WINGOVATIONS
PARTS AND ADVICE FOR YOUR 'OLDEN GOLDIE'
An online source dedicated to Honda's amazing four cylinder Goldwings!
GL1000 Front Fork Wear.
The front forks fitted to the GL1000 are relatively simple hydraulic units consisting of a pair of:
The triple tree, or fork yokes
37mm fork tubes or stanchions
Alloy bottom sliders
Alloy axle clamps, studs and nuts
Damper tubes and fixings
Springs
Seals
Dust covers
The more astute or knowledgeable of you will note there are no internal bushes listed. Because there aren't any!
Unlike more modern forks which have replaceable bushes, sometimes just at the base of the fork tubes but sometimes also at the top of the slider, the GL1000 tubes run directly in the alloy of the slider.
So what to do if you discover slop in your forks?
New sliders are long gone from the OEM lists, so without spending a small fortune to have the sliders bored out fractionally to get the bores parallel again (if you can find a machine shop that is willing), and the tubes rechromed and ground back to an oversize to suit, there is no way to get back to the factory original specifications.
The best you can do is either have your tubes re-chromed back to original size, which will also take care of any pock marks and rust from stone damage, or fit new pattern tubes available from a number of suppliers. You will have to live with whatever wear there is in the alloy sliders.
Again, either way is fairly expensive and involves a complete strip down of the forks.
WinGovations Copyright 2014
J G Evans
But there is also a cheaper way, as in costing nothing! (although this will not cure any pitting) provided that your tubes are nice and straight.
In the picture of the worn tube you will see how the wear takes place. It is mainly at the base of the fork tube, at a position directly at the front and rear as you look at the bike.
Slacken off the pinch bolts on the triple tree, including the large nut holding the spring (you may need to remove this and the spring) and simply turn the tube 90 degrees, so that good metal is now in the wear line. The now sideways wear of the tubes is of no real consequence.
Not a perfect remedy, but a lot better than doing nothing!
You may have also realised that it is important to keep your fork oil regularly changed and up to the correct level for reasons other than handling and comfort.
Later GL models remedied this problem with replaceable bearings.
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