R1150GS Telelever fork bottom yoke and ball joint

[Bikermike1411]

Evening all!

Right. I've decided to give the GS a front-to-back tidy for the new year. There's been a whole load of bits of corrosion bothering me, particularly the very scabby state of the bottom yoke,so I set to work today addressing the issues. Tank off, front wheel out, mudguard off, forks out....

Long 1/2" ratchet to remove the 21mm nut at the top of the ball joint....apply leverage....the nut moves, and so does the thread it's on.

Turns out you need a 'special tool' to remove the ball joint from the telelever arm. I'm guessing to hold the thread whilst you undo the nut. Bugger.

I've no doubt an allen key/spanner combination would work, but i'm done for tonight. I've reset nut back to pretty much where it would have been when i started (i.e. undone my rotations).

So, here's the questions.

Firstly, in trying to turn the nut (with some limited success) am I likely to have done anything to the ball joint itself? I didn't take stock of how it 'felt' beforehand, but now it definitely feels a little springy when turning the yoke from left to right - theres resistance at the outer limit of reasonable rotation, and the yoke wants to 'reset' to the centre position. Nothing feels loose, and there's no vertical play between the ball joint and yoke. I have noticed that there is a 1-2mm gap between the bottom of the lower rubber and the top of the massive 'nut' that makes up the body of the ball joint where it screws into the bottom yoke.

Secondly, if I actually went ahead and removed the ball joint, is it a difficult job to do and then put back together again afterwards? What's the best way to go about it, and how the hell do you remove the joint from the bottom yoke once you've dropped the combined unit off the telelever arm? I thought inverted in a vice would do the job....then I told myself to stop thinking and get on here.....

I really don't want to have to spray the yoke in-situ, because with my skill it'll not come out right. I was hoping to send it off with the rear grab rail/rack when I get them sprayed silver next month.

Any help/advice gratefully accepted!
Cheers
Mike

 

[moonhead911]

Watching...

 

[Stujw70]

If this link works, you need something like the tool pictured

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php/174972-Telelever-Ball-Joint

 

[Bikermike1411]

Watching...

I'll see about starting a photo-thread at some point bud!

 

[Stujw70]

Ps unless the ball joint is knackered, I'd be tempted to leave in site on the fork bridge once removed from the telelever.

It's easy to remove the forkbridge from the forks itself.

Should be fine once rubbed down to carefully mask around the ball joint and the job will still be grand. That's what I did when I refurbed a bike a few years ago anyway.

 

[Bikermike1411]

Success!

The brew I had whilst writing the initial post was enough down-time to allow me to get my head in gear!

Firstly, I should point out, i'm not a complete resto noob..... i've done plenty of inline fours (and a couple of V-twins) from the frame up...usually because I broke them in the first place, but that's another story.....

After thinking about it for five minutes, then checking the price of a new rose joint on Motorworks, having a heart attack then noticing their used ones sound better than mine for £25, I decided to go back and remove it. I want it to look as good as possible when finished, so it had to come off.

7mm allen down the middle with on the end of a breaker bar (give me a lever long enough...), adjustables on the nut (why does every spanner set finish at 19mm?) and apply force.... thread stayed still, nut moved fraction, joint went wobbly....

repeat for 10 minutes.

I now have my lower yoke off! That bugger was bloody tight.

Must admit i'm concerned about torqing it back up at the end. I'll be replacing the top-nut without a doubt, its red rust.

So..... further questions.

Is it worth replacing the whole unit (could I have damaged it with my earlier shenanigans?)

How do I remove the ball joint from the yoke?

Powder coat or spray paint to finish.... my concern is power coat could be too thick to clean off from inside the for slider locators.

Def not touching it again tonight, us teachers have to work on a weekend you know?! These books aren't gonna mark themselves....

Cheers!

 

[Smug]

Either use an impact wrench or an allen key and a ring spanner.

 

[Stujw70]

Well done. I used a scorchbright type whizz wheel on a drill to remove all the old stuff. Etch primer and top coat. I my even have put a bit of satin lacquer on I can't remember, but I made sure I used the same on the fork lowers etc and lasted well from wat I have seen of the bike since sold.

 

[Bikermike1411]

Either use an impact wrench or an allen key and a ring spanner.

For which bit? I've already got it off! The 'nut' holding the ball joint into the bottom yoke is about 40mm..... that's the next task.

Then I need to decide if I'm taking the telelever arm off. It's not supposed to be a full resto though!

 

[Nin]

Slippery slope ... I'd spray it with etch primer and smoothrite or techkote. If you do, there's no need to remove the ball joint, which can be a PITA.

Telelever is a fairly easy removal, again I'd spray it. I had mine powder coated but it didn't last long on the sharp under edges, so redid it with techkote in the end.


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[Slipperyeel]

I did this same job on my old GS (posted on here somewhere).

With the yoke off, get the ball joint hot hot hot wroth a hot air gun. And then with a good fitting tool (i found a ring spanner better than a socket, easier to ensure it stayed on). Its friggin tight! And thread locked too!

I didn't bother torquing the new one. I just made sure it was tight and we'll seated. Yes, I used thread lock also...

 

[Bikermike1411]

cheers Slipperyeel. I decided last night to leave it in place, mask around and be careful when I spray it.

So threadlock and mega-tight on reassembly?

I'll be using a new nut - I think they come with blue threadlock on from BMW. I have also been offered the use of a torque wrench and crow's feet spanners to allow me to still hold the centre thread with an allen key, but i'm cautious that as the spanners extend beyond the end of the wrench they effectively increase it's length, and I don't know if that will mess with the torque value. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I'm also going to leave the Telelever arm on and just touch up the scabby bits. I need to keep costs very, very tight, and I don't want to end up with a full rebuild (a-la-Nin!). One job does indeed lead to another, and I need to reign this one in before I start.

 

[Nin]

Wise man!


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[Seamaster]

Techkote, is that the silver engine spray they do?

 

[Nin]

Yes, that's it.

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[Seamaster]

Thanks for that, I feel a mini referb is coming on...

 

[Rugged Path]

For Techcote T120 black satin paint for the engine, is it advisable to first use an etch primer?
Techcote who do not sell an etch primer say it is not required.


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[Nin]

My experience is that a good etch primer makes a great difference. I used this from Halfords ...

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[Rugged Path]

Again asked the Techcote technician whether an etch primer required before coating with T-120 heat resistant paint for engines and they say no. It would cause a chemical reaction and not advisable with their paints.


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[Nin]

Fair enough. I am not a techkote technician and I'm sure they know what they're talking about way more than I do!


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