forks kz 650 project

hi everybody -im replacing my fork seals on my kz 650 project ;which is slowly getting there [tank and side covers painted metalic blue]-now back to the forks-how do i stop the damper rod from spining while trying to undo thethe botom allen bolt -i dont have the special tool like it says in my manual-will a impact and a hammer do the trick-has anybody come up with a home made tool or method its really frustrating !!but i dony=t want to damage anything ....thanks again mike....[try"d to get that tool from the dealer but to no avail..like everything elsei want it done yesterday]

Ya this is a common problem. Some dampening rods have a 12-point socket like end and if you figure out what size it is you just weld that size bolt to the end of a rod and use that to hold the dampening rod. If you don't have those dampening rods then you need to make a different tool. Take a metal rod about a 1/2 inch in diameter (it has to be bigger then the hole in the dampening rod). Then take an angle grinder and grind it to a taper that has 4 sides. You want to make sure the corners are very sharp because that is what will be shoved into the hole in the dampening rod to grip it. Lightly place it in said hole and invert the shock so you can easily get to that allen screw. Now place a pipe wrench on the rod and an allen wrench in the bolt then pull down hard on the fork tube as you break the bolt free. To make this easier have 2 people. One guy loosening the bolt and another pulling down on the tube. to make it really easy, use an impact wrench.

thanks becker-never had to loosaen that rod on my other bikes - what a pain in the but -thanks for the advise -i was half heartedly hoping that an impact with a hexhead bit might freeit -buti have to go buy the bit tomorow ---mike

Use an air impact gun or an electric impact gun. Get a big 18v one if going electric. If you don't have one, get one. Nice tool to have around. 99% of the screws will come off in a few seconds with the air or electric guns, the other 1% is a problem, however if you do manage to get even one apart you can see how the damper is shaped to make a tool for the problem one. Also leave the tops on the forks as you're trying to loosen the bottom allen bolt. Spring pressure helps hold the damper from spinning. You'll seldom to never get this bolt loose without impact tools.

See:

KZ650 Fork Cylinder Holder

Also leave the tops on the forks as you're trying to loosen the bottom allen bolt. Spring pressure helps hold the damper from spinning. You'll seldom to never get this bolt loose without impact tools.

Damn, forgot that part. Your absolutely right. before taking the forks out of the triple trees loosen the bottom dampening bolt and then the top piece that holds the spring in. This makes it all go faster.

thanks alot all- igot em done-first one took about 3 hours-used a pool cue 'i cut about one third off and shaped to a square on one end-wedged it in the bumper of my work truck-sat the fork on top andclamped on a large c clamp to the botom of the stick so when i started wrenching it jammed against my bumper thus stopping it from spining-slowly tapping the manual impact with the hex head bit [couldnt aford a impact gun -which would have been the ideal tool]the second fork only took about a half an hour total thanks again ;;;;;;mike

go to harbour freight or tractor supply they have 1/2" electric impacts for about 30 bucks. and they are good for about 250 lbs of tourque