April 24, 200818 yr Does anyone know what siz Hex key is needed to take the front wheel spindle out? looks massive so need to buy one! Tom
April 24, 200818 yr Does anyone know what siz Hex key is needed to take the front wheel spindle out? looks massive so need to buy one!Tom Tom, I think the GasGas forks are 10mm and the Marzocchi forks are 16mm Allen hex size. Cheers. Jon
April 24, 200818 yr Author cheers Jon, looks to be 16mm, will get myself off to halfrauds tomorrow to see what ridiculous price ill have to pay for 1 socket! Tom
April 24, 200818 yr cheers Jon, looks to be 16mm, will get myself off to halfrauds tomorrow to see what ridiculous price ill have to pay for 1 socket!Tom If they don't have it, you can make one. Use a short length of rod/tubing and weld/braze a 16mm or 11/16th" nut to the end (a slight angle to the nut makes it a little easier to use). Cheers. Jon
April 25, 200818 yr Does anyone know what siz Hex key is needed to take the front wheel spindle out? looks massive so need to buy one!Tom Tom, Just to remind you, don't crank the axle in a lot and a lot of riders think the tighter the better. The axle clamp is what holds it snug so it won't back out. If you put too much torque on the axle, it will put a serious sideload on the ball bearings and cause premature failure so about 30 Ft Lbs or 40 Nm should do it. Cheers. Jon
April 25, 200818 yr Author Cheers for the sound advice Jon, Ive always tightened axles right up so glad I know better now! Tom
April 25, 200818 yr We found an old chisel that was just about the right size surpose it was kinda lucky really ..
April 25, 200818 yr We found an old chisel that was just about the right size surpose it was kinda lucky really .. Also a good idea. Since the hex is a 6-point, you don't need something that is an exact fit. My other bike is a 12-point hex axle so it has to fit fairly snug. Jon
April 25, 200818 yr Tom, you do not need the 16mm allen key. I contacted factory Kev on this very issue, and gave up trying to find one. If you slacken the axle pinch bolts you can loosen the axle nut on the other end, which I recall is approx 7mm allen key, give it a tap through so you can grab hold of the 16mm end, then loosen off completely and pull out from the 16mm end. This worked fine on my 07 250 without a 16mm allen. Good luck Tim
April 26, 200818 yr Author thanks for the advice =] In the end I got hold of a 17mm one and just ground it down to fit! just gotta repair the fork tube now and im all done. Thanks again =] Tom
April 26, 200818 yr thanks for the advice =] In the end I got hold of a 17mm one and just ground it down to fit!just gotta repair the fork tube now and im all done. Thanks again =] Tom Tom, If it is a scratch or cut, sometimes they can be repaired with SuperGlue. Clean cut throughly and use SuperGlue to fill the cut, let it set and then take some 600 grit wet/dry on on a flat surface like a piece of 1/2" barstock and sand around tube (not lengthwise and not just in one spot to avoid making a depression and just to restore the area and cut down the raised edges of the cut) and then get a set of forksavers (Neophrene covers) to prevent further problems. It might save you buying new tubes. Jon Edited April 26, 200818 yr by JSE
April 26, 200818 yr Author cheers Jon, already done that trick, works a treat! I use araldite though not superglue, and 1200 grade wet and dry! (takes forever but worth it). I told Dean Thomas (Ex BSB Rider) about that trick and he had never heared of it, took the fork to show him and he couldnt believe how smooth it was. I have a couple of fork guards but somehow something managed to get to them! Tom
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