Most plating is done by dipping the part in an electrified bath containing the plating material. Therefore, the lugs may not need to be removed. I'd call a shop like racetech and see what they recommend, the cost, and if removing the lowers is necessary. Then weigh that against a swap. You can technically replate parts at home with a power supply, container, and some nickel anode.

 

klx678: I'm a 2009. I'm still looking around and doing some research to see what else would fit my bike. Thanks though!

Brewster: Thanks for that, good read.

ALONEINTHEHILLS: The chrome place I called does some grinding when they do the rechroming. I don't know about the whole process but they want the lugs off. But I am going to call a suspension shop like you said and get a professional opinion.

 

Oops, thought it was the earlier one.

They have to grind the old chrome off to get a clean smooth surface and get the right thickness when done chroming and grinding. Used to work at Morgantown Machine and Hydraulics doing the repair sketch ups for hydraulic cylinder repair.

I'm guessing the ends are threaded on with some badass thread locker like the red LocTite. Takes some serious heat to break it loose. You could find out online. It is at least 250°F. maybe more.

 

I agree that removing the lugs makes machining easier, but I've also seen machinists get some parts chucked properly in a lathe as long as the can get it centered. Here's a polishing example, maybe not the safest thing to do though with your hands.

 

Well, I chickened out and paid for new OEM inner tubes. The fork swap information I was finding was all for older models of bikes, and my suspension knowledge isn't where it should be for swapping out major components and then going on the highway.

There was a few hundred dollars savings to be had by having a machine shop try to get them apart, but between the dicking around and the possibility of problems I'll just take the ding.

Thanks for the help people. I wish I'd been a bit braver. If I can leave get my bike fixed and back, I can leave my truck off the road for the summer and save more than I lost.