Help Needed with Front Forks

[pete]

what shape recess is in the top of the damping rods...

most jap bikes have a Hex that you can find a nut or bolt head to fit
then weld it to a length of rod or pipe to reach down to hold the
damping rod from turning..



..

[Ski_rush]

Originally Posted by pete

what shape recess is in the top of the damping rods...

I'm new to working on bikes...I am not really sure what you're talking about. Either on top or bottom of the fork, I don't see any hex shape. I really don't understand how the right side tightened right up, but the left side is just spinning. It doesn't make sense to me because looking at the hex bolt, it appears to thread right into the bottom of the fork, and initially goes on fine, but then just spins the end? What is it threading into if not the bottom of the fork tube?

And assuming the shape is a hex, how would I know what size bolt head or nut to weld to this rod?

[david3921]

Originally Posted by Ski_rush

I'm new to working on bikes...I am not really sure what you're talking about. Either on top or bottom of the fork, I don't see any hex shape. I really don't understand how the right side tightened right up, but the left side is just spinning. It doesn't make sense to me because looking at the hex bolt, it appears to thread right into the bottom of the fork, and initially goes on fine, but then just spins the end? What is it threading into if not the bottom of the fork tube?

And assuming the shape is a hex, how would I know what size bolt head or nut to weld to this rod?

The bolt threads into the fork's piston. Think of a tube within a tube. There should be a nut or a square or hex shaped hole so that a tool can be used to keep the piston from spinning. I'm guessing that it's a hole of some shape since humanbeing and rail are both suggesting a tool that fits into something.

[david3921]

Here's a couple pictures to better understand.


Neither of these are mine but these are examples of what's inside a conventional fork. The issue you are having is the piston is spinning. The second photo shows how the bolt attaches the piston to the fork. In the first photo, you can see that there is a hole of some kind at the top of the piston. This is where the tool fits in to keep it from spinning.

[Ski_rush]

David3921, thanks for the photos. I understand it better now.

I have a makeshift tool made from metal rods. My father in law in an ex-farmer and has a lot of misc tools and parts. He had some steel rods (with a square tip) that are meant to connect to one another and then turn a scissor jack that's placed under a tractor; so when connected it is over 3 long. The tip is square and about 3-4mm on each side.

I used the tool to take the hex bolt back out. It worked fine for that. I didn't try to use it yet to re-assemble the the fork yet. The reason being that I'm contemplating putting a rubber washer on the hex bolt...which, if I do, will need to wait until morning when the store opens. What are you thoughts on this?

[JerryHawk250]

Originally Posted by Ski_rush

David3921, thanks for the photos. I understand it better now.

I have a makeshift tool made from metal rods. My father in law in an ex-farmer and has a lot of misc tools and parts. He had some steel rods (with a square tip) that are meant to connect to one another and then turn a scissor jack that's placed under a tractor; so when connected it is over 3 long. The tip is square and about 3-4mm on each side.

I used the tool to take the hex bolt back out. It worked fine for that. I didn't try to use it yet to re-assemble the the fork yet. The reason being that I'm contemplating putting a rubber washer on the hex bolt...which, if I do, will need to wait until morning when the store opens. What are you thoughts on this?

I'm glad to see you're making some progress on it.