Spanner size

Hi Albert,

Spanner sizes for the forks:

Fork leg top nuts - 13/16" W

Damper sleeve nut - 7/8" W

Head race nut - 1" W

As these nuts should not need much torque box spanners are probably the cheapest option.

Hope this helps

Ian McD

You might try sykes pickavant spanners that are designed for car water pump and fan belt pulleys. They are cheap and just stamped out of mild steel they are slightly cranked and can be easily filed to fit various fork and big sump nuts. Being slim they readily fit into the gaps under the head yoke.

Looking for spanners and sockets myself, I sourced all the sizes mentioned above, thinking we were talking about roadholder forks.

However, the 13/16W was the only one that fitted on the sleeve nut that adjusts the bearings. The fork top nuts were smaller, as is the stem sleeve/top nut. Writing this, I note that I'm using different names, so I might have things completely wrong.

I think there's quite a lot of snobbery about adjustable spanners.  A good quality one will give a perfectly snug fit, with parallel jaws.  The fit between an off-the-shelf spanner and a nut is always compromised by their manufacturing tolerances and even by wear of the parts.  The side jaw King Dick adjustable spanner is a vital part of my toolkit, especially for large nuts which do not need high torque.  The 'correct' spanner for the Dominator drain plug is suitable for bridge building - not for light alloy motorcycle components.

... I have an Elora large adjustable that has perfectly parallel jaws and in fact is often a better fir that the "proper" spanner especially when the nut/bolt has been damaged. The drawback is that it doesn't fit well into confined spaces.

I have an extensive selection of sockets and spanners , I often use the nearest metric sockets  for top nuts . The rattle gun also gets lots of use .  Am thinking of commisioning a wall chart similar to the lubrication ones but bigger , to show all the nut sizes round the bike . would make servicing less frustrating . One for dommies and singles ,another for Commandos , bet we could sell a number.

The year would be a problem Albert, As I'm converting a long roadholder autojumble find to a short roadholder. Mend and make do to keep my racing project somewhat affordable. Apparently, the shorter stanchions have different fork top nut sizes. And then there are the old yokes, that might be different from later ones for the featherbed.

I''ll sort things out, but mostly wanted to warn that it's not always straightforward. I just assumed, which is never smart. Unless year and type (short, long roadholder, other forks) are specified, things could be different. I sourced three sockets for about 10 pounds, so no real harm done. I might be able to use them for something else.

I agree with David on the adjustable spanner, which can often be a better fit. However, I prefer sockets or ring spanners, if possible to use, as they spread the load on all corners. Especially on fork nuts, where aesthetics come into play.