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quick: am attempting to rebuild my 1986 Yamaha Maxim XJ700 front forks.

so - i keep running into problems. short list of parts purchased to alleviate these difficulties:

one set: 12, 14, & 17 mm hex sockets
one set: 1/2 socket extensions
one : 10" 1/2 socket extension

total: $40.

the factory specs manual from Yamaha tells me that I need the following two specific parts:

YM-01326 (22" T-handle 1/2")
YM-01365 (unknown size hex socket w/ connector @ 1/2")

so - b/c i ended up buying a 2", 4" and 10" extension set and didn't feel like going to Sears and buying a 20" 1/2 extension - i bought a second 10". fitted the 17mm socket head to it, made contact. could feel the top of the damper rod push in. turn. lots of free play. shine flashlight down it. compare the visualized size to the cap bolt. estimate 1-2 mm bigger (damper rod head, that is) than cap bolt (which is a 17mm hex fitting).

start looking on line for a 19mm hex socket. can't find a damn one. start combing through yamaha's "official" sites. start making calls to yamaha. no one knows what the hell i'm talking about.

"19 mm hex socket? what are you working on? a flying pig?"

so i have attempted to circumvent the wall. attempted to climb the wall. now - i'm just beating my head against the wall called the Yamaha Maxim XJ700 damper rod (23" inside the fork tube).

Has anyone got some help they could lend? Thanks very much.

try xjowners.com

zamboya wrote:"19 mm hex socket? what are you working on? a flying pig?"

I have one sitting at home (a 19mm hex socket that is). It's part of a set that goes all the way up to 34mm. I use the 27mm on my bike, and I once used the 34mm to remove a CV axle from an '88 Civic.

Quite a few bolts on my Yamaha's at 19 mm. I thought 19 mm was in all socket sets. It's even in my g/f $9 Walmart 100 piece mechanics toolset. Btw, the $9 walmart 100 piece mechanics toolset is actually very handy. My sockets were lent to a friend and have been mia since october. These suckers are just as good as my craftsman.

zamboya wrote:"19 mm hex socket? what are you working on? a flying pig?"

Did the guy, by chance, spit some chaw into an empty beer can right after saying that?

A quick trip to the local Farm & Fleet or Tractor Supply Company will reveal a surprising lack of metric ANYTHING. Start talking millimeters around a farmer or hillbilly and you may as well be speaking Latin.

Try for a set online....


http://www.mytoolstore.com/sk/sk03090.html

Go to a welder and have him weld a 19mm nut onto the bottom of a steel tube. At the other end of the steel tube, drill a hole for a cross bar (T-handle, steel rod.)



=|============H




- H is the Nut, | is the crossbar, etc....

19mm = 3/4' btw

i thought this might help u!!

it is one of the few "exact" measures between metric ind in.!

they ussually have decimals left over this one is precise change!

or u'all knew this alredy

I knew about the crossover, but I think he's just having trouble reaching the bolt. It sounds like it's pretty deep inside the fork tube.

you shouldnt have to reach *into* the fork tube to unscrew a nut at all if I know right. I helped a friend with his front forks on his bike and Im assuming the 700 maxim and 750 virago have nearly the same fork construction.

There is one big-"O Ring" allen bolt on the top of the forks which holds the spring down and another on the bottom of the forks which acts as the drain plug and holds the plunger(?) to the bottom of the forks. All we needed to do wasa take both of these off and give it a good tug. it will feel as if there is something obstructing the inner tube from sliding out, but thats just coz the old seals are sitting so tight.

Oh and remember to remove the circlip above the old seals.