After 46,000 miles, the rubber bellows dust covers on my '03 Road King have separated. Looks ugly, but the shocks still work OK.

Bike is in the shop for other repairs. Mechanic says dust covers are part of the shock and cannot be replaced by themselves.

Should I just ride it as is, or blow my money on a new set of shocks when I don't need them?

 

Tell your mechanic I said he's full of crap. They come right off quite easily. (ask me how I know)

However, finding a replacement is another story.

Lots of people have replaced broken shocks. Put a notice in classifieds, and you might get lucky.

 

Anthony,

Thanks for the update, but I really don't think I want to **** off my motorcycle mechanic. He probably has a hidden agenda to make more money by replacing more parts unnecessarily.

I just told him to leave the original shocks on. The saddle bags hide the dust covers, so I'm not going to have a cow over it. It's not a show bike.

 

Anthony, apart from trying to find one in the classifieds or at a M/C swap meet, do you have any ideas as to how/where to find the shock bellows?

I have the same problem Don did, but I'm not interested in throwing out an otherwise perfectly good pair of shocks. I've tried various searches and have even sent an em to Showa, but so far haven't found anything or heard back from them.

Thanks.

 

There is a recent post somewhere on HDF about replacement bellows for those shocks. However with that mileage it is worth pensioning them off and getting a fresh set of shocks. They can be got on Ebay, or you can treat yourself to some better shocks and improve ride quality dramatically!

 

I had the same problem. Went to nappa auto supply, they have replacement boots for around $7 each. Simple fix.

 

Four Wheel Parts Wholesalers have some also.

 

The boots from Rough Country 4 wheel drive shocks will work also. May have to trim them a bit.

 

This is from a post in 2009 on the subject:

"You can get Rack & Pinion rubber boots to replace your torn ones. The part number at Advance Auto is K3533190. TRW part number is 15113D. Or ask for CV Bellows/Boot kit for a 1990-1991 Toyota Camry. Just Ziptie them on at the top and bottom."

I was planning on taking the old boots over to the local 4WD parts store, now I definitely will.