CL350 Stuck Fork

[Goldie]

I've dug around for tips on a rusted on fork, but no luck. The right side slipped out no problem, but the left is bing a pain. I've tried penetrating oil, and just about every way I can think of to get a hold of it, but it won't come loose. There is probably a good trick to getting it, but I'm at a loss. I might be able to push the spring down enough to get a pipe wrench on it...but I'd rather not have metal teeth digging into it.


Anyone been there - done that?

 

[Big R]

What exactly is stuck? The fork tube in the triple clamp? Or are the upper and lower tubes seized together?

 

[hillsy]

Take out the pinch bolts on the trees and tap a flat bladed screwdriver in to widen them. You should be able to then rotate the forks and with some WD40 they should slide out.

 

[Goldie]

The fork tube is stuck in the triple clamp. I'm not sure if it's the bottom or the top, but I suspect it might be the top because I can't even get the top clamp to come off. I've even tried using a mallet and a block of wood to hammer the top clamp off from the bottom side with no luck. I've also loosened the plug in the top of the fork a little and then pounded on that with a block of wood to push the whole thing down, still nothing moves.


I'm concerned about breaking the bottom clamp casting using the screw driver method, but I'll give it a gentle go. Thanks for the tips!

 

[Big R]

What year is it? The 350's used two different kinds of forks. Not too important just curious.

Go with the screwdriver method. It really doesn't need to be opened up a lot to break loose.

 

[beatnic]

Try putting the right side back in to make sure you don't have a binding issue between the upper and lower clamps. Some heat on the clamps probably wouldn't hurt either. Use a leather or rubber strap wrench on the slider to try to twist it free before you try to pull it out.

 

[Goldie]

There's your problem...

Thanks for all the tips. I did end up putting the right side back on and then I managed to get the top clamp off. After that it became obvious why I couldn't get it off...

So now I've got some rust to take care of!