Hitchcocks Forum

I have got myself a 6” length of 1/2” SS bar as advised on the forum but despite having taken out the lower yoke pinch bolts and easing a chisel into the gap in the lower yoke clamps I cannot get the stantion to unscrew (clockwise as view from the top) have also tried undoing the top yoke clamp bolt and top nut....

Wondering if anybody else has experienced this problem and if there is a trick I can try?

I have tried with a long power bar and also an impact wrench.

I have now squirted plus gas over the lower yoke pinch clamps - looks like the forks have never been off but surprised at how tight they are as the last Bullet I worked on they came unscrewed easily!

Leave it to soak for a day or two. If that doesn't work - heat.

Hi Pete - yes i thought I might try a heat gun on the top Yoke as may be corrosion in the threads too...

Presuming it's an iron barrel and not one of the UCE ones with threaded tops? Those are sods because they actually have a threaded cap and as far as I can see, unless you were very lucky, you'd need to somehow grip and unscrew the stanchion itself.

I've retro-fitted a set to my 612 so I can have the disc brake and I bought a fairly meaty alloy clamp usually used to attach steering dampers to sportsbikes that I can clamp on and use as a spanner in anticipation of them being very difficult to remove.

I've always managed fine with either an M8 bolt with two nuts locked on it or the hex-shaped engine bolt and a spanner to unscrew the iron barrel ones.

Yes it’s a 1998 350 Iron Barrel Indian export market model and I can’t grip the stantion as it’s inside the fork leg shroud - I’m trying to get the legs off to remove the shrouds and fit gaiters.....

Thinking outside the box, a set of fork seals is less than £10 so pulling the bottoms off isn't the stupidest idea in the world.

You could potentially even fit the gaiters from the bottom, although the shrouds would need to be cut off and fitting new shorty ones would be tricky without splitting them. That said, I actually cut down the long ones on mine to fit gaiters. I suppose this would be perfectly do-able with them in-situ with a cut-off disc/hacksaw if you were careful.

You could check the spring free-length while you're in there.

Just come in from the workshop after having successfully unscrewed the stantions following a good heating up with a hot air gun and also managed to drop the piece of hex bar down into the fork tube in the process!

Luckily it dropped out when I tipped the leg upside down....

Next question is - there is a plastic ring that was located above the bottom yoke on each side, the top part of which fits into the headlamp cowl and the bottom part fitted into the fork shroud now removed.

I was thinking that I would re fit these rings when I re install the fork stantions but they are loose with a gap between the cowl and the yoke so wondering if there is another part that should go in there or do I just leave them out?

Youy still need some of the top part of the shroud for the plastic thing to fit into. If you look at my picture above, I just cut down the original fork shrouds. Our hosts also sell "shorty" ones for this exact purpose.

https://accessories.hitchcocksmotorcycl ... hort/10902

Thank you stinkwheel have just ordered a pair of shorty shrouds and now I think I’m sorted

Rainmanshaun wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 07, 2021 9:47 pm

Just come in from the workshop after having successfully unscrewed the stantions following a good heating up with a hot air gun and also managed to drop the piece of hex bar down into the fork tube in the process!

Luckily it dropped out when I tipped the leg upside down.

I did this once. I now clamp a piece of split rubber heater hose around the hex bar with a jubilee clip. If you drop the bar in the fork leg before the stanchion is loosened enough to unscrew it’s quite a predicament!