SKYFLIX Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 My new AK-20 cartridges came in this afternoon. Having never done any fork work in my life, I made sure to read the installation directions over and over, and watched numerous videos online on removing the factory damping rod assembly. I KNEW that it was going to be tricky to remove the factory rod without the Yamaha or an aftermarket specialty tool (which I didn't have, and didn't want to buy). I had initially thought about just running the forks by the local dealership and asking them to remove the parts for me. I'm sure they would have happily done this. But that takes time, and time is money as they say...Plus, it's Monday, and we all know that most Powersports dealers are closed on Monday. So I decided to give it a go myself. Traxxion mentioned in their installation directions that some customers had luck using an impact wrench to loosen the factory bolt. I tried that first, and while it did break the screw loose, once it was loose, the rod just began to spin freely. So it occurred to me that I could make a simple tool using nothing more than 3/4" schedule 40 PVC pipe which I happened to have laying around in the garage. 30 seconds of sanding on the belt sander to square off the end, and a few hits with a Dremel to sand out the cutouts, and I present this. Since the screw had already been broken free by the impact wrench, I needed only this tool, and the 8mm hex wrench to finish off the bolt. I'm a happy camper. 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member piotrek Posted July 13, 2020 Supporting Member Share Posted July 13, 2020 (edited) Good call. I made one from 1" EMT. Found it very useful during assembly to torque things down to spec. No way I was spending the money on a RaceTech tool. Edited July 13, 2020 by piotrek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koth442 Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 Nice. I love a good DIY tool. '15 FJ09 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted July 13, 2020 Supporting Member Share Posted July 13, 2020 1 hour ago, SKYFLIX said: My new AK-20 cartridges came in this afternoon. I'm a happy camper. 1 ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member 2and3cylinders Posted July 14, 2020 Premium Member Share Posted July 14, 2020 I managed with the big straight blade screwdriver but I've got some 3/4" PVC and we'll try making a similar tool next time thanks for the input. I don't recall the exact torque but the retaining Bolt doesn't take a significant amount and the ones that Matt provided out of aluminum so you got to be careful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKYFLIX Posted July 14, 2020 Author Share Posted July 14, 2020 I only needed to use this to remove the factory damping rod. Traxxion provides their own tool for tightening their cartridges, though I understand its rarely needed. They don't even provide a torque spec. Just tight enough that the bolt doesn't spin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jreinhardt Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 Very timely post for me. Will be doing some fork work in the next couple of weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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