Quick q: what are the bolts at the top of the forks?

[isaac]

Howdy yall. I'm about to remove my forks so I can modify the headlight mounts and am wondering about how to get the forks out. I did a search but nobody seems to mention the bolts at the top of the forks. Just looking at them they seem to be in the way of removing the forks from the triple trees. Is this true? If so, can I just pull those bolts out? Do they seal off oil or air? What's gonna happen when I pull those bolts?

Thanks for the help.

[Billy Ricks]

If you're talking about the caps on top of the tubes the springs will protrude when you remove them. I'm assuming you already have the wheel off the ground and removed. With the fork fully extended you shouldn't have much trouble with the springs. Just be ready for the caps to pop up when you get them completely threaded out. This would be a good time to flush the fork and replace the oil. To flush remove the springs and invert the fork. Compress and expand the fork a few times to remove the old oil. Then use some kerosene or diesel to clean any sludge out. Stroke the fork quite a few times with the kersosene in an upright position to break up the sludge. Repeat this process several times with clean kerosene. You will be surprised how nasty the oil is if you have never replaced it.

[mark]

If I'm reading you right, you're talking about the bolt on the top of the fork itself ( the one that actually screws into the fork). It may have an air valve on it too. Don't remove that one until the fork is off.

First, remove the front wheel, fender and brake calipers first. That will involve placing the bike on a stand. Then loosen the clamp bolts and remove each fork. Then you're ready to take off that "top" bolt. Ths will involve clamping the fork in a padded vice. Remove the fork oil first of course.

[isaac]

I appreciate the advice, but I'm not doing any service to the forks. They're doing great.

You're not saying I have to completely disassemble the forks just to slide them out of the bottom of the triple trees, are you? That sounds like a major design oversight if that's true.

I'm just talking about the chrome bolts at the top that stick out upward and diagonally. Maybe they actually hold the caps in, I don't know. I just wanna know if they get in the way of fork removal, since it looks like they would, and if so, what's gonna happen when I undo them.

[Ghostgs1]

Possibly the caps over the air valves. They are Schrader valves like in tire valve stems. Remove caps then release air pressure through the valve. Ray

[mark]

To get the forks off you have to remove the tire, fender, and brake calipers. Then they slide out as one piece. They don't need to be disassembled first. If you take that top bolt out while the bike is on the centerstand you'll have problems. All the wieght of the front of the bike will still be on the springs. If the front wheel is elevated not much will happen. Those caps are under some pressure because of the pre-load of the spring and will "pop" out a little bit.

[Billy Ricks]

Which bike are we talking about here?

[Billy Ricks]

I think we are talking about the 850 and the air valve. Here's a schematic on it. http://www.bikebandit.com/partsbandi...id~1028257.asp You'll just lose your air charge by removing it. Don't lay the fork down or you'll lose oil too.

[isaac]

Yeah #29 is what I'm talking about, and it's the 850 as you discerned. Thanks a bunch for the help on this. Hopefully I can get a lot more done today.