Front fork disassembly
Front fork disassemblyI am beginning a restoration on a 66 cl 77 and I have come to my first road block. What is the procedure to disassemble the front fork? Specifically removal of the Chrome front fork seal housing. I know the "c" clip or retainer needs to come off so you can get to the seal. I am including a picture to better describe my issue. It looks like there are 3 or 4 notches around the housing. Is this for a special tool to help in removing them. Thanks in advance.
Mitch Mitch
unscrew the seal holdersThe chrome seal holders unscrew from the steel lower forklegs and than the fork tube can be pulled apart.
Fast Fred 65 CL77
66 CL77 76 CB550FKR 76 CT90
You need a pin wrenchSometimes these seal holders are a real pain to remove after years of being screwed onto the lower leg. Yes the holes are there to grab with a special pin wrench. Most people use a rubber strap wrench to avoid damageing the holes or the chrome .
Fast Fred 65 CL77
66 CL77 76 CB550FKR 76 CT90 Mitch
This is my home-made tool for unscrewing the holders... Seal holder tool by graham.curtis, on Flickr Seal Holder Tool - CL72 by graham.curtis, on Flickr G '60 C77 '60 C72 '62 C72 Dream '63 CL72
'61 CB72 '64 CB77 '65 CB160 '66 Matchless 350 '67 CL77 '67 S90 '77 CB400F
Don't be afraid to use a little heat. I assume you'll be repainting the lower sliders and you won't hurt the chrome with heat. I forget which bike it was, probably my S90, but I had to use heat to get those off. I also used a strap wrench. I've since made a pin spanner, but with only two adjustable pins, not 4 like G-mans. Nice job on that, by the way, G-man.
If you use a strap wrench, you might want to get yourself some rosin. I have a container from gunsmithing days. You use it with hardwood jaws to uncrew barrels without marring them. Your chrome looks pitted, so you might have sufficient grip. But if your strapwrench slips, try some rosin. Not sure where you buy it in stores. Maybe a hardware store or sports shop. Rosin bags were used to give you a better grip on a bat in baseball when I was a kid. But I don't know if they still use them. I got mine from a gunsmith supply house called Brownell's. They are on-line and have lots of neat specialty tools that are handy for bikes as well. regards, Rob
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