Dismantling forks

[ontwowheels 19]

Recently bought a cbf 125. LH fork was leaking so set about changing the seal. Came apart fine, cleaned up, seal replaced, oil changed, job done. Moved on to the RH leg (not leaking but like to be thorough) and can't undo the 6mm allen bolt in the bottom of the fork leg - the one that stops the chrome stanchion from sliding out. The bolt turns but must be spinning the inner part as it doesn't loosen. I can't see/think of any way of holding the inner part so I can loosen the bolt. Any ideas/experience of this? I'd hate to think I have to get a new fork leg simply for the sake of not being able to dismantle it.

[Johnnie Mototrans 2,771]

Put it back together if you have taken the cap off and spring out

Then, turn it upside down and compress the complete leg.

This should hold the innards together while you undo the Allen bolt.

Good luck.

[ChrisCB 6,694]

17 minutes ago, ontwowheels said:

Recently bought a cbf 125. LH fork was leaking so set about changing the seal. Came apart fine, cleaned up, seal replaced, oil changed, job done. Moved on to the RH leg (not leaking but like to be thorough) and can't undo the 6mm allen bolt in the bottom of the fork leg - the one that stops the chrome stanchion from sliding out. The bolt turns but must be spinning the inner part as it doesn't loosen. I can't see/think of any way of holding the inner part so I can loosen the bolt. Any ideas/experience of this? I'd hate to think I have to get a new fork leg simply for the sake of not being able to dismantle it.

I've had success in the past by tapping a long wooden broom handle down into the damper rod to hold it, in recent times I've used a battery powered nut gun on the cap head, in extreme circumstances drilled the head off.

[DCTPaul 629]

How many extension bars can ya lay ya hands on...

I had to do the forks on  Kwack GPZ550... a whirly gun did the trick to get em un done...

Trip to ya local Kwik Fit or wherever with a couple of packets of biscuits! Be prepared to replace the bolts... Take ya own Allen head socket and Adapter tools to fit their 1/2" whirly gun in case they dont have em.

Broom handle to do em up, Even sand the end of the broom handle to a a square to hold the socket... Some plastic handles have a 4 tapper end... cut is down till it fits the socket square.

Edited March 21, 2022 by DCTPaul

[ChrisCB 6,694]

2 minutes ago, DCTPaul said:

How many extension bars can ya lay ya hands on...

I had to do the forks on  Kwack GPZ550... a whirly gun did the trick to get em un done...

Trip to ya local Kwik Fit or wherever with a couple of packets of biscuits! Be prepared to replace the bolts... Take ya own Allen head socket and Adapter tools to fit their 1/2" whirly gun in case they dont have em.

Broom handle to do em up, Even sand the end of the broom handle to a a square to hold the socket...

I seem to remember on Kawasaki's of that vintage I used a 24" long 3/8 drive extension with a spark plug socket upside down on the end to fit in the damper rod.

[DCTPaul 629]

^^ Ha Ha.. Invaluable tricks of the trade...

Don't ya just love the wealth of experiance and knowledge of the 'NC Collective'

[wjvh 999]

I use a long half inch socket extension bar; the square half inch end seems to grip onto the top of the damper rod. A bit of pressure is required to get it to grip. Similar principle to the other solutions proposed here. Also try a sharp twist of the bolt, almost like an impact /shock approach.

[skorpion 946]

Crack open the top nut but don't unscrew, now undo the bottom bolt, the fork spring compression is normally enough to keep the insides from turning as you undo the bottom bolt.

[rjp996 1,091]

12 hours ago, Johnnie Mototrans said:

Put it back together if you have taken the cap off and spring out

Then, turn it upside down and compress the complete leg.

This should hold the innards together while you undo the Allen bolt.

Good luck.

This is how ive done it - I get the wife to hold it upside down and compress it does hard whilst I do the easy bit and undo it.

[ontwowheels 19]

Thanks all. Some good ideas to work on here. I ran out of time yesterday and had to reassemble it all back on to the bike, but will try again at the weekend and report back.

 

Now starting another thread on a different issue (same bike)...