I'm new to this site, and was wondering if anybody knew how to get the front axle out of one of these things. I'm pretty crafty and I couldn't get it to move an inch. I have the clymer book for it and it says to just remove the nut on the left side and then put a screwdriver or punch in the hole on the right side and pull it out.....yeah right. I have beat this thing to death and it won't budge. I ended up ruining the threads on the axle and still can' get it to move. Now I have to replace the axle which isn't the end of the world but I gotta get the d@mn thing out first. Any suggestions?

 

Opened a can of worms with this one... I finally got the axle out of the fork, but then I had a heck of a time getting the axle out of the brake hub. I had to beat it like h3ll but it finally broke loose. The good news is that the axle is toast and what I thought was a bent axle is really a broken shock inside the tube. The spring looks okay but the "absorber" is shot. So now I need a shock and an axle........Nice Huh?!

 

If it is a 1982 good luck finding the axle. I looked forever and ended up switiching to a 1983-84 axle, they are easy to find, I may actually have an extra one. Problem is that it is longer than the 82, so you need the newer fork lowers too. You can tell by looking at the area where the axle passes through the fork lower. If it is just a thin flat steel plate it is an 82, if it has about an inch thick of steel welded on it is the newer type. I can send photos if you need. I ended up swapping an 83 front end for the 82. You can still buy the shocks new from Honda but they are pricey. I'm in the process of rebuilding an 83 now.

 

quick tip: if you plan on hitting something directly like that, put the nut back on it so you hammer the nut instead. its more easily replaceable than the threads. i nearly ruined my crank taking the flywheel off with a puller. i forgot to put the nut on and tightened the puller. nearly wrecked the threads completely.

 

yeah I did that. I loosened the nut as I beat the axle out until I had to remove it all together, but it still got toasted.

 

then you got to the point where i wouldve just used my big sledgehammer since the axle was wrecked anyways.