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Removing "free piston" above fork springs

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    Removing "free piston" above fork springs

    I just changed my fork oil and springs today and when I got the fork cap off I realized that I had no way of extracting the aluminum piston that sits down in the fork tube on top of the springs about 2 inches or so. I was getting a little (lot) frustrated when my wife says "wrap masking tape around your finger and stick it in and it should come right out" And you know what? She was right... And I was red faced, but grateful. By the way, this was on my '821100EZ.

    #2
    Or just slowly push the lower fork leg up from the bottom, causing spacer and spring to poke out the top of the upper fork leg!
    Kevin
    E-Bay: gsmcyclenut
    "Communism doesn't work because people like to own stuff." Frank Zappa

    1978 GS750(x2 "projects"), 1983 GS1100ED (slowly becoming a parts bike), 1982 GS1100EZ,
    Now joined the 21st century, 2013 Yamaha XTZ1200 Super Tenere.

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      #3
      I just changed my fork oil and springs today and when I got the fork cap off I realized that I had no way of extracting the aluminum piston that sits down in the fork tube on top of the springs about 2 inches or so.
      That spacer should come shooting out as soon as you unscrew the top cap. Your springs are likely VERY sacked out to not have any preload on them when the forks are extended. I would be checking their free length to be sure they are not way out of spec. A new set of springs should require significant force to push the cap down onto the fork tube and get the threads started.

      Mark

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        #4
        First of all the forks and wheel are on the bike and I had it up on a bike jack, so pushing the fork tube up was not really an option without lowering the front end to the floor and I was afraid of things tipping too far and getting away from me. Second, on the '82 1100EZ the fork cap has the ramped preload adjuster built in to it that extends down into the tube. When the cap is unscrewed it does pop out with pretty good force but the spring itself is about 2" down in the tube. I compared my old springs with the new ones and they're within a small fraction of an inch.

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