gloryracing Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 2010 vfr 1200 fork seal change and now I'm stuck. The inverted forks have a bolt on the exterior bottom of the forks that secure the internal damper. When I attempt to remove the bolt the damper inside the fork tube just spins. Damnit! Honda has a special tool (07ymb mcfa100) which is a long rod with tabs on the end that you insert in the tube to hold the damper and keep from spinning. Obviously I don't have this tool and don't want to be down while on order or unnecessarily invest money for one time use. Does anyone know a trick/technique to get this done? Thanx. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer hondalover Posted April 17, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted April 17, 2014 Conventional forks use a special tool as well to hold the cartridge from spinning while removing the bottom bolt. I suspect it's a very similar tool. I've never had to use that particular tool. I've had luck with a stout impact and loading the top out spring trying to keep the internals from spinning. This goes for conventional forks as well as the inverted type. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer thtanner Posted April 17, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted April 17, 2014 When helping with my wife's forks I had to pull on the fork tube while the mechanic unscrewed the suspect screw you speak of. He used an impact while I did that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gloryracing Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 Thanx for replies. Guess I should have added that impact worked on one of the forks but not the other. I only had one seal that needed changing...my luck, as usual, was the one that will not come loose. :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Duc2V4 Posted April 17, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted April 17, 2014 There are quite a few post on 5/6 Gen fork issues, particularly involving removing the bolt at the bottom of the fork tube. Even though you're dealing with a 7 Gen, you may want to search for one of these post for some ideas of what members have done/do to resolve it, as the principle is the same really. Impact driver seems to be the #1 way to deal with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Boy Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 I stuck a broom handle with a tapered end (or wood dowel could work) inside to hold the cartridge enough to get the bolt out. It is already loose or it would not spin so it did not take much force to keep the cartridge from spinning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gloryracing Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 Got er done. Found a tool at the local Kawasaki shop that would work. However, I am now tempted to try the broom handle technique...I love that kind of creativity and problem solving. Again, thanx for the replies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Conedodger Posted April 17, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted April 17, 2014 Broom handle and impact gun did it for my 6th gen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vfrAustin Posted April 17, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted April 17, 2014 Go and do the other one now while you are on a roll. It's just a matter of time... always replace in pairs if applicable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcrwt644 Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 For the bottom bolt, I use a longer hex on an 8mm socket into a 1/2" impact. I haven't had a fork argue with me yet.....:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VFRBert Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Use an air tool: all bolts loose in seconds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer JZH Posted July 2, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted July 2, 2016 On 17/04/2014 at 3:12 PM, thtanner said: When helping with my wife's forks I had to pull on the fork tube while the mechanic unscrewed the suspect screw you speak of. He used an impact while I did that. Lil' thread revival, aided by a Google search... If Honda special tool (07YMB-MCFA100) is specified for 7th gen fork disassembly, it is likely that these forks are of a similar design as the SP1/SP2 forks I'm servicing at the moment. The Honda tool engages with the top of the cartridge, which allows a 10mm Allen wrench to be used to remove the center bolt on those forks. This works (without any pushing or pulling on the forks) because the center bolt is threaded directly into the bottom of the cartridge. (This shows the Motion Pro "universal" tool, which doesn't work at all unless you file down the "fingers" so they can engage with the cut-outs in the top of the cartridge.) On conventional Showa forks (such as used on the 3rd-6th gens, and the 8th gen), however, the center bolt threads into the compression valve assembly, which is not solidly mounted to the cartridge, so holding the top of the cartridge with any tool will not do anything to stop the compression valve assembly from spinning within the cartridge. The valve assembly is retained within the bottom of the cartridge by an internal snap ring. The usual suggestion of compressing the forks to stop the cartridge from spinning does not and cannot help if the problem is the valve assembly spinning within the cartridge. Pushing on the top of the cartridge simply causes the cartridge to jam against the bottom of the fork--which won't affect the compression valve assembly at all; it will still spin. However, pulling on the fork (or the cartridge directly somehow) does--indirectly--help to bind the compression valve assembly. That is why the mechanic had thtanner pull on the fork tube while he used an impact wrench on the bottom bolt. The hammer-effect of the impact wrench is usually sufficient to spin the bolt out by itself, but in especially difficult cases pulling on the fork could be done as well. (You know your mechanic is confused if he asks you to compress the forks while he uses the impact wrench!) Ciao, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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