Another job that I need to do on my 1990 Electra Glide Classic are fork seals. I currently have the Air suspension that you fill on the handlebar. The left tube is dribbling oil and the forks do lose air pressure. SO how dependable is the air system? Should I just replace the seals or do these bikes run better with Progressive front springs?
The reason I ask is I also have an '84 Yamaha Venture & I replaced the front only air system with Progressives and that bike rides better than original with the Progressive springs, so I was wondering if the Harley is the same.
Again Thanks in advance for your help getting my Harley road worthy for this season!
Andy
Last time I rebuilt my forks I installed the Progressive Monoshocks. Ride just fine and I'll never have to worry about seals or leaks again.
got em on my 1992 Ultra and my 90 FLHS, well worth the dough, imho
You don't have "air ride suspension" on the front of your bike. You have air assisted suspension. The main use of this on those bikes is for anti-dive while braking. A side effect of this is that the adjustable air can affect the regular suspension itself. Any leak, air or oil, is a bad thing. Any performance upgrades to the actual suspension parts is a good thing.
How does this work? Remove the air hardware, remove the stock springs and replace with the new Progressives springs? Replace stock fork cap as well?
Quote from: Flhfxd on March 31, 2017, 07:11:50 AM
How does this work? Remove the air hardware, remove the stock springs and replace with the new Progressives springs? Replace stock fork cap as well?
When I did this upgrade for my Yamaha Venture, it was a simple upgrade.
1. Drain the forks
2. Open the fork caps
3. Pull out the OEM springs
4. Drop in the Progressive Springs
5. Cut the plastic spacers to the desired preload
6. Refill the forks & close up the caps
At the same time, I took the opportunity to rebuild the forks replacing the seals & bushing & disconnect the electronic anti dive units. That bike corners handles & rides like a dream. It was a lot of fun at Tail of the Dragon!
It was the Best upgrade I did on that bike for under $100.
me bad, I was referring to my experience the Progressive Mono-Tubes, installed many years ago and can't recall exact procedure, but nothing sticking out as being major(other than the inner fairing on my 92)
Quote from: 92flhtcu on March 31, 2017, 06:39:34 PM
(other than the inner fairing on my 92)
LOL that was exactly what i was thinking when I read the Shop Manual!
Well I pulled the trigger & bought the springs from Dennis Kirk since I need to break down the bike anyway to redo the seals & I will be painting the plastics at the same breakdown.
Quote from: Cabreco on March 31, 2017, 06:54:08 PM
Quote from: 92flhtcu on March 31, 2017, 06:39:34 PM
(other than the inner fairing on my 92)
LOL that was exactly what i was thinking when I read the Shop Manual!
Well I pulled the trigger & bought the springs from Dennis Kirk since I need to break down the bike anyway to redo the seals & I will be painting the plastics at the same breakdown.
did you buy the Progressive mono-tubes ?
Progressive fork springs and 412 shocks made my FXRS handle and ride a thousand percent better than stock. One of the least expensive and most worthwhile performance upgrades there is.
Quote from: mp on April 01, 2017, 10:35:56 PM
Progressive fork springs and 412 shocks made my FXRS handle and ride a thousand percent better than stock. One of the least expensive and most worthwhile performance upgrades there is.
Maybe not "a thousand percent better than stock" but definitely a noticeable upgrade. Great bang for the buck...
Quote from: hbkeith on April 01, 2017, 05:44:19 AM
did you buy the Progressive mono-tubes ?
No I just bought the Progressive Suspension Front Fork Springs - 50/80 Spring Rate - 11-1131
Dennis Kirk has them for under $90 The Monotubes looked good but at $350 were a bit pricey & if they ever failed they would be expensive to replace.
I used the 50/80 springs in my Yamaha Venture Royale & it rides like a dream
What I understand about air forks/shocks is that the air mainly acts to allow you to adjust preload (ride height). So, when you ride two-up or put on a bunch of luggage, you can adjust ride height back to level and keep your full suspension range. It's a good thing in theory.
But, air acts as a spring. In fact, the air level, even in non air adjustable systems is part of the overall spring system. You can fine tune a fork just by playing with the air space (adding or removing oil). The problem with air springs is that they are very non-linear. So, as the spring compresses, the spring goes from soft to harsh almost immediately.
I'm not sure what qualities you're looking for. If you want a plusher ride, you could reduce the amount of oil and take out some of the harshness as the system compresses.
If you want to reduce brake dive, you need a firmer coil spring. I wouldn't use air to compensate for brake dive; again because it transitions from plush to harsh almost immediately.
Generally speaking, a coil spring will set two variables, ride height and dive.
After that comes damping (high and low speed) which are addressed by means of oil viscosity and orifice size in the dampers.
Dan
I am told by those that know, that progressive wound springs waste suspension travel.
http://www.racetech.com/page/id/59 (http://www.racetech.com/page/id/59)
Air ride's other problem is that they all leak and must constantly be refilled to maintain settings.
I remove the air systems and install Race Tech gold valve kits and springs.
Used that Racetech stuff on my Softail, it turned a lousy suspension into something quite fine.
Quote from: drhach on April 07, 2017, 09:17:38 AM
What I understand about air forks/shocks is that the air mainly acts to allow you to adjust preload (ride height). So, when you ride two-up or put on a bunch of luggage, you can adjust ride height back to level and keep your full suspension range. It's a good thing in theory.
Not true on the front of that HD. Check the design and/or the manuel..... :wink:
The Anti-dive feature of the early air kit was a failed effort by HD to keep up with Japanese bikes who were actually building suspension that worked.
Many asian bikes of that era had valving that changed under braking (big marketing gimmick), trying to make a soft street ride not wallow around like a pig.
I have the last year of air in the front suspension on my '01 King, and stock air shocks on the rear. It does not change the ride height, rather it just stiffens up the suspension to make up for inferior internals.
That would be the case if your suspension was already topped out. Otherwise, it would have to change the ride height. If the suspension is topped out and you add air, then yes, it will feel stiffer.