VF500F fork internals

Hi,

I ordered a new TNK left hand chrome upper for my 1985 VF500F and have mostly dismantled the original fork. The original chrome upper has like a castellated sleeve and washer in the lower part but I can't figure out how to remove them. I assume I will need to transfer them to the new tube.

Maybe there is c-clip on the inside but I can't see by shining a light down from the top...?

Any ideas or help would be appreciated. I haven't received the new tube yet to compare.

Thanks in advance... Tim

 

See if this helps.

 

Hi, thanks for those manual images. It does appear that my "oil lock piece" is still in the chrome upper. I removed the piston by taking off a few wire clips and sliding it out the top.

I just tried to remove the oil lock piece by slide hammering it out with the piston but it is stuck in there pretty good. The manual seems to imply it should just slide out with the piston.

Thanks again, I will keeping working on it and compare with the new tube.

 

The new tube you bought, is it actually a new OEM tube? I will be amazed if you can still buy those. It seems the only new stuff you can buy is pretty much nuts and bolts ...

 

The new tube is TNK through Racetech.com, Italian-made. Not cheap but I couldn't find a good used, just sent back a "good" one of Ebay because it had a massive gouge. The bike is running great and was a one-owner up until last April so I thought it would be worth it.

The European aftermarket seems to be more interested in these bikes than over here.

 

The TNK fork upper seems to have the internal parts installed, the lower stop is machined into the fork tube, just like the OEM tube. I plan to swap over the piston and other parts. Just FYI in case others run into the same thing...

 

Nice. Keep the updates coming.

 

OP here, this forum hates comcast accounts.

I actually did find a NOS OEM right front upper tube on ebay for like $65 shipped so I grabbed it too. The TNK one is really nice, very high quality, everything went together perfect with new Honda fork seals. The test ride with just the new left side upper went fine, functioned normally with no seepage. I just put the NOS one in this afternoon, should be the same hopefully, it really was perfect as well in the original Honda bag.

A couple hundred dollars spent but still pretty cheap fun.