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Fitting progressive fork caps on a Bobber Goldline 47 mm forks.

2K views 10 replies 5 participants last post by  Donner 
#1 ·
Hi all,
Just thought I would share my experience in fitting progressive fork caps to my Triumph Goldline.
First off I purchased these from Squaredeals UK, although they are identical to those sold by Tec bike parts.

The front forks on the Goldline are 47mm dia with the top caps being 36 mm AF.
I did not have a 36 mm AF socket so tried using a large adjustable wrench (shiifter for the Poms and OZ readers).
Presumed this would be fine as both DellBoy and Tec bike parts U tubes showed them using such a tool🥴
DONT DO THIS AS YOU WILL END UP IN ALL SORTS OF STRIFE 😩
First off,
The original caps and progressive replacement caps are soft alloy so damage easily.
Second reason,
You have no control when the cap is fully released and the left fork cap will possibly fly off, as mine did, causing a release of some fork oil. This is not a problem on the right leg as it is retained by the damping rod.
Third reason,
You will need to be Samson to press down on the cap and turn the shifter when installing the new caps🤨

Im putting it down to some poetic licence but both U tubes showed them easily removing and replacing the caps, “this is not the case”.

To cut a long story short I ended up purchasing a 36 mm AF 1/2” drive socket plus ratchet drive and used this to reinstall the new caps, this went reasonably smoothly as you can put weight on the socket as you screw in the caps.
The caps are very fine thread so be careful not to cross thread them on reinstall.
A few other tips.
1. Raise the front wheel of the ground when removing replacing the caps.
2. Release tension on the top fork yoke Allen screw before removing the cap.
3. Release and remove handlebars out of the way to get sufficient clearance to use socket.
4. Cover everything in close proximity (tank, speedometer, front mudguard, etc, etc with plenty of rags to prevent any accidental damage.
5. When using socket, or any other tool, cover cap with tissue paper to prevent scratches etc.
6. Take all advice you watch on UTube with a pinch of salt, they have to make it look easy so you will continue to follow them / buy their product.

As they say you learn by your mistakes and after purchasing the socket the job went very smoothly plus I never know when I may need a 36mm AF socket again🥴
Hope someone finds this useful.
KR
Chris
 
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#3 ·
Good advice Chris….

For future reference don’t rely on Dangerous Dell for advice.. sooner or later someone’s gonna get hurt following some of the tricks he gets up to… his hyabusa coolant change is a case in point. His method was so dangerous youtube removed the video..😱😱
 
#4 ·
Glad to see I'm not the only one that gets into trouble doing an "easy" job. When I replaced the springs and fork caps on my T-120 I used the wheel vice on my Handy lift to hold the tire and then put my scissor jack under the engine and raised it to extend the forks to full out. There was still significant spring pressure under the cap, fortunately I had the correct socket and ratchet to prevent the cap from launching across my garage.
 
#6 ·
AF measures width across flats as the distance between two parallel surfaces on the head of a screw or bolt, or a nut, mostly for torque transmission by positive locking.
 
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