Fork won't split

[MarkJ]

Hi, 1999 Hornet, one leg split no problem but the other is stuck. Feels as though the bottom bush is going underneath the top and I've tried for 5 hours to split them. It was going OK for the first few hours with the oil seal slowly coming out but now it's stopped about half way out and hasn't moved for the last two hours.

I've tried just doing the normal slide hammer technique with my hands and also bracing the stanchion in the yokes and giving it a right tug but it just won't give.

Sickpup in this thread said to:

[Pete.]

Got a G-clamp? If not they are only a few quid. Cut a vee in a block of wood and clamp the leg to a bench with a G-clamp and the vee-block on top to protect it.
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a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[Raffles]

I had a similar problem a few weeks ago with a ZZR 600 fork leg. After several attempts to separate the two halves, using all of the usual tricks, I got pissed off and I took it to my local friendly motorcycle workshop. They, too, failed and were unable to separate the leg.
That was when I decided to man-up. I removed my vice from my workbench and took it outside. I then fastened the upper leg into the vice and inserted an old, redundant, wheel axle into the lower leg. I heated the seal area of the lower leg with a propane torch and when it was sufficiently heated, I attacked it, Tiger Woods style, with a 7lb hammer. After several almightly swings, the two halves were separated. The upper and lower bushes pulled straight through the seal, which decided to remain firmly seated within the lower leg. The seal was seized to the lower leg big-time but was easier to deal with now that the upper and lower leg halves were separated.
The moral of this story is, that sometimes, nothing short of brute force will do.
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A good loser will always be a loser.

[CaNsA]

1 fork wouldnt split on my old zxr, inner bush lodged behind the outer one.
I had to do this....

https://i47.tinypic.com/33jqqmp.jpg
https://i47.tinypic.com/24pjnzs.jpg

[MarkJ]

Hopefully it won't come to that!

Pete: Good idea, I'll try that (on my flimsy table I have in the garage)

Raffles, how does the wheel axle work, did you just put it through the spindle hole and hit it as close to the slider as possible? I know my bushes won't pass through the oil seal because there's a washer that sits between the oil seal and upper bush Also, was the bike shop RTT?

[Raffles]

[Skudd]

STOP


I had that same issue, but it is a simple solution.
There is a washer that sits under the seal and above the gubbings in the lower part of the forks.you will find that this has spot welded ityself in with a bit of corrotion. It will come out but you do need to wotk around it with a thin blade bit by bit. Keep tugging the forks apart and working on the washer. It will take time but you can do it. You will need new bushes no matter what so don't worry about them when trying to get them apart.
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Famous last words of Humpty Dumpty. " Stop pushing me "
Petty Anarchists look at "1984".............. The Visionary looks at "Animal Farm".

[Timmeh]

[prawny1]

if the bushes are ok and its just the seal that needs changing what you can do is remove the dust cover and wire clip then fill the fork with oild to the top put the cap back on and refit to the bike then bounce the bike the hydraulic pressure should be enough to push the seal out.

If it is way to stubborn you can put the fork between a wall/curb and use a jack on the other end against something else imovable and jack the seal out, make sure bothe ends are secure though so that the fork leg doesn't slip and fly off.

The only other option if the bushes just won't budge is serious amounts of heat to expand the fork tube opening. be carefull not to burn yourself though, welding gloves are good for this.
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hellkat wrote:

Some people are only alive cos its against the law to kill them.

[prawny1]

double post
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hellkat wrote:

Some people are only alive cos its against the law to kill them.

[Timmeh]

[prawny1]

[Timmeh]

aaaah, that makes sense then.

shame all my bikes have USDs, they are a right pain in the arse, especially the gixxers.
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GSXR400 x2 | '94 RVF400 | '93 TZR125 4DL (again)
20:22:30 BLUEX5: i would love to be forced to undergo a**l plugging with different sizes
20:48:18 Temeluchus: comp you hunk of smouldering homos3x you

[MarkJ]

Skudd: the washer is underneath the oil seal but I can't get that out either.

Prawny: it's a RWU fork so the dust seal is off. Unfortunately the bike is completely in bits so can't use the weight of the bike, but I do have a car jack so might have to find something just a bit higher than the fork leg to squash it with the jack Does it need the springs and gubbins putting back in?

[MarkJ]

Oh cock I just realised I drilled a hole in the oil seal to try and pull it out with mole grips as per the quote in my first post

[P.]

What I did when my gsxr one was really stuck, got some of that blue rope, tied through the spindle hole and looped that around a solid concrete gate post.

Wrapped the lower part in loads of bubble wrap to stop it getting damaged and put a pair of marigolds on for maximum grip yo.

Kept tugging at it with all my weight.

Split it in the 2nd pull.

Unorthodox, but have you seen my bikes

Either way it worked. Wear a cape for maximum effect

[prawny1]

[MarkJ]

BCF delivers.
https://i46.tinypic.com/xng6z4.jpg
That's how it came out - the lower bush came through the upper!

I used Paddy's ghetto method, except I used an iron gate hinge bracket with a cloth over it instead
https://i49.tinypic.com/2w3dz5t.jpg

Still took a good half dozen pulls. And to think I was going to grind those hinges off. They will stay now, for future fork maintenance tasks

Thanks everyone

[P.]

Oh yes

Its a good method providing you stop the bit thats tied up from hitting anything hard, ala bubble wrap

Glad it worked for you

[Skudd]

Now you need new bushes. Mine looked like that.
____________________
Famous last words of Humpty Dumpty. " Stop pushing me "
Petty Anarchists look at "1984".............. The Visionary looks at "Animal Farm".

[Skudd]

Now you need new bushes. Mine looked like that.
____________________
Famous last words of Humpty Dumpty. " Stop pushing me "
Petty Anarchists look at "1984".............. The Visionary looks at "Animal Farm".

[Skudd]

Now you need new bushes. Mine looked like that.
____________________
Famous last words of Humpty Dumpty. " Stop pushing me "
Petty Anarchists look at "1984".............. The Visionary looks at "Animal Farm".