Shocking!

So following the success of the special tool, I mounted the fork up on my work bench & proceeded to remove the suspension assembly.

I first got some off cut galvanized steel & made some “soft Jaws” for my vice (there is no way I wanted the forks to be scarred by my lack of care so early on in the piece!

And into it!

To be honest, I have been frustrated about a lot of things in my life; but good grief, removing the front suspension from a Cub has to be one of the most frustrating things I have done in a loooooooooong time.

I assume that a “special” tool would make this a quick & simple job! Fantastic IF I had one and I don’t!  D’oh, D’oh & triple D’oh!

So after a couple of attempts with various tools that I did have, I settled on a spanner & a pair of needle nose vice grips. I could undo the nut about 10 degrees of movement before the spanner would touch the other side of the forks.

Yep, this is as frustrating at it looks

Talk about slow!

And THEY wonder why we drink… the temptation is huge as well (at this point I feel I must point out that I am in my old beer shed after all & there heaps of home brew sitting about the place…!)

I just know that this will be a real pain in the bum to put back too – but at least I have a bit of time to think about that job & do some research on it too!

I am not too sure how to judge the condition of motorcycle suspension bits, but I figured given the general poor condition of the Love Cub, replacing the springs, dampers, rubber bushings & the bearings will at least see a safe & sturdy ride.

The big shock was the presence of cobwebs & (old) egg sacs from a red back spider (or two) that must’ve been living inside the forks… I knew no one had been using the Love Cub, but, this bit was a bit “confirming” of the general neglect of the Old Girl!

The front suspension...with the spiders egg-sacks!

So with this completed, I felt as though I had achieved something good! And to top it all off Benny was feeling better already (with his temperature nicely returning to normal!)

Time to go pick up Dan & on the way home I will need to buy a screw extractor kit (I remembered that I still had a snapped off bolt that needed to be removed… & I thought that I would be able to tinker tonight!)

The Chinese made  screw extractors cost a mere $10. Yep – you gets what you pays for, but it is only a mild steel bolt & I am fairly sure that it will be fit for purpose!

Anyway, when I returned I put a heap of penetrating oil into the area to assist with the extraction, but due to having to cook dinner I could not get to extracting the broken bolt

Hmm, if things continue to go this well, I may, just may get a Buzz in on the Silver Surfer on Friday (A rather grand way to knock off some errands whilst I am out enjoying a Buzz too!)

So Mote It Be!

Leigh