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Post by medic09 on Dec 11, 2006 18:25:19 GMT -5
I just pried off the rubber caps on top of the forks, thinking I'll just take a short while and change the fork oil.  What do you use to work those recessed fork caps? How?  Thanks! |
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Post by wotavidone on Dec 11, 2006 19:07:44 GMT -5
I guess the right tool for the job is a ratchet with the appropriate sized hex key type socket.
Can't remember what they are really called, but you know the sort of thing - square drive socket at one end to fit your ratchet spanner, allen key at the other end to suit the fork cap.
Or maybe just a big allen key.
However I don't own the appropriate size hex socket, or allen key, and I did not want to spend the 10-15 dollars to buy one for a once-off job.
So I went through the various buckets of bolts that you accumulate when you are on the planet for 45 years and are brought up to never throw away anything that may be remotely useful. I found an ordinary hex head bolt that was a perfect snug fit, put the head in the fork cap and used a pair of vice grip pliers to turn the bolt. Worked fine.
Mick
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Post by yamatopdog on Dec 11, 2006 19:47:03 GMT -5
i belive it's a 17 mm head which i have,but to be slightly less barbaric i have double nutted a bolt and used this to remove an odd sized allen bolt,if a stuborn bolt is tighter then the double nut have a go w/the vgrips.as i recall mine wern'nt all that tight .hpe this helps,Bob
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Post by medic09 on Dec 11, 2006 19:48:32 GMT -5
Okay, so doing it your way (which appeals to me just fine), we can't torque the thing back on to any particular setting, eh?
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Post by medic09 on Dec 11, 2006 19:50:45 GMT -5
i belive it's a 17 mm head which i have,but to be slightly less barbaric i have double nutted a bolt and used this to remove an odd sized allen bolt,if a stuborn bolt is tighter then the double nut have a go w/the vgrips.as i recall mine wern'nt all that tight .hpe this helps,Bob Yamatopdog, Do you have forks with a regular bolt head, or recessed heads? My '78 has recessed heads, hence the question. There is a little device in bike's toolkit that fits into the recess (I discovered), but none of my sockets fit it quite right. |
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Post by medic09 on Dec 11, 2006 20:33:08 GMT -5
Okay, Let's complicate this just a bit, shall we?  To have free access to the fork caps, I need to move the handlebar. I can't budge the allen bolts that secure it!  Right now I've got Deep Creep soaking into them, but it doesn't look good. I tried simply working around the get at the caps, but it's not quite a straight line. The screwdriver handle of the bike's tool kit actually looks like it fits right into the caps, but it's not completely straight with the handle bars in the way. Then there's the matter of how to grip and loosen the thing.  Do I dare try a little heat from a propane torch? Or...? |
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Post by colinjay on Dec 11, 2006 21:31:41 GMT -5
I made a wrench for removing these caps by welding a bolt with a 17mm head to a piece of 19mm (3/4") tubing about 250mm long, does the job well.
If you can't remove the handle bars, try loosening off the pinch bolts, slipping the forks out of the top triple clamp and them re-tightening the low pinch bolts so the tubes don't turn when you undo the caps.
CJ
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Post by pablosrfivehundred on Dec 11, 2006 21:33:26 GMT -5
i got a 17mm socket off ebay for just a couple bucks.
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Post by wotavidone on Dec 11, 2006 21:37:54 GMT -5
I wouldn't be putting any heat on it. If my memory serves, there is an o-ring in there, though I might be just dreaming about that.
As for torqueing it, its a very fine thread, and lots of turns, so I just tightened by hand and figured I'd notice if the caps were unscrewing themselves.
Ain't all that tight anyway. I was able to just get the shaft of the bolt past the bars and slowly undo the caps, by working the vice grips on the bolt above the bars. I wrapped the bolt in duct tape so as not to scratch the bars, because yes it does rub on the bars.
If you were worried about retorquing the cap, I reckon you probably could get the double-nutted bolt thing happening well enough that you could get the torque wrench on the top nut.
If you need to get the bars out the way and you can't get the allen bolts in the bar clamps undone, you could always try undoing the two nuts that hold the bar clamps into the triple clamp. and lift the whole lot out of the way. Might have to take the speedo/tacho assembly off first.
Good luck.
Mick
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Post by miker on Dec 12, 2006 15:46:33 GMT -5
I found a lug nut that fit into the recess and stuck up enough to get a wrench on.
miker
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Post by medic09 on Dec 12, 2006 18:55:32 GMT -5
The PO two owners back lent me a socket today to do the job.
Thanks!
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