inner fork tube removal

[Buckb]

OK, did a search and can't find the answer so far in here. I am replacing the upper fork tube on my wife's 79XS1100G. Read the manual, but I have turned and turned the allen screws in the bottom of the tube and still can't get the bolt out of the uppers alose! There has to be some little secret not in either of my service manuals. Help!

[TopCatGr58]

Hey there BuckB,

Follow this link, you'll find the info you need! You can scroll down a bit, or read the earlier replies, but the tool info is down the thread a bit!

Lower Fork Bolt Tool

T.C.

[Luxury]

I just disassembled the forks on my 79 standard and fortunately I remembered this post after scratching my head for a while over the spinning allen bolts. Just thought I'd mention that the internal recess is 19mm on my bike (not 17mm like on other folks reported). Perhaps the non-air shocks are 19mm and the air shocks are 17mm?

[rover]

Luxury, I think you have it. I recently did the forks on my standard, and they were 19mm or 3/4. I welded a half inch bolt (3/4" heads) to each end of a tube about 18" long, held the one with a wrench and put the other in the recess in the tube, worked like a charm. After a little thought, I realized that I could have welded a handle on one end instead of the bolt. But, hindsight is always 20-20.