THE HONDA AX-1
TOTAL REBUILD PAGE
Last edit 27 Oct09
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Mirror sites dhost.info/ax1/ Germany EU
By Kiriakos Triantafyllou Greece 2007- 2009
ax1rebuild.net23.net/ U.S.A
NOVEMBER 07
Ordering parts its easy, having them actually installed , its another story , specially if its something that you never have done before .
I started to search the web for info, and there was none about the Showa 37 mm forks , other than one simple reference and one draw made by hand, that shows the correct order of the inner parts in the fork boot.
So I need speedy lessons, of “How- to” rebuilding motorcycle forks, in the beginning of the rebuild I got a second complete front system for parts , and I decide to use it as a training coarse .
I did open it , it was not easy , I had to use my imagination is some stages , but at the end I managed to make it pieces with out to cause damage .
Now that I did that , I feel much better , I had also realize that I will need something as special tools , so to install the new parts in it , so I started a new search about that .
From 1 Nov 08 this site runs on New server 1.5GB free space and more.
1000 Thanks to my new Free host .000webhost.com
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Page started 21/10/2007
3 of November !!!!!!!
8 of November !!! The parts from Germany had arrived
A new addition in our special motorcycle tools , an lifting up stand .
For first time in my life I see my AX-1 with both wheels on the air , its like to be flying , I can not hold my laughs and enthusiasm .
21 of November !! Parts from Netherlands arrived too !!
Showa 37 mm disassembling in detail !!
Lets see all the process in steps , its very important to do all of those , or else the process will become risky .
IF YOU DO NOT have a COPY of the HONDA SERVICE MANUAL , DO NOT TRY ANYTHING AT ALL.
First of all , we need to set the motorcycle in the right position , so to be safe, and easy to work on it.
Second basic step ... removal of the front wheel .
Third basic step ... turn loose the top fork cap ...(DO NOT totally remove it ) this action its a MUST DO.
Fourth step ... Remove the front brakes system , with out to remove the fluids hose .
Fifth step .... Turn loose the four side fork screws , and gently pull out the forks .
Lets see some pictures , and I will give some more details at the proper time .
OK, at this point , we remove the first inner round metal shield ( round metal wire ) , after pulling this out , we have to pull the all fork pipe out of the boot .
At this point do not be afraid , start pulling it out , by your hands , by the one hand hold the boot , with the other start to use the fork pipe as one reverse hammer .
Very soon, you will see the fork pipe to comes out , and with it , it will bring also and the oil seal .
OK the first difficult part has ended , now we need to do some inner cleaning, at the boot.
Throw at the inner of it , anything you like , gasoline - petrol - WD40 - pressured water , but at the end wipe it well with a clean cloth .
I used one old piece of cloth , and the broom stick , so to wipe clean , the inner part of the boot.
Showa 37 mm Assembling in detail !!
OK , at this point lets stop , and take a big breath , so far I have show you , the results of my work , not how actually I did it .
At this point its my obligation to show you how to really do the job, that¢s why , study well my techniques , and save the laughing for the end .
Lets see few draws first , the first one its a common Honda parts list , BUT it contain errors .. Yes it does .
OK ... Lets see my two draws , and I am sure , that it will do a click to your brains !!
My first one shows the correct ( in line order) of the parts .... The second one shows the tricky part of inserting the parts back to the boot .
Lets suppose that you have inserted all the inner parts , your broom stick is in place ,and you need to put the final screw .... get some silicone , and add it , on the body of the screw , then insert it in , and lock it ...... BE WARNED do not tide it TOO MUCH !! the boot is made from SOFT aluminum !!
OK , here are my Draws .... NOW Watch Carefully !!
At this draw everything looks better , because, now you know... what is what .
OK !!! If you manage to get at this point, and had locked down the bottom screw , you have done the 60% of the job .
The rest work is, to lock in place, the Slider Bushing 2) Back-up Ring 3)The oil seal 4) The Stop Ring 5) The Dust Seal .
I will show you details about them, that they are not shown at the Service manual .
You are looking the Slider Bushing and some pieces of hard PVC .
This hard PVC , are part of the tube that is used for natural gas installation . I found one tube at easy , as there many contractions in my neighborhood , and small in length tubes (left overs of this pipes), are scattered everywhere .
This tube has the right fitness , so to get in between the boot , and the fork pipe .
OK , here is my magic !! hahahaaaaa BANG IT HARD BABY !!
The upper tube is more wide , for this reason I do bang it, at the sides , one stroke at left one , one stroke at the right one .
I always try to bang , two PVC pieces at a time , because they cover the half of the total diameter , that¢s why there are four pieces of them in total .
If you get confused , I will clear up the things or you , the Slider Bushing needs LOTS of force to get in , its not “push and go” , needs real force , but with out any proper tool , you cannot install it at all.
The next part , Back-up Ring , gets easy inside ...... the Oil seal needs some banging too , not that hard as the Slider Bushing .
Last parts is the oil seal , that YES I needs to bang it, too .
The next picture shows in yellow color the Slider Bushing , and as you can see , it must get inside, and go all the way down , and to come at the same level with the boot .
Showa rebuild and Happy end !!
Before some time , when my problem with the Oil seal started , I was looking on the web, to find the how-to , all that I did find was some info about a special tool , like in the pictures below, this pictures are my too .... this is the first tool that I had build, but never use .
The reason is that I did not know that I had to deal also with the Slider Bushing , all that I had in mind was the oil seal .
Any way the task is done, and finished, about the WP springs and oil, I followed the instructions that came with it, and everything got smoothly .
The front suspension , become like a dream ... the motorcycle does not dive any more when I ride it , and even when I use the brakes, it does not dive either as it did before .
The front suspension works fantastic , reacts very fast , and absorbs all the type of vibrations.
The bottom line is, that with the Bitubo shock at the back , and with the WP springs at the front, my motorcycle become, a completely different vehicle.
The ride height have change , the motorcycle looks and are taller , now I have other problems , the motorcycle become taller , and I need to add larger mud flaps !!
OK lets see the baby, how it looks so far !!
