Works rear with progressive fronts

[Mr Steve]

I'm upgrading my 412s to works, will I be ok keeping the progressive fronts?  Or will I need the works front setup?

On another note, do I have to remove forks to change oil?  Or is there some way I can pump it out to replace with new?

[sheets]

I've had "Works" rear shocks with "Progressive" springs up front for several years. No problem-O. Can't speak for the fork oil. I do believe some here have used a pump of sorts to pull out the old oil. Others pull the forks. I'll leave it to others to chime in here on the fork oil change. sheets

[GOOSE]

skg574....you can either pull the forks (not a big deal), or you can do it with the forks on the bike.  on the bike there are two ways:  dag's (from norway), and the second is this way:  support the bike in a upright position (on a jack.) with the wheels off the ground.  loose the top pinch bolts on the top tripple tree, and then loosen and remove the the top caps on each of the fork tubes.  remove the springs out of each fork (remember the left fork requires the use of hond's special 44 mm socket.).  place a jack under the front wheel, and compress the forks.  then take a vaccum pump, and suck out the fork oil.  in the factory manual it gives you a measurement as to the level of oil from the top of the fork tube in the compressed position.  just say for instance it's 5 1/2 inches for progressive shocks:  so...with the forks compressed and the springs NOT installed...install oil until the level is 5 1/2 inches from the top edge of the fork tube to the oil level in the fork tube.  lower the jack, a

[GOOSE]

lower the jack...install the fork springs...tighten the top caps.....tighten the top tripple tree pinch bolts, and it's done.  good luck.    sorry,.....i had to do this second  thing...i hit post accidently before i finished the first thing.

[Mr Steve]

Thanks, Goose.  I'm chasing a rough ride that may turn out to be solely the rears.  It feels like the front hits hard too, but from what I have read here bad rears may cause that feeling.  50k on the 412s and I'm not a small guy, and I can also see that the bushings are bad.  I figured if it was the front too, perhaps a lighter eight oil, hence looking for an easy way to change it.

[Mr Steve]

It took almost five weeks, but my Works arrived and have been installed.  Once on the jack the install was smooth for the left side, but a little less than smooth for the right side.     Things did not want to line up.  Maybe I should have done the right side first.  Anyway, once done it is a whole new bike.

My bone jarring ride is gone.  The same roads I used to cringe riding down I now seek out to test these shocks.  They do a good job with everything I have thrown at them.  Not only at absorbing the rough road surfaces, but the bike feels much more surefooted as well.

I'm coming off a set of Progressive 412s.  Pistons and springs were good, bushings looked a bit mushroomed on the bike (obviously needed replace), but nothing looked or felt exceptionally loose.  Progressive front springs too.  I kept the fronts.  I have yet to get my better half in her seat, but so far I am really liking the change to the Works and they do work well with the Progressive fronts.

What was odd is that I could have sworn something was loose under my tank before.  The noise when I hit a bump seemed to come from there and I felt it in my bars.   I also suspected I needed new front springs too.  That  noise is now gone, I don't feel it in my bars anymore, and my fronts are quite fine.  The bike feels solid again.

It was apparently all due to bad rear shocks even though my old ones really didn't look that horrible.  I did not expect that much of a difference. New shocks always amaze me      The Works were $$$ (although really not that much more than Progressive 440s) but so far seem worth it.  We'll have to see how well they hold up over time to really judge value.