Minton Mod damper rod problem/question...

[dfphoto]

Hi group for a long time I've thought about what to do on my RD250, decided to do the Minton Mod and after the ordeal of removing the lower bolt (tip: I used a 12 volt impact gun and it was easy). I bought a little Harbor freight drill press - like device for my battery drill.. I took the forks apart and the damper rod requires a circlip removal which was no problem then some parts came out but the odd thing is at the end of the actual damper rod there is a sleeve (bullet shaped) and that piece slid off the actual damper rod, then I was able to slide the assembly out the top of the tube.

I then proceeded to drill 2 new holes at the bottom of my damper rod and enlarge all 4 to 1/4" then enlarged the 2 upper holes and then wire brushed the holes to smooth.

My problem is on the 2nd fork the bullet shaped sleeve on the damper will not come off, I'm a little confused as I took another 3rd fork tube apart and it also will not come off (bullet sleeve on the damper rod). I'm not sure if the 1st one was a mistake that it came off but I don't see anyway it should stay on. None of my manuals or parts manuals show the damper rod has an extra piece on the end yet I have one in my hand... Really could use some help on A. is that sleeve suppose to come off B. if it stays, how am I suppose to remove the little parts on the damper and get the damper out of the upper fork tube!

I have a pic here...A. the bullet shaped image is the damper rod the end is where the bolt goes through the bottom of the fork through the sleeve and threads into the damper rod. B. is a pic. of the parts that go on the rod after the sleeve if you're look up the fork tube from the very bottom.

 

[dfphoto]

The 2nd picture shows the parts I wanted to remove so I could drill out the damper rod, the other end has the large piece the springs sit on. Hope the description makes sense.

 

[jonesey]

G/Day dfphoto,
Eight times out of ten that bullet shaped spacer slides right off as u described on the first one.
What may of happened is the bottom bolt may of been overtightend at some time in its life and the bottom of the damper rod " spread " a little thus holding the spacer on. another possibility is some water or crud has got in there and made it stick.
What u need to do is devise some kind of slide collar (half clamp) around the damper rod and gently tap it off, go very easy as its very soft and has a minimal shoulder on it because of the taper. Or put the 8mm bolt back in and while holding the spacer tap the bolt until it comes off, it should not be very tight on there. Good Luck.

 

[mrtwowheel]

Yes, every thing jonesey said. It shouldn't take much force to get it off. If it were mine, I would use a piece of wood or a brass punch with hammer.

Scott

 

[dfphoto]

Thanks, I will try this today!!!!

 

[dfphoto]

Hi guys, I clamped the fork in the triple clamps put a 13mm open end and smacked it about 10 times and it popped off... what a pain! but thanks to all for the help.

enlarged the holes and then dremel tooled the openings so there is a slight angle to the holes then wire wheeled it smooth.

One of the forks I really had to hit it and this is after I put penetrating lube in all night, the end where the bolt screws into the damper does appear to be flared a bit, I wire wheeled that end for a long time to make it small enough for the parts to slide off, I had two others so I went with them for time sake.

Tomorrow, I will cut the springs... wondering if anyone can verify I have progressive springs and another senior fellow told me to cut from the bottom wider wound springs and not the upper closely wound springs. Can anyone tell me why?

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

It gets complicated. Trying to get the coilbind of the fine-pitch section to occur at a certain point relative to the laden sag point. See if the banter in this thread makes sense:

http://www.xs650.com/threads/progressive-fork-springs-xs1b.49896/

 

[dfphoto]

I cut from the bottom then discovered the 71-76 34mm fork is a tad small for the RD wasted 80.00 I'll see what happens with the new set!