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uberthumper · # 3 25-10-12, 14:05

I stripped and helicoiled (well, actually 'Armacoiled') both the pinch bolts on my stock forks on separate occasions in the 29,000 mile (and countless wheel removals) before I changed the forks. They're fairly soft castings.

There's no problem with going through the clearance (front) part of the hole to drill and tap for the thread insert.

Remember that tapping drills are smaller than the nominal thread size, and clearance drills are bigger, so although you will be effectively using the tapping drill for the next size thread up, it's still smaller than the clearance hole for the original size.

If I remember correctly the drill goes straight through and the tap just lightly marks the bore of the clearance hole. No issue.