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fork lock

12K views 10 replies 6 participants last post by  Bonsai 
#1 ·
Hi guys,
I may be about to show what a newbie I still am but......

A friend rode my Low Rider to his house for me this past Friday.(Nothing nefarious...I was running a fever of 101 and couldn't ride it home :() The next morning he went to move it out to his driveway for me. He checked the fork lock out of habit and discovered it was 'locked'. He rode it home this way and I've been riding it for months and I've never used the fork lock. He's a HD mechanic and said he's never heard of this happening. He 'unlocked' it and now this bike rides like a totally different machine. Like I said. I'm new and this was a big jump up in bikes for me. My last bike was a Suzuki Savage 650. I thought that my problems with sharp turns were the bigger, more powerful bike that I was still nervous on. Now I can urge it into a corner with the gentlest of effort and it responds like a dream.

Has anyone run into this before? How can this be possible? I thought if it was locked it would not move. Could it have been only partially engaged?

Please bear with me if this is a silly question!:eek:
 
#2 · (Edited)
I would take it into the shop and have them check the fork lock immediately. On all 4 HD rides I've owned, if the fork lock was engaged the bike was effectively not ridable. Unless, of course, you wanted to ride in one tight circle.
 
#3 ·
Hi Lowrider Girl,
Good to hear from you. Thats a great question. Like Lil when the forks are locked there is no budging them. I know they changed the design on the fork lock on the Dynas, I think in 06 with the new frame? You'll get an answer here I'm sure just not from me. As Lil stated, I would not personally ride the bike at all until you see whats going on in there. A piece of metal could lodge in somewhere on your forks preventing you from steering! Good luck.
 
#4 ·
Thanks guys! I'll get someone to check it out for me.
It actually made my stomach churn when he told me what had happened because I've been riding the bike with it in the 'lock' position. To think it could have just frozen while I was moving at a good speed makes me ill.
 
#6 ·
Someone at sometime just forced the fork. I believe it is still just a pin. You could shear it off I guess and keep riding. I would get it fixed for sure.
 
#7 ·
Thanks Mike.
Is there anyway to tell if the pin is sheared off besides taking the forks apart? The guys at the shop seem to think that there is no reason to worry about it now but I'm not sure after considering what you guys have mentioned. I don't use the fork lock (obviously or I would have noticed before now :rolleyes:). If I don't engage the lock does that diminish the risk?
 
#8 ·
How did it end up locked IF you never lock it?

Did you lend it out, or buy the bike new/used??
I bought it used. I never had the key for the fork lock on my Suzuki so I never developed the habit of using it. I honestly never even looked at the fork lock on the low rider. Trey checked it out of habit or it would still be the same way. He's a mechanic and is the one who found it in the lock position. Other than him and one other guy at the shop, no one has ridden my bike....that I know of. Now the previous owner?? It sure doesn't look like a bike that has been dropped hard enough to do what you described.

Thanks for the info! It's very helpful!:)
 
#9 ·
I had a bike stolen once and when apprehended the thief, in court, just laughed and said he just jerked on the handlebars a few times to break the lock. Fork locks are just peace-of-mind devices in my opinion.
 
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