So I hope they look as good when they arrive. I did consider new parts and even some from china, but I am on a budget and these will keep the look pure and in keeping with the original ethos of the 59 club.
As for the front forks, here are a few tips:
1. Loosen the top fork bolt - in my case a 1/2" square recessed bolt, whilst still on the bike, or at the very lease, keep the forks in the yokes.
2. Use either a impact wrench (air) to loosen the top bolts, or as i did, a breaker bar, I prefer to use a little torque as opposed to impact wrenches on occasion.. My suspension, I suspect has not been opened or serviced since 1979!
3. I ordered the wrong tool to get the damper out of the fork legs. It was from eBay, my bad. The correct tool is part number 57001-142 - and is quite the elusive little f****r to find. A back up is a tapered dowel, here is hoping that works.
The front forks, as I mentioned, look like they have never been apart, the oil, what little remained was very thick, smelt terrible and was the darkest green/black i have seen. From both forks, less that 2 fluid ounces drained! So now, I need to improvise the front 57001-142 tool, or as a last, and hateful resort, take the legs to a shop for them to loosen and remove the hex not in the bottom of the forks for me. I say hateful, only because i want to do as much as i can myself.
Once done, I can clean and service the forks and reassemble. Put new seals and covers on, but not before I put 20w oil into them. I chose 20w as I am a 225 lbs rider, so i wanted to stiffen the front a little. My only dilemma is whether I should change out the springs for progressive units. Around $100.00 or so.
The lower fork legs will get a polish prior to reassembly, just to complete the overhaul.
Update: Think I need the special Kawasaki tool, my last chance is an impact wrench and tapered dowel to hold the internals of the forks. If this fails, a large bag of f***s will be needed. Plan B being to polish the lowers forks on the tubes and then re-assemble. Assembly after replacing the seals, this is possible with the tubes still in place, but a whole lot easier disassembled. I will need that bag again....
Update 2: I have put my bag of f***s away. With the appropriate use of an air impact wrench and a shaped wooden dowel I have got my suspension apart. Basically, tap the dowel into the damper, inside the tube and hold it, then - with an 8mm hex attachment for the impact wrench, undo the bottom bolt. Took all of 3 minutes. Job done, all stripped, ready for the service, polish and reassembly:
The shaped dowel can be seen at the bottom of the picture. The Hex nut at the top right, damper is the short piece in the middle of the pic. I don't think this suspension has been apart or serviced in 30+ years.
No comments:
Post a Comment