Reprod Fork Question

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rozemab
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Reprod Fork Question

#1

Post by rozemab »

:oops:

I feel foolish for asking this but what the heck,

Has anyone come across reprod front forks where the left fork does not have a drain port ? The right one has the drain port but I cannot find one on the left fork.

I have looked in all the obivous locations on the left fork. Nothing !
old.wrench
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Re: Reprod Fork Question

#2

Post by old.wrench »

rozemab,
Are you talking about the small hole on the inside of the leg on the front spring fork?
The hole is located about 3-3/4" above the axle center line.
To tell the truth, I've wondered about the real purpose of those holes myself :) .
Odd place to put a "drain" hole though, being so far up on the leg.
I wonder if it didn't serve a function some how in the original fabrication process?

Geo.
rozemab
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Re: Reprod Fork Question

#3

Post by rozemab »

Geo,

My bad, I'm referring to the oil drain port for changing the fork oil. The right fork has it, the left one does not ! (That I can see...)
old.wrench
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Re: Reprod Fork Question

#4

Post by old.wrench »

Rozemab,
Sorry amigo, I mis-read your post :) .
I have a 2 sets of original forks with drain ports, but no re-pops to compare them to.
If your left lower has the raised boss cast into it where the drain port would normally be, maybe it slipped by the "quality control inspector" at the time of production. If exchanging it for a correct replacement is a problem (and it has the raised boss), I wonder if you might be able to drill and tap it for the plug?

Geo.
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Re: Reprod Fork Question

#5

Post by rozemab »

Geo,

I'll take a second look for the boss. thanks
1951 adam
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Re: Reprod Fork Question

#6

Post by 1951 adam »

It's possible it's a "universal " for a right side use. ??? Should be no big deal to drill the boss
Adam
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Re: Reprod Fork Question

#7

Post by Panacea »

The V-Twin sliders don't have drain screws, could it be you have one Harley slider and one V-Twin?
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Re: Reprod Fork Question

#8

Post by fl9018 »

I bought a set of reproduction glide sliders about 8 to 10 years ago. First off, they were back ordered for about 6 months but when I finally got them, they came with the drain hole in both sliders. BUT...the brake plate mounting tab was not machined to the correct thickness. I took care of that with the help of a milling machine.
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Re: Reprod Fork Question

#9

Post by VPH-D »

I haven't seen any repop fork legs with drain holes. I don't think it's any big loss, anyway.
VPH-D
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Re: Reprod Fork Question

#10

Post by old.wrench »

Originally, the glide fork was considered to be a serviceable component that would see regular maintenance. It was a modern improvement and like most "modern improvements", it was more difficult and expensive to re-furbish than the springer fork it replaced. The service manual recommended changing the oil every 5,000 miles in order to get the best performance and service life from the fork. The drain ports were there for a purpose, not just for looks :) .

Geo.
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Re: Reprod Fork Question

#11

Post by rozemab »

Panacea wrote:The V-Twin sliders don't have drain screws, could it be you have one Harley slider and one V-Twin?
IIt is possible. If there is no drain port, how does one draing the fork oil? Vacuum it out from the top ?
1951 adam
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Re: Reprod Fork Question

#12

Post by 1951 adam »

Pull the assembly , hold it upside down. I like the idea of drill and tap. Did you assemble already ? If not drill them. Other option is find an OE set. Should be some around, I always see them for sale. New bushings , and good to go.
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Re: Reprod Fork Question

#13

Post by panfreak »

I also had reproduction forks with only one drain exactly as you described. It was not a big deal to take off the lower and drill hole, I took the time to file a flat spot for the screw to bottom on so it didn't leak, you'd never know it didn't come like that. My fork didn't perform all that well either, it would top out hard on rebound so I simply increased the amount of oil in both before going further and getting into shims etc that I've read others have done. It worked great for me, now they perform as they should. If memory serves (I'll probably get this wrong) I want to say I added 11oz? Experiment with adding some if you too are having this problem, it fixed mine.
Oh the joys of aftermarket.....
Len.
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Re: Reprod Fork Question

#14

Post by rozemab »

panfreak wrote:I also had reproduction forks with only one drain exactly as you described. It was not a big deal to take off the lower and drill hole, I took the time to file a flat spot for the screw to bottom on so it didn't leak, you'd never know it didn't come like that. My fork didn't perform all that well either, it would top out hard on rebound so I simply increased the amount of oil in both before going further and getting into shims etc that I've read others have done. It worked great for me, now they perform as they should. If memory serves (I'll probably get this wrong) I want to say I added 11oz? Experiment with adding some if you too are having this problem, it fixed mine.
Oh the joys of aftermarket.....
Len.
Len,

Good to hear I'm not alone on this one. I'm experiencing the hard rebounding. I assume you had to remove the left fork from the triple tree and then disassembled the bottom ?

Brian
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Re: Reprod Fork Question

#15

Post by panfreak »

My memory is foggy on this but if I recall:
After you remove the wheel and axle clamp on bottom of lower, there is a nut up inside. I undid this and slid the lower right off. I used a small impact wrench, you'll want to check torque spec in your manual when reinstalling it. It wasn't a huge job at all but be careful with the nut I refer to and after filing/drilling/tapping make sure to flush the shit out of the lower with cleaner like solvent or something.
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