R27 centerstand spring removal

[Darryl.Richman]

Here are two suggestions.

I) There's a tool that is designed to pull springs. It's basically a steel hook that you can put 2 or 3 fingers through on one end, and a much smaller hook you can get around the end of the spring, at the other end. If you can get a straight pull, and the bike is sufficiently braced, you can get your body weight against the spring.

b) This is more elegant. Put the bike up on the stand, so it stretches out the springs. Then, force a penny in between each coil of the spring. When you raise the centerstand, the springs won't be able to fully retract, and you'll have a much easier time removing them.

Good luck!

[R.D. Green]

Well, I tried the penny trick. Very hard to get them in but I finally did by grinding down the edges of each coin a little bit. When I raised the stand to relax the spring, most of them fell out.

A spring puller might work if I can get enough pull on it. The problem is getting a straight pull.

Richard

[Darryl.Richman]

I think I may have directed you exactly wrong with the coins.

You have to put them in when the spring is stretched, so it holds the spring coils away from each other. That makes it easier to insert the coins.

Then, when the spring is released, it should grip the coins tightly, and the coins will hold the spring out further than normal. That gets you most (or all, if you're lucky) of the way over whatever is retaining the spring.

[R.D. Green]

Yeah, that dawned on me after I sent the last message (Duh!). I'll give it a try the other way.

Richard

[comet]

Springs can be problematic. I have used a vice-grip in the past along with a long bar or some other sturdy piece of steel. Clamp the vice-grip very firmly on the spring close to the end. Hold the vice-grip in one hand and find a fulcrum point for the end of the bar. Use the vice-grip as a pivot point and the long bar for leverage. Sometimes this works, good luck and be careful springs can hurt you.......Comet

[R.D. Green]

Ah, success ! Here's the drill that worked:

Take 16 pennies and grind off the edges on both sides about 1/3 of the way around each coin.

Put the centerstand up to relax the springs.

Insert the pennies in the spaces between the spring coils. A pair of long-nose offset pliers is helpful.

Put the centerstand down all the way.

Remove springs. One was so loose I did it by hand.

Remove pennies from springs and save 'em. I think putting the springs back is going to involve re-inserting the pennies by holding the springs in a vise and bending them over to get the pennies in (I hope). We'll see....

Richard

[R.D. Green]

Just to close out this thread - - here's how I got the new springs back on the machine with no grunting and groaning...

Just for grins, I compared the old springs with the new ones and noticed that the new were actually a good 1/8 inch shorter than the old. Hmmmm...

I put one end of the new spring in the bench vise, bent it over with my hand, and proceeded to insert the ground-off pennies between the coils. I put half in this way and then reversed the spring in the vise and put in the other half. However, what this actually did was to distort the spring into kind of an "S" shape which decreased its length, making it difficult to install. So - - I took all the pennies out and reinserted them on alternating sides of the spring, i.e., put one coin in, turn the spring around and put the next coin in, and so on until each coil was held apart by a coin. In this way, the spring stayed straight as it got longer.

Then I put the spring on the bike with the centerstand down. When I raised the stand, half the coins fell out and the others were easily removed with long-nosed pliers. Once I had this figured out, the second spring was on in five minutes.

Richard

[VBMWMO]

Can anyone tell me how to remove the centerstand springs from an R27?
These things are quite a bit beefier than the ones I'm used to on later model airheads. I'm trying visegrips, various levers, etc., with the stand in the raised position to lessen the tension on the springs but no luck yet and I don't want to keep mucking around until I damage something. They look like they would laugh at a regular spring puller.

Richard