stuck changing fork tubes!

[trisers]

Well i managed to get hold of some forks that will fit my Honda H100, and a whole lot cheaper than having the originals rechromed. They're second hand in very good nick but the lower fork tubes are slightly different so the plan is to swap the stanchions however i seem to be having problems getting the replacements apart...

I've taken the caps off, removed the spring retainer and withdrawn the spring. I've loosened the lower plug/bolt and drained all the fluid. The problem seems to be this lower bolt won't come out as though the part it attaches to is rotating with it inside the lower tube?

Any tips or pointers...is there a particular technique?

[Kickstart]

Hi

You need to stop the damper rod it bolts into turning. You can often get away with this but undoing the bolt while the springs are still in place (the spring pushes on the damper rod and helps it not turn). This appears to be the proper way to do it according to the Honda H100A manual

You might be able to to it by pulling the forks apart with a bit of force and undoing the bolt while doing this (ie, hopefully the force stops the damper rod spinning when the bolt is turned).

You might also be able to use something down the middle of the fork to stop it turning. Normal trick is a wooden broom handle but the H100 forks are probably too narrow for that.

All the best

Keith
____________________
Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[trisers]

Thanks for the advice Keith.

I've tried pulling the forks to the maximum extension but that didn't work so i 'found' a long steel rod which is a slightly larger diameter than the recess in the head of the damper rod and filed it to a slightly conical shape to try and grip it but still no luck. The manual does say on reassembly to put some locking fluid on the thread of the bolt so I guess that's what's stopping it coming out easily.

It's a pity the head of the damper rod doesn't have either a slot or a hex socket in it...it's head and the recess in the head is totally round and i can't even imagine Honda producing a special tool for the job that could grip it, the manual certainly doesn't mention anything.

The original forks came apart easily enough so it's a bit frustrating!

Any further suggestions most welcome lol

Clive

[----]

There will no doubt be a 'special tool' that grips the damper somehow.Try shining a torch down the tube to get a good look at what type of top it has.
It's usually something simple where you can use a nut welded on the end of a bar e.t.c.
I have done 3 different types so far and made the tool myself for everyone quite easily.
One type of damper rod top:
https://home.pacbell.net/scoveney/joes_files/Shock-tool-target.gif

And one of the types of tool:

https://www.motionpro.com/images/enlarged/08-0117.jpg

[G]

From what I remember, I used a fork and some L-section shelving bracket on my zx9 once.
These days I just use an electric/air impact wrench, which is much easier .

[trisers]

This is the damper rod from the original fork and as you can see there's no shape in the head of it to grip with any tool that springs to mind

https://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y27/clivejameson/IMG_2829_1.jpg

I'm beginning to wonder if i can fit a suitably sized screw extractor to attach to the end of my piece of rod and get it to 'bite' down the centre of the tube?

[----]

For that type i would use a long bar filed (grinder) to a point with 4 sides.
Hammer the bar in and the 4 points should dig in enough to unscrew the bolt.

(Not saying this is the right way to do it,just the way that i do it.)

[Kickstart]

Hi

First try would be a length of sharpened wood dowling. The wood will compress a bit and hopefully grip better than steel without doing any damage.

All the best

Keith
____________________
Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[trisers]

Well firstly to let you know the metal bar filed to a four-sided blunt point did the trick and i successfully rebuilt the forks...all fine and dandy there!

The rebuild of the bike continues...this is the fun for me, bringing it back to life and most of it is now rebuilt so i'm looking to the future when it will need an MOT....

The front end is now completely assembled with new brake pads etc having cleaned and greased the mechanism, cleaned the hub and fitted new wheel bearings/seals, the brake feels silky smooth when rolling the bike along but one thing concerns me...

When the brake is applied hard there is a small clunk which i've located...it's from a little free play between the fork tube and the hub. The tube has a welded on block the fits into a corresponding slot on the brake hub and there is a tiny gap there of maybe 1/2mm.

Is this normal/common, and would this be an MOT failure?