Has anyone pulled the lugs/axle clamps off of the inner fork tubes on this bike? What can I expect? I'm not seeing an obvious set screw so I'm wondering if I can just heat them up and unscrew them.

My inner fork tubes are badly pitted and replacements are expensive. I"m looking at bringing them to a hard chrome place. I did a search, apologies if this has been answered somewhere already.

 

Yes, it requires a few special tools to get the forks apart.
The service manual has a detailed explanation of how it's done.

 

The manual I have doesn't show the lugs/axle clamps coming apart from the inner fork tube, not in the "Suspension" section at least.

 

I'm confused by your terminology.
Can you post a pic of the item you're having trouble with?
The sticky section of this forum has a link to the factory service manual. I think you may have the owner's manual.

 

I wanna get that thing in red off of the inner fork tube so I can drop the tube off at a hard chrome shop.

 

That part isn't normally removed for service.
I'm not 100% sure, but I think that the lug is threaded onto the tube and uses some threadlocker to secure it.
Heat and a soft-jaw vice would be required.

 

That's interesting. I've never personally seen or known anyone to remove the axle clamps from the fork tubes on a dirt bike, but surely some/most forks are probably assembled in the fashion that GBAUTO suggests.

OP, while I would agree that the whole fork leg assembly is probably quite expensive new from Kaw, I'd think you could find a used set of forks in great condition out there somewhere for relatively cheap.

Another question, does this "hard chrome" shop have experience doing motorcycle fork legs? My experience with the hard chroming process is limited, but do they address the "tolerance" aspect of how the fork tubes and bushings will have to interface?

At the point at which you are at right now, something I would consider is doing a fork swap with a slightly beefier and better set of used forks from a donor bike as has been done by quite a few folks, some of which are on this site. Older KX's are usually the donor bike, and there are surprisingly a lot of dead, 2-S KX's leaning against the walls of garages in this country...LOL! Usually you obtain the whole front fork with wheel, etc.

I'm unaware of it and never researched it, but I assume there are services that recondition fork tube surfaces, and I think I may remember it mentioned on some of the old chopper build shows that used to be so prevalent on TV. Whoever might do that probably knows how critical the tolerance measurements will be as it will relate to bushing interface.

Let us know how this goes.

 

TNC:

After more googling I managed to find a motorcycle place in Canada that rechromes fork tubes, I think they have the actual rechroming done out of house but it sounds like I'd be better off paying shipping than trying to disassemble these things myself. Some internet guys claim great success by drilling out the set screw and replacing it with a grease nipple to loosen the lug with grease pressure, but this is probably above my pay grade.

I like your idea of a fork swap. I'm a bit remote so it's hard to see these things in person, but I'll see if I can't find something that works before I cough up the money to get my current forks fixed.

 

Quick check on partzilla, shows same fork legs used on all KLX250/300 from 1995-2007 models probably for N.America for sure. Find a used 250300 leg.on ebay. There are some there, don't know if they fit your price range.

 

If you are interested in a KX fork swap, here's how it's done:

https://web.archive.org/web/20170406010139/http://www.planetklx.org/techtips/kx-to-klx-forkswap.html

Ride on
Brewster