• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

Fork Disassembly Problems

  • Thread starter Thread starter Surly
  • Start date Start date
S

Surly

Guest
I hoped to change my fork seals last night but can't get the guts out of the forks on my 78 GS1000E. Apparently age and lock-tite have taken their toll and firmly secured the bolts in the bottoms of the legs to the damper rods. I used my impact wrench to try and break them loose to no avail.

My Clymer manual says I can have a tool made by welding a 19mm bolt to a long t-handle. The tool apparently then locks into the damper rod somewhere inside the fork. I have no welder or ability, so I was thinking I could use threaded rod and jam two nuts together on each end. Trouble is, when I look inside the fork, I can't see where the 19mm head would go. So before I start spending time to fab a tool, I need to make sure this will work.

How are you enterprising folks taking your forks apart? Are you using said tool? Maybe I'll need to just have the dealer change these.
 
put your springs back in and screw the caps back on, the presure should be enough to hold the dampener rod well enough for a impact gun to spin the bold loose. if not you idea with the threaded rod and 2 bolts should work as well to hold the dampener rod to use a impact gun, also find a friend, 2 people make the job easier too. Then make sure to remove the rod and the rebound spring (they just slide out) so you can clean everything well.

back to your question, the dampener rod top has a star like pattern that the nut would lock into to keep it from spining.

-ryan
 
Last edited:
take a 19mm "head" should be a 12mm thread bolt, double jam nut it at the other end away from the bolt head(crank them together real hard) put new TOOL into a 19mm socket on an long extention with a rachet attached, insert into tube... ,got mine loose that way!
 
Last edited:
How long of a bolt?

How long of a bolt?

rustybronco said:
take a 19mm bolt double jam nut it at the other end away from the bolt head(crank them together real hard) put new TOOL into a 19mm socket on an long extention with a rachet attached, insert into tube... ,got mine loose that way!
Click to expand...

Thanks RB. How long of a bolt do you need? I was thinking threaded rod just because it is easier to find, but if the 19mm bolt isn't too hard to come by I'll do that.
 
see that i edited my post...
a 40-50mm is about the right lenght to use, 19mm is the "head" size to go into the dampener tube double nut it with two 12mm (19mm outside) nuts.
to get a strong enough threaded rod it would have to be a large diameter, a 3/8' extension with a 19mm socket would serve the same purpose.
 
Thanks for the tip!

Thanks for the tip!

I'll give this a whirl tonight. If I put every extension I have together I might just have enough to get into that fork tube.

Many thanks.
 
A cheap trick

A cheap trick

Take a 5/8" spark plug socket and turn it upside down when you put it on a rachet extension. The hex top end should be 19 MM (which is 3/4") and will fit into the damper rod. Not all plug sockets will allow this, but if yours does, you're home free. :idea: :-D

I learn this trick on this site a couple of years ago AFTER I had gone to the trouble to fabricate a tool by welding a nut to the end of a steel rod. My tool worked, but I could have saved myself the extra work. :roll:
 
Sah-weeet

Sah-weeet

Fantastic idea. This just keeps getting easier.
 
ruddy said:
Take a 5/8" spark plug socket and turn it upside down when you put it on a rachet extension.
Click to expand...

Sweet! I'm doing my 78 1000 forks this week. Great tip! :-D
 
Use a piece of 1/2" threaded ready rod with 3/4" (across the flats) nuts on each end, also cheap and works great. If it's long enough you can even put the tool in a vise so you don't need three hands if you've already removed the fork assembly from the bike.
 
I just made a tool to work on my son's Yamaha Venture Royale forks. They also need the 19mm wrench.

I searched through the hardware section at Lowe's to find a size that would work, it happened to be a 5/8" American thread, which is easier to come by than large metric stuff around here. Got an 18" length of all-thread and 4 nuts, so I could jam 2 on each end. Works beautifully! I think the total cost was about $6.


.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top