Hello fellow gs'ers. I have been reading Alott on this forum lately, but havent seen anyone writing about doing this so here i go. I was changing the oilseals on my front fork, and had a real hard time getting the damper rod bolt loose. I didnt think of making that tool to hold it before i needed it and then i didnt have the right size bolts and stuff. So i just flipped th damper upside down and clamped it in a vise like this(http://i1107.photobucket.com/albums/h394/maxwatt/DSC_1342.jpg) and put a socket on the bolt (preload adjuster type cap) and jacked it up all the way untill it reached end of travel.
(http://i1107.photobucket.com/albums/h394/maxwatt/DSC_1341.jpg)
This was very scary and potentially dangerous since i now had a lot of stress and/or energy in the spring when it was jacked up like that. I dont know if this is safe and would really like to hear your opinion on this. It worked like a charm. I managed to get en ought pressure on the damper rod to keep it from spinning. I now have my new sonic springs and new seals in.