99 Springer front service parts

[Reddog74usa]

Am looking at a 99 springer softail and would like to know if service parts for the rockers as well as the rest of the front end service items are available before I jump onto this bike?

[rigidthumper]

Rocker bearings & races (9139, 9140, 9141) are still showing as valid part numbers. Rockers themselves have been discontinued.
I used Ronnies parts list.

[kd]

Possibly rebuildable at a good machine shop?  May be pricy though. 

[mkd]

how many miles? i have serviced low mile bikes and bikes with 40,000 miles on them and was supprised to see that there wasn't much difference between the two . neither needed new parts. the neck bearing adjustment seems to be more critical on the fl springers. if not done regularily the bearings could end up with a center tick. the front ends are heavy and have a tendency to fall in to a turn at low speeds. owned a 1998 flsts for 13 yrs. sold it in 2019

[Reddog74usa]

Thanks for the reply. Bike only has 7500 miles on it. Posted this question before I pulled the trigger on a 99 FXSTS trying to find out about the particulars of keeping a springer in well maintained condition.

[Finn]

Steering bearings may need changing - at least mine did at 40k miles. The earlier -93 I had was OK.

Parts were not expensive, just that the work itself was time consuming.

[nmainehunter]

I bought a rebuild kit and was not impressed with the rocker bearings at all. I put the old ones back in.

[jsachs1]

Look at the steering head cups. If you see ripples or metal erosion time to change. Replace cups and bearings together. Easy way to remove cups. Weld a flat piece of metal across the cup, down in the bearing area, and knock the cup/race out. Some after market remover tools don't work well at all.
John

[Burnout]

Run a weld bead inside the race and it will shrink and fall out.

[Reddog74usa]

Bike only has 7500 miles on it so it's fine for now. I'm just checking to see what I have to do to maintain the springer front. Doesn't seem like it's rocket science. It does have a grease fitting on the neck and when I pumped some grease into it a nice bead of clean blue grease ooozzed out from the cups. Bike is like new and I'm trying to keep it as nice as I can. Thanks for the suggestions so far 

[Burnout]

I don't know why they put a grease fitting on the neck.

It takes a whole lot of grease to fill the cavity, and when it gets hot it will run out the bottom. Holy over-greasing Batman!!

Greasing the bearings is not the issue, a springer beats up the neck bearings, it is a service issue, figure new bearings every few years.

Another downside not mentioned is that springers are considerably heavier than a hydraulic fork, along with the difficulty of keeping a fender on it unless you like eating road grit.

I'd avoid a springer.

[Hossamania]

Too late, he's already got it.
Besides, they look Cool!

[mkd]

Owned a 1998  fl springer from 2006 to 2018, was low mileage when i bought it 2262 and 16,000 some when i sold it. always maintained the neck bearings , was a piece of cake to maintain. Much easier than not doing anything and letting the stem and inner race chuck everytime you hit a bump or applied the brakes. It had no center flat spot because it was always ridden at zero lash. I know people who have more money than brains and what they don't take care of they can either pay to fix or replace. I never went thru life with that philosophy with anything i owned whether it was a house, truck, lawn tractor, snow blower or motorcycle. it pays to maintain your stuff .

[Reddog74usa]

Owned a 1998  fl springer from 2006 to 2018, was low mileage when i bought it 2262 and 16,000 some when i sold it. always maintained the neck bearings , was a piece of cake to maintain. Much easier than not doing anything and letting the stem and inner race chuck everytime you hit a bump or applied the brakes. It had no center flat spot because it was always ridden at zero lash. I know people who have more money than brains and what they don't take care of they can either pay to fix or replace. I never went thru life with that philosophy with anything i owned whether it was a house, truck, lawn tractor, snow blower or motorcycle. it pays to maintain your stuff .

Yep, that's exactly why I wanted to get an idea on the best way to maintain the springer front even before I purchased it. With it having very low miles I thought I would have a good shot at keeping it nice with good maintenance.

Have just been going over the bike making adjustments and lubing cables and the like. The 10.0 cr with that SE-11 cam makes a nice combination. They had an Andrews 30 tooth trans sprocket on it so I replace it with a new lightweight 32 tooth pully then swapped out the engine and clutch sprockets with a 24/37 setup which gives me 3:13 final drive ratio without effecting the speedo readout like the 30 tooth pully did. They also for some reason left the stock iggy in it along with the CV carb so I installed a DTT ignition in it which really made a nice improvement. I'm waiting on a new Mik 42 and when that's all installed and dialed in this should be a damn nice ride. I really like this bike, springer maintenance and all. 

[jsachs1]

Red, Keep your eye on the light weight front (Aluminum) belt sprocket. I've had to replace quite a # of them, as the belt wore through the hard anodizing, and ruined the teeth.
John

[Reddog74usa]

Thanks John. Have had it in my stash for years and never used it for that very reason. I'll just keep an eye out for a OEM NOS one and install it when this lightweight wears out or even before as in THIS WINTER. Thanks for the heads up.

[Blazing Saddles]

If I had to bet, I would bet guys like Burnout have never owned or ridden a springer. As a springer owner/rider I can tell you the the maintenance is easy and you do not have to change the neck bearings every few years. Mine has 50 thou miles on it with original neck bearings and rocker bearings. As far as the "keeping a fender on it" comment
I have no idea what that means.    

[mkd]

the fl springers have active brake mounting and it is mounted on the inside of the left rigid fork. if some instances the front end (and fender) going up and down in it's travel can have the fender catch the brake mounting bolt and cause damage to the fender. The fl fender is mounted with rubber grommets to the front axle, it is possible that the fender braces down to the axle can get tweeked so the fender clearance is altered. Also possible that rockers get worn, springs get out of spec, and cornering putting a side load on the front end and hitting a pot hole or bump in the road causes the front end to shift enough to cause interference. i have seen the suggestion to file the sharp edges off the bolt increasing the clearance from bolt to fender and decreasing the chances of catching and ripping open the side of the fender. never had any clearance issues in riding my 98 flsts for the 12 yrs i rode it.  HSOA a group of flsts riders on the web is a valuable resourse for anyone who owns a flsts springer 1997 thru 2003.