Today the Hurricane was scheduled for surgery. With ratchet straps in hand, it was time to restrain, I mean secure the patient. I had planned on using the motorcycle lift someone gave me years ago, but it really only works well on bikes that aren't a stressed member frame. So, I lifted with a combo of 2 ratchet straps around the frame, and a standard floor jack and 2x4 to spread the load.
The front wheel removal was pretty standard, as was the actual fork removal. I loosened the cap before taking them out of the triple tree, to save myself from serious frustration later on. However, it mutated and came back as a tool failure.
Thankfully, the bushings were still in good shape, even if the oil was black as the void. The seals and dust boots were rock hard and probably old enough to vote. With the legs disassembled (one at a time to avoid confusion), it was time to drain and clean the parts, then test my fancy DIY 3D printed fork seal driver! What's a project without a trip to the store for tools or parts? I had to track down a long reach 6mm Allen driver for the bottom bolts. Glad there's a Harbor Freight within a reasonable distance.
The flanges on the driver snapped off, one at a time. Granted, I was whacking them with a dead blow hammer when I really should have still used a piece of PVC to drive them. So, I headed to the store again, for a 5' section of 1.5" PVC. By using the pipe, an old seal, and the backup washer between them, I was able to drive home all the seals. With them in place, it was just simple reassembly.
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