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Lowering my Sportster

 

Get the bike safely jacked

I highly recommend the Craftsman Motorcycle/ATV jack. It's cheap (about $100), solidly built and is rated for something like 1500 lbs. This is my first time using the jack so I was sweating it a bit. Finding the best position under the frame was a challenge so I have included a few pictures so show specifics of where I put those jack pads.

USE THOSE STRAPS. I'm not sure if you can tell in the picture, but I ran the front strap across the frame backbone just in front of the tank. I removed the seat and put the rear strap under the seat mounting tab. The Craftsman jack included a pair of ratcheting straps with rubbercoated hooks. The jack also has 4 places to use these hooks at all four corners. When removing parts on the front, rear or either side, the weight shift could be a problem. Potentially, torquing a stubborn bolt could even upset the balance. You should always be careful, but using these straps makes it a lot harder to have an accident.

As per the instructions with the jack, never rely on that bottle jack to keep your bike safe. When you lower the bike, even with the jiffy stand down, the bike may settle to the wrong side and you'll be a sad, sad person. The jack comes with several safety stops. Engage that safety bar and then lower the bike so it engages. It's like using jack stands. The jack was just for getting it up there, not for keeping it there.

 

Motorcycle jack positioning

Here's a shot from the right/rear. The right edge of the jack pad is just barely touching the front muffler although no load is on the muffler.

 

Motorcycle jack positioning

Shot from the left side. The rear jack pad is behind the jiffy stand and in front of the jiffy stand bumper.

 

Motorcycle jack positioning

Another shot from the left side of the bike. The front jack pad is right near the front of the frame tubes.

 

Removing a rear shock, lower bolt

Removing the rear shocks are easy. A 3/4" wrench for the nut on the inside of the swingarm and a 3/4" socket for the bolt on the outside. It's OK to go ahead and remove this lower bolt (only if the other shock is still firmly in place).

 

Removing a rear shock, upper bolt

Use a 5/16" allen socket to remove the upper shock mounting bolt.

 

Safely removing the rear shocks

You can remove the first rear shock without any drama. The entire load of the rear wheel, tire, brake, and swingarm are now on that second rear shock. Place some plywood sheets or anything that is the right height under the rear tire so it is just barely on the boards. This will make removing the bolts on that second shock very easy as there will be minimal load them. This pic shows the swingarm still in the proper position even though both shocks are removed.

 

Insert upper bolt

Insert upper shock bolt and snug it up (don't torque it yet).

 

Getting the swingarm in the *new* position

It's probably easiest to do this with 2 people, but it can be done by a single person. You need to get that swingarm in the correct postion so you can install the shock bolts without putting any significant shear stress on them. Just like removing them, this is really only a challenge for one shock. Once you have one installed, it will hold the swingarm in place for the second shock. In the previous step, I installed the upper bolt with the new shock on one side (used some blue Loctite). I put some blue Loctite on the lower bolt, put it through the washer and the lower shock mounting hole and got it ready to put into the swingarm.

All those hurricanes from 2004 left me with lots of convenient, window sized pieces of plywood and I put them to use here. I slid one sheet at a time in place under the rear wheel. When I got that mounting hole on the swingarm close to position to line up with the new shock's lower bolt, I used that new jiffy stand as a prybar and was able to control the height with one hand while sliding that lower bolt in place with the other. Once you get that bolt in place you can easily get the nut on the back of it and tighten both upper and lower bolts. The second shock can now be put in with little challenge.

NOTE: I put the right side rear shock in first. I don't believe it makes much difference, but I suspect doing the left side first would be slightly easier since that lower bolt needs to line up with both the swingarm AND the belt guard bracket on the right side. This was nearly trivial because the front belt guard bracket was tight enough that it held the rear one pretty much wherever I put it. I was lucky, but this could be a case of not having enough hands, so do the left side first and then it's a non-issue.

 

Insert lower bolt

Insert lower shock bolt and snug it up.

 

Torque upper and lower bolts

Go back and torque to factory service manual specs.

 

Rear shocks DONE!

Notice the wrench left hanging there on that lower shock nut. That could make for an unpleasant ride.

It's a good time to point something out. I forgot this wrench . . . you do NOT want to do that. But even if you are careful, it will happen. So always go back when you are finished and make sure you have all of your tools and every area of your project is properly cleaned up, bolts and screws tightened, extra fasteners and washers put away, tools removed, etc.

Some of us make a bad habit of using slots, grooves, holes or whatever as a tool holder. In this case it was left where it was used, but that wrench is dangerously close to the spokes. It could make a mess if it bounced loose during a ride and got into the spokes.

 

Getting started on the forks

First we remove the front brake calipers. These bolts are 10mm 12 point.

 

Find a safe place to stow that caliper

You don't want that caliper hanging by the hose so find a safe place to stow it where it won't scratch your paint and won't get damaged.

 

Loosen front axle nut

Insert a screwdriver or rod into the slot in the axle on the right side of the bike (left in the photo) and use a 3/4" socket to loosen the axle nut.

 

Loosen the front axle pinch bolt

Use a 9/16" wrench and a x/x" allen socket to remove the front axle pinch bolt.

 

Remove front wheel

Slide that axle out, but note the position of all spacers and washers. I put them all back onto the axle after removing it so I could remember the exact order and orientation of all hardware.

 

Remove front fender mount bolts

Using a 1/2" wrench and a x/x" allen socket, remove all 4 front fender mount bolts.

 

Front fender GONE!

Shot of the front end, minus brake, wheel and fender.

 

Loosen fork tube end caps

Loosen those fork tube end caps. You don't want to remove them yet, just get them loosened while the triple trees are still gripping them tightly.

 

Loosen triple tree fork tube pinch bolts

Using a Txx torx socket, loosen lower triple trees pinch bolts. Loosen the top ones also, making sure you have a grip on the fork tube. Once the second pinch bolt is loosened, the tube will drop, so be ready!

 

Remove fork tubes

Carefully remove the fork tubes. Be careful to not scratch the surface of the fork tubes.

 

Remove chrome covers

These covers are a TIGHT fit and I bent them getting them loose. They are very cheap though so I just bought replacements.

 

Preparing to drain fork oil

I was able to put the top of the tube into the lower clamp and the weight was enough to hold it in place for draining.

 

Preparing to drain fork oil

A better picture.

 

Drain

Remove the drain screw and drain the fork oil.

 

Remove the dust seal

The slider dust seals are easy to remove. I just gently pried them with a screwdriver.

 

Removing the fork seals

These are the real seals and are just inside the sliders. They are retained with a clip.

 

Seal retaining clip

Here is a better shot showing the retaining clip. I was able to remove this clip just by using a screwdriver. The clip fits into a groove inside the slider that keeps the seal in place.

 

Damper tube removal

A long shank 6mm allen socket is required to loosen the screw that holds the damper tube in the bottom of the slider.

 

Disassembly of fork tube

With the damper tube screw removed, you can disassemble the tube.

 

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Proof that it's done

Just gotta finish uploading pictures and typing in some text.