Front Axle Threads

[Assocracer]

Does anyone know the thread size for the front axle?

[Smokescreens]

wait... you wanted to know what the axle thread was? i thought you meant the little screw for the damper rod. i have a axle in my garage lemme see what i can find out for ya.

[Assocracer]

Yup, so I can get a tap to run thru the insert after I drill the hole thru the insert from the bottom of the fork.

[Smokescreens]

18mm x 1.5mm

[Assocracer]

That sounds familiar. Thanks.

[Smokescreens]

i do own that size tap and i used it to double check it.

[Assocracer]

Thanks. I have the tap somewhere that the guy uses to tap the hole for the insert but not the tap for the axle. I can get one on amazon for like $12. Just need it as a thread chaser.

[davej]

Now I have a question about running a tap thru the threads on the fork tube. How tight do you adjust the pinch bolt for the axle while tapping the hole????

[Assocracer]

Now I have a question about running a tap thru the threads on the fork tube. How tight do you adjust the pinch bolt for the axle while tapping the hole????

I didn't. Basically, what I did was I bought a threaded insert that was threaded on the outside and the inside. Basically, like the inserts that Harley uses on their fairings for the screws that hold the two fairing halves together. The inside threads were the 18mmx1.5 to match the axle. The outside was like 24mmx1.0 I think. Then I bought a 24mmx1.0 tap and a drill bit to go along with the tap. I then took the fork with me to work and gave it to a guy in the machine shop with a case of Genuine Draft He put it on a drill press, drilled the hole, then tapped it. Then he cut the insert to the length it needed to be and he screwed the insert into place. It was a key locking insert, so then he tapped keys into the outside of it to lock it into place. That's it. Basically, it works just as if the fork was still tapped for the axle. Now the problem is (and I didn't realize this at the time cause I was very new to this bike, only had it for like a week) that that insert is now blocking access to the bolt that holds the dampener cartridge in place in the bottom of the fork. So what I'm gonna do now is use the current hole in the bottom of the fork as a guide and drill thru the insert to gain access to the bolt. Then I'll run a tap thru the insert to clean up any threads that got buggered up from the drill bit.