Moondog's Chrome Front End How-To







The plan is to take this '03 Road King Classic and try to show a basic how to, for a
front end removal. There were many steps involved, but the simple ones were omitted.
When completed, the bike will have chrome legs, sliders,handlebars, master cylinder,
controls, switches, grips and stainless throttle, clutch and brake lines.






The easy part of this job is taking it apart. Just keep track of your
parts and keep them organized. Remove the headlamp and nacelle
first. These are all held in place with phillips screws. 






As easy as it is to disconnect your headlamp, you will also find quick
disconnect plugs inside the headlamp of the nacelle. These disconnect
the light bar (if equipped) and all control leads.






You will need to remove the calipers on the bike. It's two bolts per caliper. Remember,
these are 12 point bolts. Easy to remove, but easy to strip without the right socket.






With the calipers off of the wheel, it's only two more bolts to remove the axle and slide the wheel
out. This cap is marked on the bottom to indicate which side goes out, so pay attention to
reinstalling it later. I know this one is chrome, but we didnt take a pic of it coming off..LOL






Now , with the front wheel rolled out of the way, we can start to disassemble the fork.
Unless you have a long allen key and some serious hand strength, you're going to need
one of these. Its a 6mm, long allen , that attatches to your ratchet. Remember, this front
end is made by Showa so you will need some metric tools. But this one is most important.

Removing the snap rings is easy. Don't use a screwdriver. If you slip, it can gouge he rod. I use a dental pick. It is a great tool for many things including this one. I would recommend changing the seals.

With a little force you can slide the legs off. Just apply enough force
to slide past the seal. Remove slowly and drain it completely.






You'll need a drain pan to catch the fork oil that will leak
once you remove the bolt with the special 6mm allen.






There are two caps that will fall from the damper unit when you remove the fork. These are sometimes a
real pain to keep on when reinstalling the leg. I take a little wheel bearing grease and put it in the cap. It
helps keep it on. Some find this trick easier and some don't. I have done it a few times with good results.






After removing the bolts on top of the legs, remove the pinch
bolts. Now you can slide the top slider out of the trees.






In case you were wondering how to take off the slider covers
(or cow bells, as some call them), there are only two bolts that hold
them in place. But it sure does take alot to get to them. No wonder
HD sells a kit that covers them clamshell style.You dont have to
remove them for that kit. But then you would miss out on all this fun!!






Here you see the 6mm allen again, tightening the bolt in the new chrome leg.
Its easier to do this off the bike than on. Try to make this task easy on yourself.
I dont have a shot of the seal installation because I was going too fast (sorry), but
it's quite easy. Just slide it on and use a 2 inch piece of PVC tube to tap it in place.






Now you can simply reverse the disassembly process. Don't forget
the fork cap goes on with the word "OUT" facing outward.






After you have filled the fork legs (check your appliction for amount), and installed the
wheel and calipers, you can tighten the cap on the fork. Then I tighten the axle bolt.
Doing it in this order makes sure you do not pull the wheel out of alignment.






Once the front end is done you can really notice a difference.






You will be better of putting on one side of the headlamp nacelle and installing your
plugs. This will keep your brake line and throttle cables aligned during installation.
Remember, this is easier than it looks. All you are doing is reversing the process now.






Heres a tuff little screw to install , unless you have small hands. I don't. So here is what
I do. I tape the nut and washer to the back of my screwdriver and then hold it in place so 
I can position the screw in the hole and tighten it. There is no chance of the washer and
nut falling into the back of the nacelle and then having to remove it just to find it.






Assembly is easy, as long as you have your parts in order. Just
reverse the removal process here and you're about done.