This is not the problem. I can tell that it's loose in the lower triple tree because I've had it turning. As a matter of fact, I lowered the cowbell and gripped on the shaft and twisted. Twisted in the wrong direction and noticed I was loosening the cap that the cap bolt screws into. I noticed it and screwed it back in, but it's definately frozen at the top triple tree, and there's no pinch bolt there that I'm aware of. Gonna try the 2x4 and I'm probably gonna have to remove my handlebars, but I'm all clean and showered right now and I'm gonna wait til tonight until I get all sweaty again.....not to mention I have a splitting headache right now.

I appreciate all the input and one of these techinques is gonna get that bastard out.

 

I've also seen a brass drift and hammer used on the buggers. They will rust in there tight! Hope you don't have to take the whole damn thing apart!

 

Use dawg's magic hammer, it works on everything!

And it that doesn't work.........

 

Took your cam cover off didn't it

 

If worse comes to worse, you could try some freon on the triple tree and fork to contract them a tad, the try tapping it out...

 

Yep, sure did!!

 

Dammit man, I've done it all. I've banging on this thing so much I should have won one of those cheesy carny stuffed animals already. I did the socket and hammer thing with so much PB blaster that I should buy stock and have moved it some (1st pic), that inspired me to whack the **** out of it and it moved somemore (2nd pic), I even had some help (can't help but post pics of my little girl).

But I feel like there's some hidden pinch bolt or something. I've had the pinch bolt out, screwdriver wedged in there, and whacking the **** out of it and...nada. Over the past 2-3 days I've walked out there a handful of times and sprayed PB, whacked, sprayed more PB and walked away cussing. I was able to rotate the fork tube in the lower tree (the one with the pinch bolt) but I was unscrewing it from the cap, so I'm extremely, very much so, fairly confident that it's not frozen at the lower tree. I even sprayed (don't have any freon, but I'm not comfortable with that idea) one of those cans of compressed air - that you use to spray air and clean your keyboard and computer stuff - upside down so it sprays freezing air and banged on the fork immediately after. I feel that it's so frozen I might be banging a bend in the top tree. I don't see any evidence of this, but hell.

Anyways, here are the pics and I guess I'll just keep whacking the **** out of it, but I wanted to post here to confirm that I'm going about this the right way or if I'm heading for trouble.




Damn I love this little turd. Keeps my fatass sane while beating the **** out of my bike. She's so dame cute. Mama told me that she heard me in working in the garage and she ran and grabbed her tools and was running down the hall saying "I help daddy!"

 

You stated twice that you can turn the fork tube but it unscrews the fork cap. This suggests to me that the cap is making contact with the upper clamp and maybe preventing the fork tube from sliding out. I would remove the cap (be careful of the spring pressure) and then try turning the tube by hand with downward pressure.

 

The cap is definately making contact and it's frozen in there. I've removed the cap bolt just to clarify. I can turn the tube by hand now and unscrew it completely from the fork cap and slide it out of the lower tree, but then I would still have a stuck cap in my upper tree. And I was just gonna take my forks to Harley and let them take the sliders off because I didnt want to deal with it.

 

Once you have the tubes out it's easy to unbolt the triple tree. You then can take the upper tree to the dealer or anyone with a press and have the top nut pressed out.