I never looked at a newer Bonnie yet, but mine has a 73 front end. You will need to have you bike propped up in the front. Somone else from the list may have a better choice, but with my bike I can remove the entire forks just as easy as the lowers so it depends. If I were the add gators from the lower side, I would remove the front wheel assembly. Next drain and remove the lower fork tubes by removing the retaining nut. Be careful not to damage the rubber seals. Slip the gators over, and replace the lower fork tubes. Tighten the drain nuts and fill each tube with 220cc of fluid(I use ATF). It is really pretty easy and should take no more than an hour of your time, a couple of sockets, and a half quart of fluid.

TangoMike

 

Had mine done with my 500 mile service and the whole thing was around 160.00 at Ridge Motorsportsc in SC.

 

Does that Bonnie have 2300 cc's? Probably get more help on the twins tech site.

 

i put gaiters on my 2005 bonneville black and i jacked it up enough to get the front wheel off and fender(speedo, brake lines not long enough) and i then loosened the triple tree clamps (pinch bolts) and slid the whole fork leg out and installed the gaiter and re-assembled. took about an hour or so. wasnt hard to do and i am not a mechanic by any means.

 

Installing fork gaiters/fork boots

hi, I'm new to the forums and believe its best to reply to a thread if related....

Thought I would share how I was able to install my fork gaiters without a jack!
I live in an apartment block and have limited tools and experience but after much research felt confident to try this.
I took my bonneville next door to the playground and parked my bike under the monkey bars. I then used a ratchet (tie down) rope to hook the handle bars to the rope and the other end to the monkey bars above. Then used the ratchet to lever the bike off the ground!
Just loosened the tree bolts and removed brake calibre and bingo, was able to slide the forks out and install the gaiters. Reversed the process and off i went.. maybe took 20mins.
Hope it helps someone

 

hi, I'm new to the forums and believe its best to reply to a thread if related....

Thought I would share how I was able to install my fork gaiters without a jack!
I live in an apartment block and have limited tools and experience but after much research felt confident to try this.
I took my bonneville next door to the playground and parked my bike under the monkey bars. I then used a ratchet (tie down) rope to hook the handle bars to the rope and the other end to the monkey bars above. Then used the ratchet to lever the bike off the ground!
Just loosened the tree bolts and removed brake calibre and bingo, was able to slide the forks out and install the gaiters. Reversed the process and off i went.. maybe took 20mins.
Hope it helps someone

That's pretty ingenious!

 

Easy peasy

Jack bike so front wheels are off the ground. Helps to have center stand and use a car jack to lift the front.

Remove brake calipers and fender. Remove wheel. (Note the location of the top of the forks -- both depth and rotational position -- on the top clamp because you want to get that back in the same position when you re-assemble.)

Loosen top and bottom triple tree braces nuts and slide forks out from below.

Use a hammer with a wooden block and gently slide off the plastic rock guards on the forks.

Slide the gaiters on. You'll see where one end slips over the little groove on the forks to register the right location. You might want to warm the gaiters in some hot water first and gently use a needle nose pliers. Make sure the little air hole in the gaiter is open, otherwise you will have bellows, not gaiters. Install the retainer clips (assume that came with the gaiters; if not, just use auto hose clamps and paint them black.)

Put forks back on (paying attention to lining them up on the top clamp as noted earlier), install wheels, brake calipers and fenders. Tighten upper triple clamp bolts but keep the lower bolts and wheel axle bolts a little loose.

Lower the bike, get on it and without touching the handlebars, push down on the gas tank to bounce the bike a bit on the front wheel. This will align it. Then tighten the lower clamp bolts a bit on each side until torqued. Tighten the wheel lug.

All that said, it is really easier than all that, and logical. Just take your time and you'll find it easy and enjoyable. Crazy to pay anybody to do it. It was the first thing I did on my 2013 mag wheel Bonnie and it kind of broke the ice for me in terms of getting used to working on the bike.

 

Skip's advice is very good. I would add:
1. I removed one fork at a time, rather than both together. Not sure that this makes any real difference.

2. Clean and wax the fork tubes before installing gaitors.

3. Use a little soapy water on each end of the gaitors to help them slide easily into place.

4. Orient the small holes in the gaitors so that they face towards the rear of the bike.

5. I used gaitors for a Kawasaki W650 - there were no clips or clamps and the gaitors stay in place fine without them.

6. Torque spec for top and bottom clamp bolts is 27 Nm, which is 20 ft/pounds.

7. Every year or so you might want to push the gaitor out of the way (you don't have to remove it from the tube) and clean and wax under it. This protects the fork seals.

It really isn't very hard. Good luck.

 

I remove the forks without removing the wheel. Take off the brake caliper (obviously once elevated) and remove the entire wheel assembly with the forks still attached. Then you can put them back on without worrying if the forks are lined up.

 

Good idea!

 

Gaiters

Mr. dc rat,

If you can't get it done, or don't want to, on your own, PM me for further information, and you can ride out to my house in Warrenton and we'll do it.

Namaste,
Charles

 

^^^^^^^ Take him up on this. My in-laws live in Warrenton, and it's one of the prettiest towns around, and the ride there is AWESOME. Even if you just ride over to show him your installed gators and then ride home.

 

Go to the Sticky: Great source of info, and scroll down to #4 permalink. There are two instructional write-ups. I did it myself and that means anyone can do it.

I'd go see "endoscopy"

 

New to this forum and learning a lot.
Great thread and following instructions above, just completed doing mine on an ‘07 Bonnie.
Took front wheel/brake/Speedo drive off but left the guard and it all came off in one piece.
Easy job, 7 bolts 1 nut & a screw. thanks for the directions to all..
Fantastic forum this.
Jeff, Newcastle, Australia.