DIY- Removing Fork Caps/Pistons and Springs

[Zombiphone]

Well, I've managed to do a lot of the DIYs on this site, and due to a combination of being an awkward, bumbling n00b and -despite constant gym efforts- just generally being a wimp, a lot of the "just do this!" things have managed to be a little bit more of an ordeal for me.

So in an effort to help others who might run in to some of the same road blocks, I thought it might be useful to share my now favorite reach *ahem-WORK around

I don't know how many of you guys have dealt with your forks at all, and I'm sure most people would laugh at me for this, but the amount of pressure and level of careful prying required to remove the pistons/ fork caps to work on the internals has been disgustingly difficult for me, especially since I can very rarely employ an extra pair of hands. I acknowledge that this isn't the first time anyone's ever thought to use this method, but I suffered a lot of frustration before stumbling upon this, so I thought I'd help make the information more widely available.

All that said, let's do this. First and foremost, you'll need to have your front end dangling freely so there's no pressure on the front suspension. I have a pitbull triple tree stand that works swimmingly, but the creative among you can figure something out if you're not so well equipped. Also, I have clip ons so I don't have to remove anything to access the pistons, but there are other DIYs that show how to remove the handlebars if need be. ANYWAYS, I went to harbor freight and found this little number:

$17 later, I have a three pack of nifty, different sized claw things- more technically known as gear pullers (For the record, I'm doing this with slingshot preload adjusters, but I'm sure this would work with the stock pistons. Also, you may want to put a piece of cloth or something between the gear puller and the metal if you're anal retentive about potential scratches).

So just clamp that around the triple, and crank it down until it's pushed in the piston just enough to access the little C ring. And now you're free to comfortably and leisurely finagle with that little ring with some small flathead screwdrivers to your heart's content:


Yay! Didn't even break a sweat <3

Now slowly crank it off, supporting the piston with your hand so it doesn't jump out, and you can now access your springs and spacers. The spacers you can grab no problem, but the fork and washer are a bit too deep for my big girly hands.

So, while I'm mentioning ease of life tools, I'm a big fan of those magnetic, claw gripper things for pretty much everything:

(Also from harbor freight. It's possible that I single handedly sustain that store -_-)

And now we can try out some newer new suspension for the track next week (stock on the left, new .70 springs from Traxxion Dynamics on the right):


Now just use the same method of putting them back on and you're good to go:


It's nice when something that has consistently taken me an hour of struggling is now doable in <10minutes

Oh, and a somewhat related side note, I had changed the fork oil about two months ago, and filled it a bit higher than listed in the manual, so I wasn't TERRIBLY worried about the oil I was going to be losing to the old springs. You may want to remove the entire forks and do a full oil change for a precise measurement though.

[Cuongism]

Wow, looks like some kind of torture device

I've done my fork seals and also the preload adjusters as well. After both occasions, I'd have these weird bruises around my chest that I had no clue where they came from. Sounds kinky and all, but finally realized it was from using my body as leverage as I leaned on a screwdriver to push down the fork cap

Can you track-ready my bike for me please

[Zombiphone]

Originally Posted by Cuongism

Wow, looks like some kind of torture device

That was my first thought when I first clamped it on, too. Can you say "multipurpose tool"

Can you track-ready my bike for me please

Hell yeah I can! If any socal ninjette wants some track assistance, I am more than happy to help in the few ways I can. I need more people out there on wimpy bikes who I can pass and not have to worry about retaking me in the straights Ha, maybe one of these days, I'll do a street to track and back conversion DIY

[Alex]

Nice!

/linked from main DIY sticky

[g21-30]

Excellent DIY!

[dubojr1]

Well done!

[CThunder-blue]

Nice DIY! I remember having a bit of difficulty removing the C-ring as well until I remembered I had to drain the fork oil first. Once you drain the fork oil, it compresses with almost no effort. Your method would be great for anyone who didn't want to change oil though

[Zombiphone]

Originally Posted by CThunder-blue

Nice DIY! I remember having a bit of difficulty removing the C-ring as well until I remembered I had to drain the fork oil first. Once you drain the fork oil, it compresses with almost no effort. Your method would be great for anyone who didn't want to change oil though

...... That.... so you mean I just had to.... oh. Haha, I didn't even see that mentioned in all those DIYs I went over, so I was struggling to compress fully functional suspension with .80 springs with my useless nondominant hand and my whole 130 lbs while trying to pry out that little ring with the other- and it made me violently hate life. I didn't realize you could drain the oil without pulling the entire fork. Good to know. I saved $15 in fork oil and the hassle of measuring the levels again this way, but it certainly never hurts to have alternatives

[CThunder-blue]

Haha. Yeah, the one DIY on replacing oil doesn't mention it and I think even the manual says the first thing to do is to remove the C-clip while it's on the bike. I just find it easier to drain the oil before trying to remove the clip. The first time, I tried it the way the manual says, and like you, couldn't get it to budge without a hammer and screw driver.

I should also mention that you wouldn't want to drain the oil first without pulling the fork or measuring pretty carefully how much you drain out. I pulled my forks before disassembling them. Doing it on a bike, your method would be better because you don't need to worry about oil levels.

[HKr1]

Nice thinking on use of the gear puller

[ninja250]

Coo.
Never went into the forks yet. Probably should eventually!
I think mines are bent tho maybe need new ones first

How are those preload adjusters working out now that everyone has had a chance to use them for a while?

[Zombiphone]

Originally Posted by ninja250

Coo.
Never went into the forks yet. Probably should eventually!
I think mines are bent tho maybe need new ones first

With how much work you do on your bike, I'm surprised you're still running on totally stock suspension. I guess the whole bent thing would probably have a lot to do with that, but you'd probably really enjoy the ride with springs that are more suited to your weight and riding style, if you ever get the chance

How are those preload adjusters working out now that everyone has had a chance to use them for a while?

I like them a lot. It's nice being able to adjust the preload and sag with a wrench in 2 seconds rather than having to go through the trouble of removing the pistons to guess and check with pvc pipes or just settle with stock. More significantly, these make it so I can actually work with the suspension experts that are always on site at the track to set both the front and rear properly for my weight and conditions in between sessions, which I couldn't really do with the nonadjustable stock pistons. MOST importantly, however, they sure look cool

[kamikaze]

you can drain the oil without removing the forks?

I've been thinking about putting some heavier oil in mine to see if it keeps the front end from diving under hard braking.

[CThunder-blue]

You can drain some oil, but not all of it. It's why you shouldn't do an oil change without removing them.

[eddiekay]

Hmmm...that gear puller looks a lot like my faucet handle puller. Real nice DIY

[CZroe]

I'm meeting someone today to get a triple tree/head stand but now I wonder if I should have just tried this to refill the leaked oil and then use some of that fork seal repair stuff to see if it worked.