Hi folks. Currently servicing MTS 1260S forks and wishing to dismantle the damper from the slider tubes. There's a very small grub screw (which I've removed) and there's a rather large allen bolt which is fitted from the underside of the caliper mounting bracket into the slider tube - No 8 circled in yellow on the attached pic (this just seems to spin if I try to tighten or untighten). Does anyone know what the role of this No 8 allen bolt is please ? And is it associated with being able to remove the caliper mounting bracket from the slider tube ? Is there Loctite fitted at the factory on the slider tube thread into the caliper bracket please ? Am I barking mad even trying to attempt to dismantle this !!! Many thx to the hive mind in advance. Rich.
That bolt appears to hold the internal damping cartridge to the stanchion. It likely needs to be held at the top to allow it to be removed without the cartridge spinning.
Thx Ricky. It does certainly look like that on the diagram. Thx. I can't get the bugger undone. Damper rod captive and still, Allen bolt just spins. Am wondering whether there's something wrong with the actual threaded end of the damper rod. Will persevere ! Thx. Rich.
You’ll need a pair of clamps to hold the fork tube to unscrew the foot off of the tube… it’s a professional job for the kit to not feck it up
Why do you want to separate the stanchion form the caliper/axle mount? It’s possible of course but you’re steering towards a world of frustration, annoyance and aggravation. You need to undo the bolt 8 whilst the fork is completely intact, the spring pressure inside will hold the damper cartridge assembly in place. The bolt will have thread lock on it and will be a bigger to remove. If the fork is disassembled I believe there is a special tool which will hold the damper cartridge whilst the bolt is turned. To remove the stanchion from the lower unit you need to remove the grub screw then apply an inordinate amount of heat to dissolve the large amount of extreme thread lock that was applied to the threaded part of the stanchion when it was screwed into the foot. You’ll also need a vice to hold the foot and a tool to twist the stanchion. There are holes in the top of the stanchion through which a metal rod can be placed so the stanchion can be twisted and unthreaded but the amount of force required can very easily lead to the holes being damaged. As Andy has said whilst I was writing this you need to proper tools or there’s a high likelihood damage will occur.
There’s a short video here but if I can find it there’s a much better video and explanation done by Jim of Superbike Surgery Edit, watch this one
Thx folks. Think I'll stay well away from taking the foot off the fork tube ! Knew it was a bad idea. The risk of fecking things up is too much. Will just clean out the black crud, new seals, bushes and refill. Thx for all the replies and video link. Really useful. Rich.
Just to update. Read some posts on an Aprilia forum that spoke about tightening the spinning 8mm allen bolt which screws into the bottom of the 'floating' damper rod cartridge. Recommended that in order to tighten said spinning bolt without taking the spring and guts out of the fork and inserting a damper rod holding tool, you have to assemble the fork as normal, with spring and the correct volume of oil, then invert the assembly, push fecking hard downwards to compress the fork cartridge while simultaneously tightening the 8mm Allen bolt. I can confirm this method does indeed work and I've successfully retightened the bugger up ! Success. I guess this technique could also be used to remove said Allen bolt completely as it does indeed stop the internal rotation of the damper rod cartridge. All sorted. Just refitting my forks and jobsagoodun. Ta. Rich.
