Quinn
S-Tracker/74frame/79motor
79 forks (35mm)
I just went for my first test ride and noticed that the ride was pretty rough, upon further investigation I noticed that the forks had compressed but did not return. *I though I had maybe done something wrong when I took them apart and then reassembled so I thought I'd tear them down again.
After removing the forks from the bike, and then removing the top caps & springs I moved on to the lower bolt that holds the dampening rod - all of this went ok. *But now I found that the fork tube was stuck to the lower fork. *I actually had to put the lower fork into a large vice and then use a long rod to tap out the fork. *Btw: both forks were like this. *I didn't think much of it at the time but is this typical? *Shouldn't the fork tube be able to travel the whole distance of the lower fork without getting stuck?
Anyway I did the Minton mods (enlarged all the wholes - 4 lower and 2 upper), reassembled and started adding oil (10w, 169 ml). *I read on some other posts that you are supposed to compress and decompress the forks to purge any air bubbles and before adding the springs and capping off. *I did this or at least I tried to... When compressing the tubes I found that they would get stuck again. *I managed to get them decompressed after a lot of pulling but it wasn't easy. *Because I only had two hands I decided to put them back in the triple trees and then added the springs and the caps.
The bikes not running (waiting for some parts) so I couldn't go for a test ride so I decide to try to use body weight to see if I had any suspension movement (I weigh 170)... No movement. *I then decide to get a running start and clamp on the from brake - the forks compressed about an inch and then stayed there (no rebound). *I put the bike on a lift and then hit the tire with a rubber mallet - the forks returned to full length. *I then decided to anchor the front wheel and then use ratcheting tie downs to pull the front down (like when it's being transported on a truck). The front was hard to compress and then when I released the tie downs the front stated compressed. *Again with the lift and rubber mallet and the forks returned. *I even cracked open the fork caps when compressed thinking that I might have some sort of air lock but this seemed to have no effect one way or the other.
Thanks for your time and Help!
Quinn
I just went for my first test ride and noticed that the ride was pretty rough, upon further investigation I noticed that the forks had compressed but did not return. *I though I had maybe done something wrong when I took them apart and then reassembled so I thought I'd tear them down again.
After removing the forks from the bike, and then removing the top caps & springs I moved on to the lower bolt that holds the dampening rod - all of this went ok. *But now I found that the fork tube was stuck to the lower fork. *I actually had to put the lower fork into a large vice and then use a long rod to tap out the fork. *Btw: both forks were like this. *I didn't think much of it at the time but is this typical? *Shouldn't the fork tube be able to travel the whole distance of the lower fork without getting stuck?
Anyway I did the Minton mods (enlarged all the wholes - 4 lower and 2 upper), reassembled and started adding oil (10w, 169 ml). *I read on some other posts that you are supposed to compress and decompress the forks to purge any air bubbles and before adding the springs and capping off. *I did this or at least I tried to... When compressing the tubes I found that they would get stuck again. *I managed to get them decompressed after a lot of pulling but it wasn't easy. *Because I only had two hands I decided to put them back in the triple trees and then added the springs and the caps.
The bikes not running (waiting for some parts) so I couldn't go for a test ride so I decide to try to use body weight to see if I had any suspension movement (I weigh 170)... No movement. *I then decide to get a running start and clamp on the from brake - the forks compressed about an inch and then stayed there (no rebound). *I put the bike on a lift and then hit the tire with a rubber mallet - the forks returned to full length. *I then decided to anchor the front wheel and then use ratcheting tie downs to pull the front down (like when it's being transported on a truck). The front was hard to compress and then when I released the tie downs the front stated compressed. *Again with the lift and rubber mallet and the forks returned. *I even cracked open the fork caps when compressed thinking that I might have some sort of air lock but this seemed to have no effect one way or the other.
Thanks for your time and Help!
Quinn