So, I've got the top yoke in my hand, and I sit with it wondering what to do as if by some benevolent act of grace from the Motorcycle Gods, it will be made right again. Snapping the left side pinch bolt off and leaving the threads in my 'unobtainium alloy' yoke isn't quite what I anticipated dealing with as I set out to "just change my fork oil".Can of worms? Hmmm. Pandora's Box? Well, I guess it was all that!
I'm at 58K on the clock now with my 1995 Trident , about 12K put on since I bought it last July. So I'm looking at 12K service interval items, and I decide it's time to look at the front forks. I have no idea what's in there, one of the PO's had already made a lot of mods, so the forks could have titanium springs in them for all I know! At the very least I'll change the fork oil.
I began by loosening the dust caps on the tops of the forks. Then I removed the pinch bolts on the upper and lower yokes of the triple tree. The upper left's a little tight, thus the predicament I describe above. The forks slide out nice and easy. I unscrewed the caps, dumped the old stinky fork oil out, and pumped them a few times. I lifted the dust seals and inspected the fork seals as well.
As I drop the springs out through my now inverted forks, I notice that these are strange looking springs: they're only about 12-1/2" long constant rate coils, and have 10"spacers! I didn't see any sign that they have been cut either (you CAN do that -- at your own risk!), but if they were cut, it was a pretty professional job, as all of the ends were ground square.
Before I removed the forks, I took sag measurements (check out Keith Code's video) on the front with the aid of a couple of zip ties positioned just above fork seals. It was tough doing the measurement solo. Because of this, I'm not positive that the measurement was dead on, because I got a sag percentage of about 15% which would be super stiff. These springs are obviously aftermarket, I'm guessing much stiffer than stock looking at the other performance upgrades on the bike. I'm going to roll the dice on this one and say that these springs are fine, and just go with a replenishment of 10w fork oil (proper spec).
Now as I'm about to dash out the door to get the fork oil, for some reason, something told me to wait. Suddenly, all I could think of was the diluted wheel grease I noted on the left side of my wheel when I took it off. A-HA! I'll bet the crush washer at the bottom of the fork is probably leaking oil ever-so-slightly, which is working its way into the bearings. Even if that's NOT it, I'd better get those bolts out of the bottom of the forks and Do It Right! Fortunately I repacked the wheel grease at my last tire change, so I'm in good shape.
As I review my shop manual for the procedure to dismantle a Kayaba non-adjustable fork, it mentions use of the dreaded Triumph Factory Tool! Here at Shadetree Motorsports, we hate the mention of the words 'Factory Tool'. That means either: A) ponying up and buying the gold plated tool you need, or B) making the tool or a reasonable substitute that will harm neither you or the bike.
I get one of the bolts out by using a dowel with a handle (plastic of course) that was able to just hold the damping cylinder in place while I turned the bolt at the bottom. I wasn't so lucky on the other one, so I figure this is a slow pitch for Street Cycles to have them get the other damping cylinder, it's just one bolt. Sure enough though, they didn't have my $.76 crush washer in stock (7-10 days on Triumph parts!). BUT, since I got the other bolt and washer pulled we matched a washer of the same inner diameter from a Suzuki -- perfect! They quickly put the forks together, topped them off with oil and resealed them.
Here's the good part! So I'm psyched, reinstalling the already serviced forks should be easy, kind of like filling your tire or adjusting your chain. So, I slide the left fork into place, take my proper measurement from the top of the cap to the top of the yoke. I insert the 6mm hex and begin to turn. It turns strangely tight at first, followed by sudden looseness, then -- *SNAP!* The bolt head snapped off the yoke leaving the threads inside the yoke! DOH!!! Looks like the yoke's going to have to come off so that the bolt can be drilled out in my drill press. I'm possibly looking at a helicoil here.
Now coupled with this sudden obstacle, I have a Storz mounting bracket for handle bar risers that I cannot seem to get off so that I can pull the yoke! The photo here is what is on my bike. The allen bolts securing the bracket to the top of the yoke are apparently of some weird size: 6mm seems way too loose, 7mm is way too large, 5/16" seems like it should fit, because that's what the handlebar risers use. But, even 1/4" is too large. I manage to coax the Storz bolts out putting the 6mm hex bit into a thick, blue paper shop towel, then into the bolt head. Somehow, it was just enough for me work them free.
So, here I am with the yoke in my hand. I decide it's time to just write the check on this one. I do some business with Tammy and Nate Jones over at Custom Hawg in Scarborough, ME, and had been conversing with them via email about my predicament. Tammy replied that I could bring the yoke over anytime and have Nate look at it. That's what I will do. Instead of taking the risk of knackering my 'unobtainium alloy' yoke, I'll give it to the guy who has probably looked down the barrels of many such scenarios in his day. Not only did Nate totally set me up, he dropped what he was doing to do so! I can't say that he will not be in the middle of project he can't break away from when YOU walk in, but it would be well worth your while! In less than an hour, Nate was able to drill out the old bolt and chase the threads without a helicoil. In fact, he took it to the next level and chased all of threads on the yoke because they looked a little beat! Many thanks!
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