Hello
Thought I would share this, since for many (as for myself until recently) changing the group spring is a hassle and potentially hazardous operation. This was inspired by a fellow group member, thought I would do a more detailed post, since I think the question will arise again.
Now I can swap the spring in less than 15 min which even included new seals and lubrication!
I know this wont work for all levergroups, but at least for some I hope this will be of help.

I use three strips for the spring of a length of ca. 25 cm. They have to be fairly strong, but are very cheap. I use a small wooden grill stick (for barbecue skewers) to get the strips out at the right place.
If not totally glued, you will be able to manually unscrew the piston since the spring will be hold in place not providing any resistance once the first few turns have been done.



I put the new spring in this strong compressor (sorry I don't have the right technical word at hand), be sure not to put the strips all at the end of the spring so they don't get stuck between the piston once you insert the spring.
I gradually tighten while compressing, so the most of the tension is hold by the strips in case it breaks out of the "jaw".

New and old spring ( you might notice that the "new" spring is a bit uneven, it was actually the original spring I reinserted, since I had had a piston leak that caused corrosion of the other )

Everything lubed up and ready to install, I just cut the strips with a scissor once the piston is rescrewed.

Conti Empress 1956 Heating up, enjoy


Cheers

Ulrik

And while we are in the process of sharing, has anyone tried this? - http://www.thealphamoto.com/Motorcycle- ... to-027.htm

Hi Ulrik,it's really a good idea, i will try it next time. And if you are interested in a custom made spring let me know. The order is on the way, but it' s not to late to order one more spring.
J.

That is a great idea! Thanks for sharing.