Day 4 - Front End is Off

I found some time to have at the front end tonight. It wasn't terribly difficult, but since I'm a noob, I kept having to run back to the service manual and web sites to make sure of what I was doing. Here it is...



First, I loosened the screws that hold the collets together on the top and bottom triple trees. Once I loosened those, The forks came off relatively easy, with the help of my handy rubber mallet.

I was (and still am) trying to figure out if I want to save this front end and send it out for media blasting and powder coating - or if I'd rather just put a new front end on it entirely. I've been thinking of a springer.

In order to even send the frame out to be cleaned, which I'm planning to do after I get everything off of it, I had to take off the top triple trees. I could not figure out how to do it without risking damage to the steering stem nut.

On the right there is that nut. Apparently, Honda sells - or used to sell in the '70's - a tool specifically for that (it's in the shop manual) which is the 48mm pin spanner - Tool No. 07902-200000. But I'm not buying one - and certainly not for disassembly. I used a screwdriver and that rubber mallet (and a hammer) and gently prodded it loose. It came loose pretty easily once I broke the seal.

What's pretty cool is what's under that steering stem nut - see the next pic for the steering stem bearings.

Those bearings are all ball bearings, packed in grease and held in on the sides by the lip of that piece of the frame, and on top by the nut. -- "It's all ball bearings nowadays. Now you prepare that Fetzer valve with some 3-in-1 oil and some gauze pads, and I'm gonna need 'bout ten quarts of anti-freeze, preferably Prestone. No, no make that Quaker State." -- Good thing I read some tips in some forums though, because there's another one of those on the bottom of the steering stem. So if you're following me, use extra caution when pulling the steering stem - if you plan on reusing the bearings, you'll need all those balls. I'm considering going with a tapered bearing kit from Old Bike Barn (or the like). But even if you go with a new kit, you'll still need to save your bearings and steering stem nut so you can properly guage the height.

Here's the other side of the top triple tree with the other bearings visible:





In that picture, 1 is an important tool that I use. I got it from Sears and it's a magnetic parts holder. There's a magnet in the bottom - and it's AWESOME for applications like this. I didn't have to worry about losing all those bearings, even if they drop out, they're held in place by the magnet. 2 is the actual steering stem, and 3 is the bottom bearing.

Next I will have to figure out and spend some time separating the steering stem from the top triple tree. There's a gasket there, but I'm not sure if I just put it a vice and turn or what. More research on that! A closeup of where the stem joins the triple tree is on the left.


In addition to that step, I'm also going to spend some time going over the front end. There's a bit of rust (though it looks like surface rust) on one of the forks, and I'm guessing that I'll have to put new seals and new oil in it. This truly is a lot of work but I'm really enjoying it. I've already learned a lot - and I'm nowhere near close even to completing my disassembly. For now, the front end is laying on the ground:

Another great thing I realized is that these models of Hondas actually have a steering lock. While that's great, the key I have doesn't fit it. I read how several other folks have run into that problem during their rebuilds - so it's pretty common. I'm way lucky that at least mine wasn't locked! There's always the option of going to a dealer and getting a new lock - but I think I'll probably just end up drilling it out and going without. It's not really necessary and I could use a wheel lock if I ever go anywhere where the bike is likely to be stolen.

So why is it great that I found this out? Take a look at the wheel lock:

Do you see that ring that the lock is sitting in? It looks kind of like a can with a hole in the bottom for the lock to be exposed. The interesting thing is that for the ignition on this bike, that lock was cut length-wise. The next pic shows it to you. So now I have a precisely fit holder for the ignition that I can weld anywhere else on this bike. I've been thinking about moving it back to under the seat so it's closer to the battery. That theoretically means less wiring to run later.

And here's the current setup with the ignition location:

Well, that's it for today. I'm pretty pleased that I got a lot done.

Hopefully I'll have more to share in the coming days!