Just on with stripping the front end down ready to replace the fork seals. Before removing the forks I have cracked off the fork caps and have tried also to crack off the bottom damper bolt. One side is turning, (whether or not the damper is inside is another matter!) - the other side is solid.

Now there is some corrosion, so I plan to remove the fork leg, turn it upside down and allow some penetrating oil to do its magic. If this fails, is it possible to remove the damper rod by turning it from the inside, using the Yamaha or equivalent holding tool?

We do have a big impact gun at work I could use on the cap (hexigan) head but I don't want to risk damaging anything.