[Harlembrown]

Good evening, I have a 2018 M109 , has anyone successfully installed these new 2 piece fork covers ? I thought it would be less of a hassle compared to removing the fork completely, just screw both pieces together around the fork upper and lowers. I am aware you need to remove the headlight and fender but to my surprise the pieces don’t join flush, there is a noticeable gap on each side? I also noticed the two halves joined together don’t form a circle but a slight oval shape.

 

[nemom109r]

The gap (I assume) is from cutting the tube after milling slots.
I like the look of them though.

 

[thevili]

Is there a chance you have mixed parts of the
left fork cover with the parts right fork cover?

 

[Harlembrown]

Is there a chance you have mixed parts of the
left fork cover with the parts right fork cover?

Brought only one pair down unscrewed them from each other and put straight on left lower fork leg and then tried it on right lower fork leg same result

 

[Zoom]

I've seen several of those on bikes and always thought they were one piece. Maybe they are made in an oval so they pinch the forks? Mine are the two piece but each piece is just one tube. You have to drop the forks down to put them on, and they have O-rings inside to keep them snug. And they were a slight biotch to put on, the o-ring kept rolling out of place and binding.

If they were mine I think I would try padding them and putting them in a vice to see if I could make them round. I don't know how hard that would be or if they would crack.

 

[nemom109r]

Hey Zoom. A mat had same issue and just lubed the fork before install. He said it took a couple of goes but it worked. As you know, most forks have a machined finish. This grabs the o'ring as it travels past.

All the best.

 

[Zoom]

Hey Zoom. A mat had same issue and just lubed the fork before install. He said it took a couple of goes but it worked. As you know, most forks have a machined finish. This grabs the o'ring as it travels past.

All the best.

Thanks bro. That might have been the way I ended up doing them. They've been on there for probably 10 years and I remember having to use a clamp to get them to slide all the way in place.

 

[thevili]

Brought only one pair down unscrewed them from each other and put straight on left lower fork leg and then tried it on right lower fork leg same result

What I meant, was that one half of the left was mixed with opposite half of the right.. not both parts.. Hope you know what I mean...

 

[Harlem Brown]

What I meant, was that one half of the left was mixed with opposite half of the right.. not both parts.. Hope you know what I mean...

Sure I get it, but no that’s not the case the manufacturer in Ukraine sent this reply a couple of hours ago to the shop I ordered these from.
1.Parts cannot be completely round because they were cut into two halves and part of the metal was lost during cutting.

2) If you make fork covers so that there are no gaps between them, then they will cost twice as much due to the fact that I will spend more material and time on manufacturing.

 

[Harlem Brown]

The gap (I assume) is from cutting the tube after milling slots.
I like the look of them though.

So there’s going to be a gap then? here’s the manufacturers response from the Ukraine
a couple of hours ago to the shop I purchased these from.
1.Parts cannot be completely round because they were cut into two halves and part of the metal was lost during cutting.

2) If you make fork covers so that there are no gaps between them, then they will cost twice as much due to the fact that I will spend more material and time on manufacturing.

 

[Harlem Brown]

Hey Zoom. A mat had same issue and just lubed the fork before install. He said it took a couple of goes but it worked. As you know, most forks have a machined finish. This grabs the o'ring as it travels past.

All the best.

You‘re thinking of the one piece which just slides down the fork, these are the new versions cut in two halves

 

[thevili]

Is there a slight chance that of one piece could be flipped around upside down?
Also, have you send to them this picture?

 

[The Prospector]

The problem is the supplier is making them to size and then cutting them in half, the other options are to make two tubes and cut of center and scrap one half (costly) or to make a little oversize to allow for the cut and use some rubber gaskets to grip the fork tube.
I can't see a way of fixing what you've got without making some kind of shim to fill the gap.

 

[Zoom]

You‘re thinking of the one piece which just slides down the fork, these are the new versions cut in two halves

Yeah, I know which you have. If they are going to lose material in the cutting process, you would think they would bore them oversize so that when they are cut in half they would fit.

Can you pull them together on the side that would be visible, and leave a bigger gap on the other side?

 

[Harlem Brown]

Yeah, I know which you have. If they are going to lose material in the cutting process, you would think they would bore them oversize so that when they are cut in half they would fit.

Can you pull them together on the side that would be visible, and leave a bigger gap on the other side?

Makes it worse, better to even them out which I did this afternoon and apply blue locktite which I did, then came the top section which actually slide through the back of the headlight once I loosened the nuts at the back and lowered. 3 down one left to go annnnnnnd?? One upper fork arm clamp slightly lower than the other side making the last upper cover harder to apply to fork,,, I will have to grind down the ends of the last 2 half’s to make them fit between the upper and lower clamp receivers of the fork…….

 

[Zoom]

Well at least cutting them down a little shouldn't be too bad. Unless it's a lot too long you can probably file them down. If I'm doing something round like that, I put a hose clamp around it to use as a guide. Odd that the fork clamps are off as those are machined pieces.

 

[Harlembrown]

Thanks to all my M109 brothers who replied, here is the finished product. Even though it less costly than the one piece tubes and you won‘t have to remove the fork, you will need to remove the front fender, headlight enclosure and one side of the bracket behind the headlight to slide the 2nd half of the cover to the upper portion of the fork. I also needed to shave down one set a little because the fork was not set evenly with the upper clamp. Finished product took about 2 to 3 hours and saved me about $400 labor from the dealer doing it.

 

[majalomalk]

Looks brilliant great job

 

[Harlembrown]

Looks brilliant great job

Thank you Sir

 

[Zoom]

Looks awesome! Well worth the effort.