, name calling, swearing, personal attacks, or the use of other objectionable or offensive language will be allowed.
No where in the the authors post did he mention any thing about being dissatisfied with what the mechanic has done to his bike as of yet. It is up to the author to make those assumptions.
Added by Administration

That is 'way too harsh, there's no way you can say that without all of the factors here figured in yet....
Guys like me appreciate all the hard work you've put in before us, and your instructions do everybody good, they've been printed hundreds of times, there's absolutely no reason for you to slam a guy's efforts because something didn't go right in some way the first time around...

[voyager55]

I wasn't slamming anyone. The poster brought his bike to a mechanic and he couldn't figure out how to install fork springs in properly? It's very very basic, and should be so easy for a mechanic to do and figure out.. Because of that, That guy shouldn't be called a mechanic IMO.

Your friend isn't a mechanic

Yes this comment is what I would say is tied to this rule: #5 No flaming, rude, obscene, name calling, swearing, personal attacks, or the use of other objectionable or offensive language will be allowed.
No where in the the authors post did he mention any thing about being dissatisfied with what the mechanic has done to his bike as of yet. It is up to the author to make those assumptions.
Added by Administration

That is 'way too harsh, there's no way you can say that without all of the factors here figured in yet....
Guys like me appreciate all the hard work you've put in before us, and your instructions do everybody good, they've been printed hundreds of times, there's absolutely no reason for you to slam a guy's efforts because something didn't go right in some way the first time around...

[timmerz_1]

You're JUMPING THE GUN!

It hasn't been established that anything was done wrong! The forks had been worked on before and were not working correctly when I got the bike...I was hoping that by going through the Progressives install we could figure out what was wrong...now I'm starting to think the forks may be bent...

[triton28]

Block the bike up so the front wheel is just barely off the ground, loosen the 4 fender bolts, or even better remove the fender and brace, and with the axle nut removed, the axle tapped towards the RH side a small amount to ensure freedom of movement, the pinch bolt on the lower aluminium fork leg loosened, undo the 2 lower and 1 upper pinch bolts for ONE fork tube and rotate the chrome fork tube in the triple trees. The thing to look for while rotating the fork tube is the clearance between the lower aluminium fork leg inner face and the RH side spacer outer face or the speedo drive outer face if the LH side. If the lower fork leg clearance changes at all while rotating the upper chrome fork tube, the upper fork tube has some deviation from a straight line.
One fork tube, I later checked on a set of knife edges was .025" bent, had from 0" clearance away from the RH spacer face up to 3/16" clearance when rotating the tube. DO NOT undue all 6 pinch bolts at the same time as the fork tubes may slide down out of the top triple tree.
This is one way to check for bent fork tubes but the most accurate is after disassembling the fork leg assemblies, checking the tubes on a set of roller knife edges with a dial gauge to record runout, (bend).
Another indication of bent tubes is while underway, an imaginary right to left line through the top c/l of the fork tubes should be at 90 degrees to the fore and aft line of the bike. The handlebars, provided they are not bent, should also be at 90 degrees to the fore and aft line of the steering geometry, (bike).
Yet another indication of bent tubes or even a bent lower triple tree, is if the tubes do NOT line up, during reassembly, with the top triple tree after insertion through the lower triple tree. Straight tubes are concentric with, and slip easily up and into the top triple tree so long as there is no rust/crud on the inside face of the lower triple tree in the area of the pinch bolts.
Dave

[timmerz_1]

Hello again. One more question, does your machine have the chrome rotor cover trim on it ? I have seen installs of this trim that have NOT had the REQUIRED machining done to both the right side spacer and the speedometer drive. Which will spread the bottom of the forks outward.
Also some have reported issues with the ( super-brace ) style of fork brace causing issues.
Best to start over again and remove both fork tube's and inspect each one for binding if no other issues are found to be the cause.

Will it bind up just sitting on the bike and pushing down on the bars ? If so , and before removing the front end. Loosen the fork brace and the axle ( pinch bolt- right side ) and see if that helps ( without driving the machine ) If it seems to not bind , then re-torque those fasteners and road test.
Gene

No, does not have rotor trim on it....and as far as I can tell the fork brace is a typical '89 part, nothing special about it...It DOES bind at the top resting point when sitting still, extra force has to be exerted downward on the bars to get it past the stiction point...we'll try your suggestion on loosening key points and seeing if that solves the problem before we take the whole thing apart again and see if we followed Voyager55's instructions to the letter like we thought we did, there's always a chance that we just plowed through a step without reading the entire step, I'm not going to pretend we're perfect by a long shot...

[timmerz_1]

Block the bike up so the front wheel is just barely off the ground, loosen the 4 fender bolts, or even better remove the fender and brace, and with the axle nut removed, the axle tapped towards the RH side a small amount to ensure freedom of movement, the pinch bolt on the lower aluminium fork leg loosened, undo the 2 lower and 1 upper pinch bolts for ONE fork tube and rotate the chrome fork tube in the triple trees. The thing to look for while rotating the fork tube is the clearance between the lower aluminium fork leg inner face and the RH side spacer outer face or the speedo drive outer face if the LH side. If the lower fork leg clearance changes at all while rotating the upper chrome fork tube, the upper fork tube has some deviation from a straight line.
One fork tube, I later checked on a set of knife edges was .025" bent, had from 0" clearance away from the RH spacer face up to 3/16" clearance when rotating the tube. DO NOT undue all 6 pinch bolts at the same time as the fork tubes may slide down out of the top triple tree.
This is one way to check for bent fork tubes but the most accurate is after disassembling the fork leg assemblies, checking the tubes on a set of roller knife edges with a dial gauge to record runout, (bend).
Another indication of bent tubes is while underway, an imaginary right to left line through the top c/l of the fork tubes should be at 90 degrees to the fore and aft line of the bike. The handlebars, provided they are not bent, should also be at 90 degrees to the fore and aft line of the steering geometry, (bike).
Yet another indication of bent tubes or even a bent lower triple tree, is if the tubes do NOT line up, during reassembly, with the top triple tree after insertion through the lower triple tree. Straight tubes are concentric with, and slip easily up and into the top triple tree so long as there is no rust/crud on the inside face of the lower triple tree in the area of the pinch bolts.
Dave

Thanks for the in-depth response, Dave...if Gene's suggestion doesn't work out we will be all over these forks to try and figger out what's up...we'll take your instructions to heart and see what's really wrong...
Thanks, everybody...really appreciate the help!
Tim