Those with air valves in the fork tubes

[Angerhouse]

Bear with me, it's only my second motorcycle and I never did care about the first one. I took a picture of the top of my forks:



I read a section in the Clymer manual about adjusting air pressure in the front suspension. Do I have those air valves on my forks?

Because after reading that, I got my tire pressure gauge from my car and found there's no pressure in them. Is it only for when adding weight to the front, air needs to be added to the forks, but remain empty for the rest of the time?

[Steve]

If you have the fittings, they are designed to have additional air applied.

The fact that you don't have air in there is one of the reasons that we prefer to go with stronger metal springs and forego additional air in the forks.
(The other reason is that the fork springs were simply too weak in the first place, and have gotten worse in the last 30+ years.)

If you do decide to run air, do NOT use an un-regulated, high-pressure air feed. It takes very little air to put them up to the recommended 7 to 15 psi, or whatever the book calls for.

.

[Super]

Also, be careful. Those air valves can break VERY easily. I learned that the hard way.

[Angerhouse]

Thanks for the confirmation and tips guys.

[81ZUKI75]

You also need a low pressure air gauge. I think mine is 0-20 psi...I've had it forever. I've installed Progressive brand springs in my E-model's forks so no air anymore. I'm still running the original springs in my T model's forks and I shoot for 7-10 psi. Prepare for a lot of aggravation getting them balanced...you'll relieve a pound or so each time you check it.

[subid]

Get one of these no loss air pumps, it's what I use and it works great

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Air-Shock-Pump-60-PSI-Harley-Davidson-Touring-Rear-Suspension-/400471289681?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&fits=Make%3AHarley-Davidson&hash=item5d3df2ef51&vxp=mtr

[bbjumper]

Upgrade to Progressive springs and forget about the air...

[sedelen]

Finding a good low pressure gauge and pump was the big stumbling block I had doing mine.
Suzuki included a gauge with their bikes, and those are hard to come by. I acquired one but it's unserviceable.
I use a tire pressure gauge and a small hand pump. Also, you're supposed to set the air without any weight on the front forks, which is great is you have a friend that will sit on the back of the bike while on the centerstand, but I have found out it matters little whether the wheels are off the ground or not.
My GS1000 has independent air shocks, each fork leg has it's own valve, getting those two close is important. My GS1000E each fork has it's own valve also but there's a jumper to "equalize' the pressure in each.
Anyhow, I very rarely check the pressure in those and the bikes ride very well. Probably should do that next time out.

[RobertGS]

Can anyone point me to a thread on the site with tips on installing progressive springs? Is is one of the more straightforward jobs or a tricky one?

[bbjumper]

http://www.progressivesuspension.com/pdfs/forkSprings/3055.pdf

[robertbarr]

One way to go is to use a portable air tank. Inflate the tank to the pressure you want in your forks, and then just connect & hold the air tank's chuck to your forks. You won't have to worry about the huge variations in pressure vs. tiny volumes of air in/out. The tank's pressure isn't going to change appreciably while you do this, so the two forks are inflated equally, as well as accurately.

For that matter, you could do the same thing just draining an air compressor and then running it up to the desired pressure... but as mentioned, what's needed is a good, accurate 0-15 psi gauge.

[mrbill5491]

You can go with Progressive springs or the Sonic straight springs. I'm not liking the way the 80 1100E forks I installed are working, think I'm going to ditch the old stock springs and go with the Sonics. Eliminate the air fitting in the process as well.