Modifying front forks

[goldenpony]

My wife has a pretty much pristine '82 Ascot. the front forks have never held air very well. I had an '82 Goldwing and I changed to progressive springs. Is there some kind of kit available for the Ascot to do away with the air forks ? Thanks in advance.

[triguyracer]

Yes , Race tech makes a spring in all spring rates a little pricy but well worth it .I am 215 lb and I am using a 90kg straight weight spring rate that is firm with 15wt oil .Air forks are junk for the most part, I just eliminated mine altogether. Progressive also makes springs too. I use the Race Tech ones on my vintage race bikes also, Depending on the weight of the rider most likely 80kg or 85 kg spring would work well unless you heavy like me lol. They are easy to change too

[goldenpony]

OK. I got the kit from Progressive, and I have a qt. of fork oil coming from Dennis Kirk. Maybe somebody can give me some direction. I know to raise the front wheel off the ground. Remove the top air caps. Remove the spacers and OE springs. Now, I assume I remove the screw at the bottom of the fork and drain the old oil. Should I rinse it out by pouring something like kerosene and let it run out?
Next, I assume I replace the drain screws, pour in the correct amount of fork oil, install the new springs and spacers and replace the top caps. Again, I assume I can put plugs in where the air used to go in.
So, am I on course here? If not, can somebody tell me where I am wrong.

Thanks guys

[triguyracer]

You do not need to rinse out the forks with anything just let them drain out put the screw back in the drain hole and fill with the wt oil you wish to use ,you do not need to plug the fork caps just don't put air in them ,

[goldenpony]

Thanks Triguyracer!

[goldenpony]

Any tips about removing old fork springs?

[triguyracer]

If you have the front end off the ground and well supported you can when you undo the fork caps to get at the spring use a magnet to pull out the spacer and you can take a coat hanger and bend a small hook and grab the spring ,you might be able to get it out with the magnet  ,good luck

[goldenpony]

Cool. How do the top caps come out?

[triguyracer]

They unthread just like unscrewing a nut or bolt

[triguyracer]

Make sure the front end is off the ground and there is no weight on them, do one at a time

[Lefty]

Mistake, sorry!

[goldenpony]

Tackled the job. Raised front wheel off ground. Drained both forks-oil looked awful. removed top fork tube caps, just screwed out. Removed metal spacers & washers and pulled out OE springs. Replaced drain screws. Installed Progressive springs, Added 330 cc 10W Progressive fork oil to each fork. Installed washers and plastic spacers. Re-installed top fork caps.
Took bike for a ride and the ride was very good, better than old air forks. Actually, a very easy install. Highly recommend Progressive Suspension fork spring kit.   

[goldenpony]

Wife took her Thumper for first ride since I redid the forks. Says it rode and handled the best it ever has. Glad I got rid of the dumb air forks.

[goldenpony]

One final question. I removed the small rubber tube that connected the two fork caps together for the air forks. This leaves a small hole in each cap. Is it OK to leave it like this? No oil comes out, some times you can hear a small hissing noise when the forks are working. I assume this is not a problem.

[J6G1Z]

Should probably plug those holes.

Your bike had an air cross-over tying the two forks together? If so, that was not original. Each fork tube had a shraeder valve in the fork cap.

[triguyracer]

Buy two  bolts with the correct thread and size bolt or two new valves and plug the holes ,there should be no air coming out of the fork caps

[goldenpony]

Plugged the holes-thanks for the advice.