Help me through my forks

[Anonymous]

I'm working on the forks for my 1980 GS850L. I think it's what my Haynes manual calls the GLT, with the "semi-Chopper" look. 8) As a result, my wheel shaft is positioned forward of the fork, and not at the absolute bottom of the fork.

I have been trying to get the allen bolt out of the bottom of the first fork, but no luck. I have also at the same time inserted an inverted spark plug socket at the end of a bunch of extensions into the top of the fork hoping that would hold something while I loosened and removed the allen bolt at the bottom of the fork. But, no luck. The allen bolt just turns and turns (though somewhat stiffly) without coming out. Also, at the other end, I can feel the inverted socket & extension contraption lock into some 19mm hole, but it also just turns and turns (with greater ease though) without doing anything.

Any suggestions?

Also, I tried the yank-really-hard-on-the-upper-fork-shaft-with-the-lower-fork-in-the-vise routine and got nowhere, except a work bench jerked around the garage. I must have yanked on that thing 15-20 times at least. I even disturbed the sacred garage radio! 8O

Assuming I will be able to eventually get the allen bolt off the bottom and get the rest of the forks taken apart, will I be able to get at that seal from below? Or do I need to revise and try the yank method some more?

Much thanks. This is the final stage of the reconditioning I need to do, so I'm eager to get going. Of course I still have the carb tuning to do . . .

[bjrehill]

I did the same thing last fall. The socket did fit into the hole inside the tube. I had several extensions on it including a T handle. I wedged the T handle in between the bars of a luggage rack and cranked on the allan bolt. This seem to hold it tight.

The other thing I ahve heard is that people leave the fork installed on teh bike and use the bike to hold teh tube from turning. Then just crank on the allan bolt from below.

Hope this helps

[mrquadriga]

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/viewtopic.php?t=36653

My dilemma from this past weekend. By the way, my forks are now at the shop. -Pete '80 1100L

[Anonymous]

I may be mistaken but the procedure is the same for both styles, L and normal roadsters

So look at this thread for help

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/viewtopic.php?t=36653

[mrquadriga]

Mine got in before yours big n Daft. Thanks for your help by the way.-Pete '80 1100L

[Anonymous]

That's me, always second

[Anonymous]

I'll go back out and give it another try. I may not have had the 19mm stuff secure. Assuming I do this time and I still get nothing but spinning, what should I do?

[Anonymous]

AT what you need is a 19mm bolt head not the socket. What you have to do is stick the bolt on the end of a length of something so that you insert the head of the bolt into the recess at the bottom of the fork leg

[Anonymous]

I have a smaller spark plug socket inverted on the extenstions so that the 19mm bolt pattern on the bottom of the socket is fitting into the 19mm hole inside the forks. I even checked that the 19mm bolt pattern on the underside of the spark plug socket was indeed 19mm by placing a 19mm combination wrench onto it. So it should be the same as a 19 mm bolt locked into a pipe.

But as I write this, it occurs to me that the square drive at the end of the extension may not be locked into the spark plug socket. It may just be spinning inside the rubber-grippy stuff that's supposed to keep the spark plug from falling out.

I'll go check that, and possibly/probably take that rubber stuff out and let you know what happens. Breaking news as it happens...

Thanks, for being sounding boards at least. Whatever it takes. Keep you posted.

[Anonymous]

Here are a couple of pictures of what I knocked up with stuff I had to had, namely a hex head bolt with a 19mm head and peice of mild steel tubing (I forget what dia it was but I had to saw a slit in it to get it to accept the bolt), it's down and dirty but it works and it costs buttons.

[bjrehill]

I had used the spark plug socket with success. It sounds liek something isn't connecting.

[Anonymous]

Sorry AT didn't see the bit aboutt the inverted plug socket. I'd got it into my head you were trying to use the socket as a socket

[Anonymous]

No sweat big n daft.

As it turns out, things weren't connecting, and were as I suspected--the extension was just rotating inside the rubber in the spark plug socket. When I took the rubber out, I found that below the rubber and above the square drive hole there was also a round hole that would prevent me using the extension in this fashion--dash it all! But a trip to the parts store, and a new spark plug socket, and the case was solv?d! Now I have the fork apart. I still need to "prise" (Haynes language) the seal out, but I'll borrow a friend's seal pry tool for that tomorrow.

It's great to feel a measure of success. The rest is downhill, right?

Thanks for all the help and quick replies.