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bottom fork threads

stu

stu

Well-known Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2024
Total Posts
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Location
Toronto ON Canada
74 450 k7 was ready for inspection after two years of rebuilding. Thanks to all of your help, she runs like new (ish). So i started to torque everything to spec and when I came to the bottom of the forks, the nuts would tighten and then release. Not good. Took all four nuts off and see that the threads don't look very thready. Am I hooped here or can this be saved. Furthermore, what causes this? Forks were not my install so I'm not sure how this came to be.IMG_1755.jpegIMG_1756.jpeg
 
Darn. I don’t know if a thread chaser can fix that or not, but I know someone here will chime in with the answer. Glad you didn’t find this out on the road!
 
tomeben said:
Darn. I don’t know if a thread chaser can fix that or not, but I know someone here will chime in with the answer. Glad you didn’t find this out on the road!
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right???? I can just hear the safety inspector..'bike sounds great but you're probably gonna want a front wheel'.
 
Those are toast. Particularly for something keeping your face off the pavement. Those studs are replaceable part number 92700-080503B. They can be a bear to wrestle out.
 
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Use heat and PB Blaster and let it soak a bit. A lot of time with steel bolt/studs into aluminum try tightening just a bit before trying to loosen. It seems like this will often help break the threads loose and they come out easier then if you just try to start loosening. I also like tapping the wrench or vise grips with a hammer as a sharp tap works wonders as well.
 
I had the same issue on my SL350K1 - in the end the studs weren’t as hard to get out as I was expecting…from memory I applied a bit of heat.
Cheers
Mike
 
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You may have enough good thread left to get 2 nuts on the stud to lock together. Maybe use thinner jamb nuts. Once they are locked together you may have more to grab onto with a pipe wrench, socket and breaker bar, etc.
 
Got them out (easier than I thought..came loose with a nice tight vise grip and a tap on the handle. Thanks for the tip! Now, when I reinstall the new studs (came today), should I put some locktite on the threads? Something else? Or just put them in cold? While on that, I couldn't locate a torque spec on them. Anybody have a number?
 
I'm curious on the loc-tite opinions. The service manual probably says to use it. Regarding torque spec, if there's no listing in the service manual, there is probably a standard spec for that size nut.
 
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None of the studs I've removed have ever shown evidence of loctite, but it can't hurt to use some. Remember, loctite wasn't used nearly as much back when these bikes were built.
 
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I did use loctite on mine. Again - face v pavement. If I ever gave to take them out again, I’ll deal with it then.
 
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450 has that odd clamp piece that has to be oriented correctly. I wonder if the PO had those flipped around and was just wrenching away trying to get it to match up and yanked the hell out of the threads.
 
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The studs are shot anyway, so removal and replacement is mandatory. They can be stuck due to salt water from winter rides, of these are stuck, take the time to remove the front fork, take the fork apart, and heat up bottom aluminum part after using penetrating oil for a few days.

It sounds of a lot of work, but worth it, because if you break it, you (may) need another fork part.
 
Having an issue putting the front wheel back on. The inside of the fork wants to catch on this bolt and prevents fork fitting flush on the axle. Is there a tightening process I might be missing here that would move this bolt just a hair closer to the wheel?IMG_1781.jpeg
 
I can't tell if it's the camera angle, but the bearing retainer ring looks really chewed up in your first pictures, and it kind of looks like the bearing might not be seated all the way. That said, if it fit before replacing the studs, but not now, did it perhaps get tweaked in the process?

Maybe try getting a picture with the wheel lined up on the forks where it should sit and what you're seeing. It could be possible maybe that the speedometer housing isn't seated all the way?
 
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EzPete said:
I can't tell if it's the camera angle, but the bearing retainer ring looks really chewed up in your first pictures, and it kind of looks like the bearing might not be seated all the way. That said, if it fit before replacing the studs, but not now, did it perhaps get tweaked in the process?

Maybe try getting a picture with the wheel lined up on the forks where it should sit and what you're seeing. It could be possible maybe that the speedometer housing isn't seated all the way?
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Upon further review, it looks like the left fork is turned in slightly (would explain why the front wheel was sticky to get off) and is also sitting slightly longer than right fork. Going to dismantle tomorrow and reinstall. Also, virtually no oil came out when I removed the hex nut but did come out the bottom when I broke open the allan bolt between the studs. That's not normal is it?
 
stu said:
Upon further review, it looks like the left fork is turned in slightly (would explain why the front wheel was sticky to get off) and is also sitting slightly longer than right fork. Going to dismantle tomorrow and reinstall. Also, virtually no oil came out when I removed the hex nut but did come out the bottom when I broke open the allan bolt between the studs. That's not normal is it?
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Sounds like they're gummed up inside and the allen bolt became the drain. The fender bracket could be bent and influencing the lower fork leg's position.

And you might as well replace the seals while you're there unless you know how old they are.
 
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